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It was announced on
Wednesday that Holy Name Cathedral will remain closed through at least
June 1. We have been closed since February after a piece of the
decorative wooden ceiling fell. Forensic engineers determined that the
reason the piece fell was because of structural deficiencies in the 133
year-old Church building. The engineers will continue to custom-design
solutions to a variety of structural problems they have discovered. The
workers gave no definite answer as to when the Cathedral will be safe to
re-open. Contact persons for special events as well as engaged couples preparing for summer marriage have been informed of the delay. A member of the parish staff has been assigned to each event and wedding as a personal contact agent. Together with our hard-working pastoral staff, I will make decisions about relocating all special events including weddings on a month to month basis and will keep the concerned parties informed. Regularly scheduled weekend Masses will continue to be celebrated in the auditorium of the Cathedral’s Parish Center. Daily Masses will be offered in the Club Room on the lower level of the Parish Center. Baptisms will take place in the Cathedral Chapel on Superior. Saturday confessions will be heard in the Casa Jesus Chapel, 750 N. Wabash. On the topic of Casa Jesus, let me thank Father Alejandro Garrido and the men discerning vocations to the Chicago priesthood for their hospitality in letting us use their home for the important Sacrament of Penance. Once more, we are grateful to Father Pat Lee, his staff, and all the people of our “Sharing Parish” St. Joseph at 1107 N. Orleans for opening their beautiful Church for the celebration of our combined Easter Vigil and for making that pretty place of prayer available for displaced weddings through May. All Cathedrals are lightening rods. Holy Name Cathedral especially attracts the vocal because we are located in downtown Chicago, we frequently welcome Cardinal George, and we have a history of demonstration. Demonstrate outside – we will smile at you even if we do not agree with you. Demonstrate inside our house of prayer, and we will do all we can to throw you out. We may be a lightening rod. However, we are not a free-for-all. Like every other parish, we praise God at Holy Name Cathedral. If you want to hi-jack us for a political statement, expect to be thrown out. I was pleasantly surprised by the crowds on Easter. There were two Masses said at 8:00. At 9:30, the auditorium, the cafeteria, and the Club Room were packed. At 11:00, four spots were filled – the auditorium with the Cardinal; the cafeteria with Father Novick and an extra 75 in the school hallway watching from the side; the intimate Club Room with Father Lagges; and the crammed Cathedral chapel to which Father Compton led late-comers like Moses leading the chosen ones to the Promised Land. Both afternoon Masses welcomed two great crowds. Those fantastic Holy Day turn-outs made it easier for me to pray on an Easter-in-exile at Holy Name Cathedral. Thanks especially to my new friend baby Jack Gosz for serving as my Easter homily prop in the auditorium at 9:30. If you were not there, ask someone who was. I was happy with that homily – called at post time when I first saw Jack just before we began to pray. It was a new Easter for Jack, for me, and for all of us. It really was. Watch for special and deserved Holy Week/Easter thank you words directed toward those who made sure of the liturgical details of those special days next week. I am away and catching my breath. Until Tuesday, Holy Name will be in the capable hands of the firm of Boivin, Novick, & Compton (our full-time Associate Pastors). Deacon Stan Strom has control of the construction project and will let me know especially if we get any good news. My assistant Laura Grazioli can field any information inquiries. Be sure, I will look for you at Mass next weekend. For the first time since I have been writing this page 2 piece in our bulletin every week, I want to turn over a section to another parishioner. Donna Ciszewski is the Chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council; she is a parishioner; she is a true leader; and she is a friend. I give the rest of the page this week to Donna. Dear Fellow Parishioners, We are creatures of habit. And when something occurs that upsets the norm, we naturally feel agitated or disjointed, like when we have car trouble or computer problems. I think that’s probably how we all felt when we heard our beloved Cathedral needs repairs. Suddenly we are attending mass in the auditorium or club room, where the seats and the space are not the norm – we feel agitated or disjointed. But life goes on and so do the repairs. So here are two things I would suggest we can do. Pray. Pray for the workers who are making the repairs. Pray for a speedy end to the repairs. Pray in thanksgiving that no one was hurt and that we found out about the needed repairs when we did. Pray for the rectory staff who have scrambled and toiled to make decisions about the where and how of maintaining liturgies. But most of all, pray for Fr. Mayall, who shoulders the responsibilities and final decisions for our parish. Support. Continue to show support for our parish and each other. We are all in this together. Keep coming to Mass here. Yes, the auditorium is not comfortable, but it is home. Keep making your weekly donations – those funds are needed now more than ever. Show the many visitors that come to Holy Name that we are a parish, no matter where the Mass takes place. Donna Ciszewski Parishioner Chair, Parish Pastoral Council
Fr. Dan Mayall |
