Washington D.C., May 21, 2019 / 12:51 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Wilton Gregory expressed “deep gratitude and immeasurable joy” as he took charge of the nation’s capital see Tuesday.
“I want to be a welcoming shepherd who laughs with you whenever we can, who cries with you whenever we must, and who honestly confesses his faults and failings before you when I commit them, not when they are revealed,” Gregory said to applause during his May 21 installation Mass as Archbishop of Washington, D.C. in Washington’s National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
“We stand at a defining moment for this local faith community,” Gregory said.
“Our recent sorrow and shame do not define us; rather, they serve to chasten and strengthen us to face tomorrow with spirits undeterred.”
Calling his installation as the seventh Archbishop of Washington an “indescribably humbling moment,” Gregory pledged himself to a new era of openness in Washington.
The archbishop’s installation Mass was presided over by apostolic nuncio Archbishop Christoph Pierre and attended by eight cardinals, more than 50 bishops, some 300 priests, and nearly 100 deacons.
U.S. bishops’ conference president Daniel DiNardo, reportedly still recovering from a March stroke, was not in attendance.
The celebration was held at the National Shrine instead of Washington’s St. Matthew’s Cathedral in order to accommodate the crowds, numbering about 3,000.
Members of the faithful from around the archdiocese gathered outside the basilica waving flags and banners of welcome, and singing before the Mass began.
A Gospel choir led the music during the Mass.
Acknowledging the scandals that have rocked the Church, both in Washington and around the world, Gregory said, “We have been tossed about by an unusually turbulent moment in our own faith journeys recently and for far too long.”
“We clerics and hierarchs have irrefutably been the source of the current tempest.”
Recalling the image of the apostles’ fear on stormy seas, Gregory told the assembly that true peace is found by remembering that Christ was in the apostles’ boat.
“He invites us to place our trust in Him – not in trite and easy programs – but in Him and Him alone.”
Despite the pressure of recent scandals, Gregory said he had already received an “affectionate and embarrassingly gracious welcome.”
“The example I wish to set forth for you is that of a man filled with the faith, hope and joy of knowing Jesus Christ is in the boat.”
Gregory thanked Pope Francis for the “righteous challenge – more an opportunity” to carry the Gospel message to the poor, the marginalized, and the neglected.
“Beginning today, that is my take here in the Archdiocese of Washington.”
Gregory’s appointment was first reported on May 28, and his installation has been eagerly anticipated. Technically, Washington has been without an archbishop since Cardinal Donald Wuerl’s resignation was accepted by the pope in October last year, though Wuerl himself has served as interim leader of the archdiocese since that time.
Gregory paid tribute to his predecessor during the homily, calling Wuerl a “cherished friend” and “above all, a true Christian gentleman.”
The Archbishop of Washington is generally viewed as one of the most influential Churchmen in the United States; the five most recent archbishops were all created cardinals – including the now-laicized Theodore McCarrick. While Gregory, 71, is widely expected to be named a cardinal in the future, it is usual for the pope to wait until the previous cardinal archbishop from the same diocese turns 80 years old and becomes ineligible to vote in a conclave. Wuerl will turn 79 in November.
As a former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2001 to 2004, Gregory was responsible for helping to lead the American hierarchy through the fallout of the Church’s 2002 sexual abuse scandals. He oversaw the formation and implementation of the “Dallas Charter” and USCCB’s “Essential Norms” in 2002.
Gregory’s appointment is also history because he is the first African-American to be appointed archbishop in Washington, D.C.; the city itself is more than 50% African-American. Gregory is also the first convert to Catholicism to be appointed Archbishop of Washington.
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Washington D.C., Mar 12, 2021 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Catholic bishops and prominent theologians and ethicists say that although there is not an obligation to receive a COVID vaccine, Catholics should consider the strong moral argument in favor of doing so…. […]
Father J.J. Mech, rector of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, stands next to the life-sized statues of the apostles that have now been installed in the cathedral’s worship space, along with first-class relics of each apostle. The “Journey with the Saints” pilgrimage, which will be dedicated Feb. 8, 2024, in a special ceremony with Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, is part of the cathedral’s ongoing transformation into an “apostolic center for the arts and culture.” / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Detroit Catholic
Detroit, Mich., Jan 29, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
At the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, the band is getting back together. The band of Christ’s 12 apostles, that is.
