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The following press release was issued last Tuesday by the Communications Office of the Chicago Archdiocese: It was announced today that extensive safety measures have been taken and structural repairs will be made at Holy Name Cathedral. Sunday Masses will be moved to the Cathedral’s Parish Center auditorium. On February 12, an approximately 10 lb piece of the nineteenth-century wooden decorative ceiling fell 70-feet to the floor of the Cathedral. The Archdiocese arranged for forensic engineers to inspect the Cathedral ceiling. In addition, a protective, safety canopy over all the pews and the altar was erected. As the engineers continued their investigation, they determined that the original 1874 wood trusses needed repairs. Methods to correct the problem are under review. In order to protect all of the parishioners and visitors to Holy Name, the Cathedral will remain closed until all of the repairs are complete. Any funeral Masses will be offered at neighboring parishes while scheduled baptisms and confessions will take place in other Cathedral campus locations (baptisms in the Chapel; confessions in the chapel of Casa Jesus). Daily Masses will be offered in the Club Room on the lower level of the Parish Center. Father Dan Mayall, pastor of Holy Name, said the hope is that the Cathedral will reopen in time for the Easter celebration. What needs to be done to the Cathedral is still uncertain. By the time you read this on the weekend, we may know a lot more than we know as I type this on Tuesday night. I promise we will keep you posted. The officials at the Archdiocese and the professionals they have enlisted have done a thorough, careful job. The Cathedral staff has done extraordinary work in trying to be sure we can continue to keep the parish functioning while we are locked out of our most important building. Am I nervous about the eventual solution? I certainly am. However, I am a disciple of Christ, and the virtue of hope is always a prominent flower in the Christian’s garden. Let’s continue to look forward with hope to an Easter really worth celebrating. The students at the Frances Xavier Warde Catholic School made their Lent confessions this past week. Making a Lenten confession of sins is a part of traditional religious education. It should also be a part of every Catholic’s Lent. Confessions will be heard on the next two Saturdays from 3:00-5:00pm; and from 6:15-7:15pm. Because of our construction, the location will be different. Come to the Chapel of Casa Jesus, 750 N. Wabash. In addition, there will be a beautiful Penance Service next Tuesday, March 11, at 7:00pm at St. Michael’s Church in Old Town (1633 N. Cleveland). That Penance Service was to have been here at the Cathedral. However, that Deanery Penance Service has been moved to St. Michael’s. Finally, confessions will be heard during Holy Week at Holy Name Cathedral 3:00-5:00pm Wednesday through Saturday; we will publish the location when we know the condition of the Cathedral. Make time now to go to confession during Lent. Father Michael Boland, Executive Director of Catholic Charities and a resident priest at Holy Name Cathedral, received the Fleur de Lis Award last weekend during a formal dinner at the Hilton. The St. Vincent de Paul Center sponsors that event every year to raise funds for the ministries of the Daughters of Charity. Also honored were CBS2 Chicago reporter Mike Flannery, a strong supporter of the St. Vincent de Paul Center; and Mary Beth Malone, an involved member of St. Vincent’s Advisory and Development Board. Many Cathedral parishioners attended the event. We were happy to applaud Father Boland, deservedly recognized for the great work he and Catholic Charities do. In this space two weeks ago, I commented that several American Indians were among the members of Chicago’s first parish, St. Mary’s located originally at State & Lake. One of those Indians lived on the block where Holy Name Cathedral stands today. The son of a British officer and a Pottawatomie woman, Sauganash, aka Billy Caldwell was born in Canada about 1780, received an education from the Jesuits at Detroit, and was able to speak and write English and French besides several Indian dialects. He was a friend of Tecumseh (Shawnee Chief who, before dying in battle against US troops, captured Detroit for the British in the War of 1812). Sauganash took up his residence in Chicago about 1820. By 1826, Billy Caldwell was a Justice of the Peace while nominally a subject of Great Britain and a Chief of the Ottawas and Pottawatomies. In 1828, the Government, in consideration of his services, built for him the first frame house ever erected in Chicago, which he occupied until his departure with his tribe in 1836 for Council Bluffs where he died in 1844. There once was a plaque honoring the site. Parishioner William Babcock tells me the marker was in front of the old Mundelein Cathedral High School at Wabash & Chicago, where Casa Jesus stands today. Another source claims it was at Chicago & State. In either case, it read “"Billy Caldwell’s House - Here stood home of Billy Caldwell, half-breed Potawatomi Indian known as Sauganash (The Englishman). It was built in 1828 by U.S. Department of Indian Affairs in recognition of his friendly efforts to preserve peace. - Erected by Chicago’s Charter Jubilee - Authenticated by Chicago Historical Society - 1937." Today there is a neighborhood on the North Side called Sauganash; there’s a public golf course in a Forest Preserve near Sauganash called Billy Caldwell. At Holy Name Cathedral, we remember possibly the first Catholic to live on our block, Sauganash/Billy Caldwell. I wonder how good the roof on his house was. A man walked into the Cathedral last week and asked me if I was in cahoots with his wife. “She told me that if I went to Mass every Sunday in Lent, the roof probably would come down. Did she put you up to this?” Seriously, say prayers…and hope! Fr. Dan Mayall |
