Bulletin Board with News and Events

 Father Ludger Blasius, a pastor in the German Diocese of Essen, is living at Holy Name Cathedral rectory this month and participating in the “Crossing Over” program, part of an academic study designed by Church Historian Wilhelm Damberg of Rur-Universitat Bochum.  Despite similar organizational structures, since 1950 Church membership in Germany has decreased significantly while Catholicism gradually has become the largest denomination in the USA. Professor Damberg’s 3-year program in cooperation with the Archdiocese of Chicago and Loyola University places German priests and other pastoral ministers in thriving Chicago parishes for practical study. In this 2^nd season of “Crossing Over,” Holy Name is one of 12 parishes welcoming 11 visitors from 3 German dioceses (Essen, Aachen, and Munster). Most, but not all are pastors. There are sessions of theological refection in which the Germans participate each week. However, most of their time is spent in observation. In his first week with us, Father Ludger attended our staff meeting; visited a Commission meeting; learned about training Ministers of Care; observed a baptism, a funeral, and weddings; sat in on a baptism prep class for parents; witnessed the Golden Anniversary Mass hosted by Holy Name; participated in some comparative discussions with our own  priests during meals; was introduced at and participated in the vision-setting workshop for the volunteer lay leaders of our parish; and met Cardinal George. He has been busy. Father Ludger will be with us through October 4. It’s too bad he has to leave before the October 5 GALA!

 If you are a 9:30am Mass regular, be ready to welcome Chicago’s Catholic legal professionals next Sunday, September 30, for the annual “Red Mass.” Cardinal George will be the celebrant this year. All are welcome to the “Red Mass” at Holy Name Cathedral next Sunday at 9:30am. I will be here for the beginning of that liturgy; but I will have to leave early to represent the Deanery at the installation of Father Ken Simpson as new pastor of St. Clement’s Church in the Lincoln Park area. Let’s remember Father Simpson and our friends at St. Clement’s in prayer. They are a great parish. Later next Sunday afternoon I will join Old St. Pat’s pastor Father Tom Hurley in the opening Family Mass for the Frances Xavier Warde Catholic School community. This year the Mass will be at OSP. It will return to the Cathedral next September.

The reference to the Frances Xavier Warde Catholic School reminds me to thank again all who so generously participated in our “Scholarship Sunday” collection. We did better than we ever have done in the past. Still, we covered only 5 tuitions with a little left over. If we have not gotten your donation yet, mark an envelope FXW, drop it in any collection basket or hand it to me personally (I’ll say THANKS), and join us in trying to send 10 Cathedral kids to Catholic School this season. I still think we can do it.

The “Moms Group” is a ministry organized by parishioner Julie Sherman with Staff support from Kristin Schwarz of the Young Adult Ministry. Check out the article in this bulletin on page 6 for details. Note, too, that there is opportunity provided for single Moms to connect. Moms, dads, and all ages of children are involved. For more information contact Julie at chicago_city7@hotmail.com or at 312-654-8984.

Visiting San Francisco in August, I found my hotel across the street from the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. With a seating capacity of 2,400 (more than twice that of Holy Name), they have 5 weekend Masses, one in Spanish; there are 3 daily Masses, just one in the Cathedral itself; the bulletin is bi-lingual; the staff includes a Pastor, two Associates, one Pastoral Assistant, two Deacons, and a Music Director. There is a bookstore on the lower level. The building’s design flows from the geometric principle of a hyperbolic paraboloid in which the structure curves upward in graceful lines from the four corners meeting in a cross. Measuring 255 square-ft., the Cathedral soars to 190 ft. and is crowned with a 55-ft. golden cross. Four corner pylons, each one designed to withstand 10-million pounds of pressure, support the cupola which rises a breathtaking 19 stories above the floor. Sadly, popular nomenclature calls the Cathedral "St. Mary Maytag" because of its outside resemblance to a washing machine agitator. Too bad. Six iron-sculpted shrines (sounds like Holy Name) in niches around the spacious Cathedral portray Mary as the model disciple. I liked the Wedding Feast of Cana the best. Their organ atop a soaring pedestal has 4,883 pipes in 89 ranks and 70 stops and was designed by Ruffatti Brothers in Padua. At each corner of the Cathedral, vast windows look out upon spectacular views of the City of Saint Francis of Assisi. The Cathedral's red brick floor recalls early Mission architecture. Above the altar is a fantastic baldachino alive with reflected light, 14 tiers of triangular aluminum rods symbolizing the channel of love and grace from God to His people, and their prayers and praise rising to Him. The sculpture, suspended by gold wires, is 15 stories high and weighs one ton. That great work of art is, I think, the most impressive feature of San Francisco’s Cathedral. The existing Cathedral is the third such San Francisco church. Old St. Mary's, built in 1854, still stands. St. Mary's Cathedral built in 1891 was destroyed by fire in 1962. Archbishop Joseph McGucken commissioned three local architects for new Cathedral sketches ranging from traditional Romanesque to California mission style.  Plans soon took a dramatic turn as a result of a controversy ignited by an article written by an architectural critic who advocated a move beyond traditional concepts to create a bold Cathedral that would reflect San Francisco's status as an international urban center. To build a Cathedral which would reflect the soul of San Francisco, the Archbishop added two internationally known architects – a Dean of the School of Architecture at MIT placed in charge of designs; and a Roman engineering genius who took over structural concerns. As plans for the new Cathedral progressed, the Vatican Council progressed. The Council provided another impetus to the call for innovative design. A strikingly modern outcome in 1964 was met with high praise. Archbishop McGucken's architectural team had clearly envisioned "the first Cathedral truly of our time and in harmony with the liturgical reforms of the Council." It opened in 1971 and welcomed Pope John Paul II in 1987 as Holy Name Cathedral had welcomed him in 1979. I am jealous of their adjacent Cathedral Center that accommodates conferences, banquets, and both diocesan and City meetings. San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer is scheduled as a keynote speaker at our semi-annual Cathedral Ministries Conference in Florida in January. I hope to meet him. 

Fr. Dan Mayall