Bulletin Board with News and Events

This weekend, I am speaking at all Masses about a project that has me excited. I hope you get excited about it, too. Holy Name Cathedral is just one of 366 parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago, the northeast corner of Illinois, Cook and Lake Counties. Yet, we are the Cathedral. There is no other. This is the Bishop’s Church, the home of his teaching chair, the cathedra. Historically, we have been right on this block since 1849, and we have served Chicago as the Cathedral Church since the doors on our present building opened in 1875. Today, we are both Cathedral and thriving parish. We are the parish Church for over 5,100 registered households mostly on the Gold Coast, in Streeterville, south of Lincoln Park, on the Magnificent Mile, and in the River North District. In addition, we are the Mother-Church of a great Archdiocese, the place where Chicago instinctively goes to pray. In Chicago, Holy Name Cathedral really is the place where divinity meets humanity. Restore & Renew is the project about which I am so excited. Before Easter 2012, this is what I hope can happen to this treasure-of-a-facility we use at Holy Name. (1) I want the Cathedral to be accessible to all. The washrooms on the lower level will be remodeled. An elevator will be available for the disabled at street level. All will be able to use the Cathedral itself, the renovated washrooms below, and the lower level book store. (2) I want the Church offices – the rectory on Wabash – to be a place worthy of what happens here. The rectory was built in the summer of 1929 – between the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and the Stock Market Crash. Very few improvements have been made in nearly 80 years. The plumbing is near collapse, and the water source is unsafe. In addition, the office area needs to be re-fashioned to befit the noble work that goes on there. (3) The Courtyard now is wasted space. Let’s fix it up. Let it become an area for the benefit of liturgy, special events, Frances Xavier Warde School, the visiting public, and our parish served by a staff that can maintain it. Already, $400,000 is available for the Courtyard portion of my excitement from the Sharing Christ’s Gifts effort of the early part of this decade. (4) The 132-year old Cathedral is flaking away. Ugly pieces of the façade have fallen off. There is a danger. Let’s renew this treasure of a building. I want to replace lost limestone and treat what remains to glisten in the center of a City that is proud to claim Holy Name Cathedral as a Chicago masterpiece. If we welcome Chicago, we should look like the holy place we claim to be. (5) Finally, let’s create an endowment. Never before has Holy Name Cathedral parish had such an endowment to address capital needs we cannot see at this time. An endowment will let us address needs in the future. I want Holy Name Cathedral to be here long past my term as pastor. Don’t you want your Church to be that open door to Chicago? Restore & Renew is a 5-year campaign for the projects proposed. Information will come soon to the registered parishioners’ homes regarding this important effort. If you are not registered, sign-up today at the rectory office. I want you to be a part of this great Restore & Renew campaign. We are looking ahead five years, to 2012. Don’t subtract the amount of your pledge from what you regularly give to the Cathedral to support our many services and programs. They still need your help. They do not happen without what you put in the basket (or what you give electronically) each weekend. This new pledge should be over and above what you regularly give in the spirit of stewardship. I am asking a lot. A lot is needed. I myself will work for free, without a paycheck, every February for five years. That’s my pledge. Will you join me? Our new floor, the ramp to the sanctuary, our new and efficient boilers, our book store, our signs on the campus, our recently painted walls, our shined-up ceiling, our restored lighting, the care of our pastoral staff – all these have added an enthusiasm that already has generated $4.2-million to Restore & Renew. Join us. Don’t be left out. Restore & Renew Holy Name Cathedral. I want you to be a part of this campaign, my very exciting project!

Holy Name Cathedral never is boring. In that spirit, I thank all who led, supported, and participated in the many liturgies and events of Holy Week. Over 300 plants were used by the Art & Environment volunteers led by Donna Ciszewski, Ron Birch, Darren Milanowicz, and Pat Still. Those folks made each moment authentic; and they did it out of love for the Cathedral. Father Paul Stein will be missed when he leaves to take up the pastor’s duties at St. Sylvester in June. He will be a difficult act to follow in directing the great week’s prayers. The music was superb. For such beauty we thank Dr. Ricardo Ramirez, David Jonies, the Chamber Singers, the Gallery Singers, the Women’s Schola, the cantors, the men who chanted the Passion on Good Friday, and all the extra musicians. Stan Strom organized our experienced maintenance crew in their non-stop duties. Our friends at the Archdiocesan Office for Divine Worship led by Todd Williamson reminded me how fortunate we are to enjoy the cooperation between ODW and the Cathedral. The lectors truly embodied the Scripture they presented; the Communion Ministers were so very generous and always reverent in their ministry; the servers from the parish, Casa Jesus, and St. Joseph Seminary seemed ever-ready; and the sacristans made sure all was prepared with care. Let me offer a special thanks to Rich Costa and the ushers who covered the week’s hospitality so graciously. Late on Easter, one fellow made a point of standing in line after Mass to tell me that “your ushers” were not aggressive enough in getting people to sit rather than stand. I was aware that the regular ushers who were there at 5:15 p.m. on Easter afternoon each week do an excellent job and that most of those who passed the baskets that afternoon were recruited as kind volunteers. (I was not as kind to the complainer. Again, I wish him a definite Happy Easter). Comptroller Rich Gargul and the volunteer money counters worked overtime and efficiently last Monday. The rectory receptionists never ran out of patience fielding thousands of phone calls. Monteray Security and the Chicago Police Department managed the crowds professionally. At the Easter Vigil, I thanked Pastoral Associate Ann Klocke for her leadership of the RCIA. Again, Ann thanks to you and to the volunteer parish team along with the sponsors and the parish pastoral staff. We all had our fingerprints on the record numbers – 28 baptized, 67 in all – who were welcomed into full participation in the Catholic Church. Deacon Stan Strom, besides his administrative duties, put on his robes of Holy Orders and assisted reverently throughout the week. Deacon Mike McCloskey also stood at the side of the priests all week long and sang Saturday night’s Exultet beautifully. Our visiting clergy added to the importance of our prayers, especially Vicar General Father John Canary, Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Goedert, Casa Jesus Rector Father Alejandro Garrido, and Vocations Director Father Joe Noonan. The Cardinal’s assistant Father Dan Flens, as always, was a great help. He is no “guest”; but we certainly were grateful for the presence of Cardinal George before his accident put him on the “disabled list.” Let’s especially thank all the priests of the Cathedral for the hours of confessions, the concelebrated Masses, the special preaching, their smiling presence at the doors, and their love for the parish – full-time Associate Pastors Fathers Paul Stein, Mike Novick, and John Boivin; resident priests Fathers Pat Lagges, Michael Boland, Bill Moriarity, and Gene Durkin; and, for his extra work especially on Holy Saturday celebrating his 42nd Holy Week at Holy Name Cathedral, our former pastor Bishop Timothy Lyne. Never have I seen a happier Cathedral than the one at which I prayed last Sunday. Jesus Christ is Risen! Thanks be to God.

Fr. Dan Mayall