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Chicago columnist Richard Roeper penned the following in his Sun-Times piece on January 29: “The accident that took (CBS2 anchorman Randy) Salerno's life Thursday came about a month after the sudden death of the Tribune's Terry Armour, who, like Salerno, was in his 40s and was a hometown product. As someone who fits that description as well, I thought Monday was a good day to stop in at Holy Name Cathedral and count my blessings. Nobody has a guarantee on another year, another month, another day.” True. I am pleased that we are here for Roeper and for you. Holy Name Cathedral is the place where Chicago goes to pray. We prayed for recently deceased Holy Name parishioner Larry Palmer at a Mass in the Cathedral January 31. During that Mass, we remembered Larry as a lifelong Catholic, a proud military veteran, a Communion Minister, a member of the Black Catholics of the Cathedral, a member of the Parish Pastoral Council, a Chicago citizen (Mayor Daley sent roses), and a friend. Larry, God rest your friendly and kind soul. We will miss you. A popular Lenten program sponsored by our parish Education Commission, the Lenten Lecture Series begins this Wednesday and continues for three Wednesdays beginning in the cafeteria at 5:45pm with a simple supper of soup and bread. This week’s lecture presented by Sister Anne Joan Flanagan of the Daughters of St. Paul will follow at 6:30pm. The series this year is devoted to St. Paul. Come to the Lenten Lectures. On Sunday we will welcome more catechumens and candidates from around the Archdiocese to a packed Chicago Cathedral as we celebrate the 2nd and 3rd of five Rites of Election. Those preparing for Sacraments of Initiation will be led in prayer at 2:30pm by Bishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller and at 7:30pm by Bishop George Rassas. It will be a beautiful sight to see the variety of people looking to join us in faith on Holy Saturday night’s 1st Mass of Easter. Pray for those becoming Catholics as they fill up the Cathedral twice more, those to be baptized and confirmed, and those who will receive Communion for the first time. Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral welcomes the RCIA. This week I will be away from the Cathedral at a meeting on Wednesday and visiting my dad on an unusual Thursday day-off. I’ll be back in the saddle on Friday. The previous two weeks I wrote about the Cathedral Ministries Conference I attended in January along with pastors from 63 American Cathedrals. Last week I reviewed a couple of the more valuable presentations; the first week I described the host Cathedral of St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest parish in America. This week I present random observations from a great gathering of those who tend the Mother Churches of America. One night I sat down to dinner with Msgr. Kevin Kostelnik of Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles and Msgr. Robert Ritchie of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. I believe it was the first time in decades that the Cathedral rectors in the three largest US dioceses (LA-NYC-CHI in order of Catholic population) have compared styles and traded experiences. Kevin described how he welcomes visiting groups to ceremonies by delivering a “mini-tour” of his Cathedral; I do the same (I’ll do it at the Rites of Election today), adding our rich history; Rob plans to start something similar in New York. We have more registered parishioners than either of the others. LA takes advantage of its beautiful plaza. NY has the ministry of devotional candles. All three are major tourist attractions. All three have book stores. All are open all day long. All have decent web pages. I have known Kevin since 2004; Rob is coming up on his second Lent at St. Patrick’s. I suspect the three of us will meet again. I hope so. St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Milwaukee certainly made a wonderful impression especially on all who heard their dynamic workshop “Marketing a Cathedral in a Re-vitalized Downtown.” St. John’s is 28 years older than Holy Name. They have ridden an historical roller coaster as the area on near north side of Milwaukee has changed several times over the years. At the end of the last century, they recognized a coming renewal of their neighborhood and planned a renovation of St. John’s. I still do not like the style of the Cathedral’s renovation. However, I am impressed with the parish. Their web site, a daily devotional blog, beautiful stewardship brochures, a weekly radio broadcast of Sunday Mass, their relationship to the City, and all their communications tools are the best. They are partners with the City, restaurants and other businesses of the area in sponsoring the arts. The music program is first class. Their “Open Door Café” feeds the hungry seven days a week, again with cooperative funding. Milwaukee looked so good that they will be the host Cathedral for our gathering in 2010. I’ll look forward to it. Many presentations referred to a Cathedral’s multi-cultural face. In Archdiocesan ways, we do well. As a parish, we proudly recognize our largest ethnic group, the Filipinos; and we value Black Catholic parishioners and their contribution to the parish identity. Fr. Robert Schulte, rector of Ft. Wayne’s Immaculate Conception Cathedral, also is diocesan Vicar General, Vicar for extern priests, on a committee looking for a new Schools Superintendent, and Judicial Vicar…the rectors in Washington (Msgr. Ron Jameson) and New York City (Msgr. Rob Ritchie) are frantically making arrangements for the Pope’s April visit…we have 10 priests at Holy Name Cathedral; Fr. Michael Malloy of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Rapid City told me they have 30 priests in the whole western half of South Dakota; 4 live at his Cathedral …Msgr. Jerry Sherba of Raleigh’s Sacred Heart Cathedral, with so many Yankee migrants, told me North Carolina has been replaced by Mississippi as the least Catholic State in the Union…the new Cathedral of Christ the Light will open in Oakland in late 2008; their rector, Fr. Quang Dong, is Vietnamese…it is impossible for Cathedral rectors to converse without mentioning their bishops’ names; a Cathedral naturally is linked to its bishop. Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral is as famous a Cathedral as there is in the United States. Fr. Dan Mayall |
