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The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States this coming week should be quite a story. A couple parts of the week will include the celebration of the Holy Father’s 81st birthday on Wednesday when he will meet President Bush at the White House and when he will preside at a prayer service with 350 American bishops, including most of our own Chicago bishops at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. On Saturday, the day he will say Mass for priests, deacons, and members of religious orders at the magnificent St. Patrick Cathedral in Manhattan. Among other activities, Pope Benedict will mark the third anniversary of his election to the Chair of St. Peter. The website of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops lists some interesting facts about the Pope. •Along with his native German, Benedict speaks fluent Italian, French, English, Spanish and Latin. He can read ancient Greek and biblical Hebrew. •Benedict is the 265th Pope. St. Peter was the first. •Pope Benedict XVI was elected Pope at the age of 78. He is the oldest person to have been elected Pope since Clement XII in 1730. •Benedict plays the piano and has a preference for Mozart and Beethoven. •Pope Benedict XVI is the first Pope to own an iPod.
The Holy Father certainly will be treated as a celebrity in Washington and New York. His will be among the lead stories every night on the TV news, every morning in the newspaper, and all day long on the web. Still, Catholics miss the story if we look at the Papal visit merely as a celebrity sighting. He is the Vicar of Christ on earth coming to our mighty country with something to say. Keep your ears open. When he speaks to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, I think we all better pay attention. His homilies at both of the “ballpark” Masses (the brand new Nationals Stadium in Washington and Yankee Stadium in its final year in the present incarnation in the Bronx) will have words spoken through the Gospel to us, the American Catholics. Finally, do not miss the relevance of the Pope’s attention to ecumenical and inter-religious settings. America’s diversity certainly is being recognized in the itinerary.
Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago and the successor of the Apostles charged with the care of Chicago’s Catholic souls, in his role as President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops will accompany the Holy Father at every stop on the trip. Chicago’s Auxiliary Bishops will take part in the Wednesday prayer service at the National Shrine and the Thursday Mass in Nationals Ballpark. The Cardinal also will be a part of the official entourage that greets Benedict at Andrews Air Force Base Tuesday and says goodbye to him next Sunday at Kennedy Airport in New York City. Right now, there is nothing new to report about the work that continues between the ceiling and the roof of Holy Name Cathedral. Dozens of workers are here Monday through Saturday. There is a meeting of all the trades along with Archdiocesan personnel, members of the Cathedral staff, and me every Friday. Some of the work – all of it custom designed to address the structural problems of our 133 year old building – is very nearly finished; some is more than half-way complete; other important problems still need solutions. I am confident that the engineers and tradesmen involved are giving us their best. They realize how badly we want to be back in our home, our Cathedral, quickly. We will return when it is safe, clean, and worthy of its birthmark as the Cathedral. Meanwhile, those coming to Mass in the parish center seem to reflect our regular worshippers. All four of the regular groups continue to come here to pray – our own parishioners; Chicagoans downtown for the day or the weekend; visitors from all over the United States (still the biggest group); and friends from all over the world. I asked for a show of hands last weekend at the 5:15pm Mass on Saturday. All four groups were here. That count showed me that my sense of the proportions was correct. Our total number at Mass certainly is down. However, the biggest drop is among those from elsewhere in the Chicago area. They have heard the story and are not interested in seeing our auditorium as much as our beautiful Cathedral. The empty spaces in the parking lot tell me the same truth. Our Parish Council earlier this year developed a wonderful new communications network with the nearby hotels. Consequently, the out of town and international visitors know we are open. Some of our regulars are missing. If you have been one of them, let me tell you we need you. This is a stronger parish when you are here. Please, keep praying with us until we can all go back to the Cathedral. The Parish Council made a couple of very practical suggestions. They pointed out that standing from the beginning of the Preface prayer through the reception of Communion in the auditorium on a floor slanted downhill was difficult. At their suggestion, beginning this week we will ask folks to be seated before we explain the plan for approaching and receiving Communion. The Council also suggested less ominous signage at the Cathedral doors. Instead of CATHEDRAL CLOSED, maybe it would be better to say MASS IN THE PARISH CENTER with an arrow pointing the way. As I type this last Sunday night, we are working on it. I am pleased to appoint Holy Name Cathedral parishioner Darren Milanowicz to complete the Parish Pastoral Council term of the late Larry Palmer. Darren has been especially active in the Art & Environment volunteer team at the Cathedral. I am happy he already has joined the PPC at their recent April 1 meeting. My great-great-great grandmother – Magdalena Klopp Boesen – will be 200 years-old on Friday. She is the oldest of my relatives that I know – not personally, but by internet search. Grandma Magdalena is in my mom’s family tree. She was born in Bech, Luxembourg, on April 18, 1808. She died on July 18, 1881. My great-great-great grandfather – Michael Boesen – was born a month short of two years after Magdalena (March 18, 1810) in Besch, Germany. I take the occasion of my oldest known relative’s 200th birthday to pray for all who have gone before me marked with the sign of faith and for those who have shaped my character. Their blood, their DNA, their soul is in me. God rest your soul, Grandma Magdalena. I will remember you at Mass on Friday. Happy Birthday, Grandma!
Fr. Dan Mayall |