On Feb. 8, Detroit’s mother church will publicly unveil its long-awaited “Journey with the Saints” project, a permanent installation of 14 “larger than life” statues accompanied by first-class relics of each apostle, the latest accomplishment in the cathedral’s ongoing mission to turn itself into an apostolic center in the city of Detroit.
Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron will join Father J.J. Mech, rector of the cathedral, to dedicate the new installation during a special event at 7 p.m.
From its central perch on Woodward Avenue, the looming gothic cathedral of the Archdiocese of Detroit stands out in its neighborhood. Following Vigneron’s instruction to turn the church into a “cathedral of the arts,” Mech has spent the last several years converting the cathedral into a hub of missionary activity and beauty, drawing people to the faith via “shallow entry points.”
“Our goal is that we are going to be more accessible to people off of Woodward,” Mech told Detroit Catholic. “We want this to be a flexible public space, maybe even a community hub for not only spiritual enrichment but cultural enrichment, and it will be a safe place, and we will have security and all of that.”
St. Simon, St. Thomas, and St. Matthias are pictured in their permanent fixtures atop the pillars inside the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The statues and relics of the apostles will be officially unveiled Feb. 8, 2024, as part of a permanent pilgrimage experience at the cathedral, “Journey with the Saints.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
The name “Cathedral of the Arts,” Mech explained, is a reminder that the proof of God is beauty — a principle that guides each of the new initiatives he and his team have undertaken on the cathedral’s campus.
The latest project, the installation of the seven-and-a-half-foot-tall statues and relics encircling the cathedral’s interior worship space, is the crowning jewel of those efforts, transforming the cathedral into a permanent pilgrimage site, guided by the men who knew Christ most intimately during his time on earth.
Complete with first-class relics, the new installation is among the first of its kind in North America bringing together all 12 of Christ’s apostles for veneration, and the only exhibit in the world with the relics accessible in this way.
The 14 statues — including two eight-foot angels — each were carved from a single tree trunk in St. Ulrich Groeden, in modern-day Italy, in 1927. The statues were rescued from St. Benedict Church in Highland Park, which closed in 2014. After undergoing extensive restoration, the statues were installed in the cathedral’s nave in December.
The statue of St. Andrew. Each of the statues were carved from a single tree trunk and rescued from St. Benedict Church in Highland Park, which closed in 2014. After undergoing extensive restoration, the statues were installed in the cathedral’s nave in December 2023. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
The statues include two angels, 10 of the original 12 apostles, St. Paul, and St. Matthias, the apostle who replaced Judas. Mech discovered that he had relics corresponding to the 12 saints, part of a collection of nearly 200 relics owned by the cathedral, all of which he hopes to be able to one day put on display.
The relics and the signage were installed beneath each statue beginning on Jan. 8, in time for the dedication and blessing of the new reliquary pilgrimage on Feb. 8.
“I am so excited about the transformation that is happening,” Mech said. “When you come in, there will be three main signs that tell you how to go on a pilgrimage, what the goal of a pilgrimage is, and how to interact with these relics. [Pilgrims] are going to walk away transformed, different, and they are going to enter through prayer.”
“Journey with the Saints” is much more than a museum of Church history, Mech said, but a rare opportunity to invoke the help of Catholicism’s greatest saints.
“It’s not just about looking at a pretty statue and touching some bones. [Pilgrims] are going to have a purpose when they walk away,” Mech said. “People can decide what they want intercession for, what they are hoping for when they pray to a particular saint, and when they walk away, they’ll keep praying for that.”
Keith Calleja began installation of relics on Jan. 8, 2024, starting with the relic of St. Philip. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
Mech said those whose prayers have been answered through the intercession of the saints will be invited to return to the cathedral and contribute a tile to a mosaic art piece that will be installed to show how God is answering prayers through the project.
While the saints and relics are the culmination of a long-sought project, it’s all part of a greater vision for Detroit’s cathedral, Mech said.
Another piece of the puzzle will be dedicated on May 12, when Archbishop Vigneron will unveil a new outdoor grotto at the cathedral in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, as the archbishop emotionally addressed the faithful during a livestreamed Mass from the cathedral, he entrusted the archdiocese to the protection of Our Lady of Lourdes and pledged to build the grotto “as a perpetual reminder” of her care and in memory of the lives lost to COVID-19.
Under the guidance of the archbishop, the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament finished a majority of the work on the grotto this fall, including statues of St. Bernadette Soubirous and Our Lady, whose face will reflect the one St. Bernadette saw in Lourdes, France, in 1858.
The first-class relics are among nearly 200 relics currently housed in the cathedral, which Father Mech hopes to find a way to display. The gold reliquaries are installed beneath each of the apostles’ statues. January 2024. Courtesy of Detroit Catholic
“People are already presently coming to pray [at] the grotto with the Blessed Mother,” Mech said. “We put some beautiful landscaping in this fall so people would feel welcomed, and in fact, we have used the site in a couple of ways for prayer services already.”
The grotto will also connect seamlessly with a garden walk that is being created around the cathedral’s plaza lawn, which will include art, benches, solar charging stations, a dog park, a bird sanctuary and pollination habitat.
Working alongside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the cathedral’s co-director of family ministries, Christine Broses, is spearheading the transformation of two previously empty lots on the corner of Trowbridge and John R Streets into green space for wildlife to thrive.
“We learned that the city of Detroit is a north, south, east, and west crossing for bird migration,” Broses said. “So a lot of birds fly over the city of Detroit, but they don’t have anywhere to stop and rest because there isn’t a lot of green space. Creating green space is really important for the city and for wildlife in general, and research shows hearing birds and having green space in neighborhoods helps improve people’s mental health.”
Last spring, Broses oversaw the planting of native flowers in the area, and the next step is to let the space grow wild, which will inevitably attract birds and bees over the coming years. Broses said the final step will be to add educational plaques and pathways to make the spot accessible to schools and families.
Mech wants the garden spaces and pathways to be welcoming and intends to build benches — something the neighborhood is currently lacking.
The statues, pictured in their final fixed locations above the cathedral’s pillars, are just one piece of an ever-developing project to turn the cathedral into a true apostolic center in the heart of Detroit, Father J.J. Mech said. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
“We did a study of our neighborhood and found there is not a single park bench in any of the parks in our area,” Mech said. “We want to have park benches so people can come and rest and enjoy themselves. This will be a place where community can be built, and people will realize that the cathedral is not a fortress; we are actually unleashing the Gospel.”
And there is more.
In June, construction began on the Cathedral Arts Apartments, which will include four stories and 53 two-bedroom housing units for low-income Detroiters. The $19.7 million project is the joint effort of the Archdiocese of Detroit; MHT Housing, Inc.; and the city of Detroit and will include a community space and workforce training center.
At the end of the day, the vision of a “Cathedral of the Arts” — like the cathedrals of old — is about listening to the Holy Spirit and making a difference from the very small to the large scale, so that everyone who steps onto the property is transformed, Mech said.
“When we get people onto the campus, they start to see what we are doing, and they get involved,” he said. “Then, the Holy Spirit does the rest and helps them to get to know Our Lord in new and wonderful ways.”
Former archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rembert Weakland kneels and prays as he is given a standing ovation of support after he apologized publicly for sexual indiscretions during a prayer service 31 May, 2002 in St. Francis, Wisconsin. Weakl… […]
2 Comments
“We clerics and hierarchs have irrefutably been the source of the current tempest.”
The good archbishop certainly got that right. Having Roger Mahony as one of your episcopal guests of honor is a sure sign that storms will continue. Mahony, a gospel choir “leading the music” at a Catholic bishop’s installation Mass – all that was missing was Ted McCarrick. Did Jim Martin make the trip down from New York? Also, I am sure that the soon-to-be Cardinal Gregory will be doing his utmost from his new perch in Washington to bring about the election of whatever the Democrats vomit up in 2020.
“We clerics and hierarchs have irrefutably been the source of the current tempest.”
The good archbishop certainly got that right. Having Roger Mahony as one of your episcopal guests of honor is a sure sign that storms will continue. Mahony, a gospel choir “leading the music” at a Catholic bishop’s installation Mass – all that was missing was Ted McCarrick. Did Jim Martin make the trip down from New York? Also, I am sure that the soon-to-be Cardinal Gregory will be doing his utmost from his new perch in Washington to bring about the election of whatever the Democrats vomit up in 2020.
“this local faith community,”
Does that mean the diocese? If so, why doesn’t he say so, instead of using silly circumlocutions?