Father Steven Maekawa. / Credit: Photo by Ron Nicholl
Vatican City, Jul 11, 2023 / 10:18 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has named Dominican Father Steven Maekawa, a former active duty military chaplain, as the next bishop of Fairbanks, Alaska.
The Vatican announced the appointment on July 11. Maekawa will take on the role of leading a diocese that spans more than 400,000 square miles, the largest diocese in the United States geographically.
The 55-year-old Dominican friar has been based in Alaska since 2016, serving as the pastor of Holy Family Old Cathedral in Anchorage.
Maekawa was awarded a special medal in active duty for his work as a military chaplain in the U.S. Navy Reserve, serving a tour of duty with ground troops in Afghanistan in 2004.
Born in Seattle on Nov. 22, 1967, Maekawa earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture at the University of Washington before entering religious life in the Dominicans’ Western U.S. province.
He studied at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California, where he earned a master of divinity degree in 1998, the same year he was ordained to the priesthood.
Maekawa has served as the chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Washington (1998–2002) and as the vocations director of the Western Dominican Province (2007–2015). He ministered in San Francisco and Seattle before moving to Anchorage seven years ago.
In Fairbanks, Maekawa will succeed Bishop Chad Zielinski, whom Pope Francis appointed as the bishop of New Ulm, Minnesota, last year.
The Diocese of Fairbanks has 46 Catholic parishes, only nine of which can be reached by car. The new bishop will need to use a bush plane to reach some remote Catholic parishes, including in native Yup’ik, Cup’ik, and Inupiat communities.
The northernmost diocese in the U.S. has a total population of 166,800 people, roughly 11,500 of whom are Catholics. It is also a poor diocese with only eight parishes that are self-supporting. In some remote churches, parishioners are only able to receive sacraments from a priest every two or three months with priests traveling long distances over difficult terrain and harsh weather conditions.
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Smoke billows over the northern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment from southern Israel on December 14, 2023 amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. / Credit: Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images
Rome Newsroom, May 19, 2023 / 10:30 am (CNA).
A Vatican magistrate has sentenced the unidentified man who forcibly entered Vatican City on Thursday night to mandatory psychiatric treatment, accor… […]
The “Holy Fire” is passed from inside Christ’s tomb to pilgrims gathered inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jersusalem on May 4, 2024, for the annual Orthodox Christian ceremony, held on the day before Easter, according to the Julian calendar. / Credit: Marinella Bandini/CNA
Jerusalem, May 5, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).
Pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem Saturday for the annual “Holy Fire” ceremony at the revered site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection, an ancient custom considered by many believers to be a miraculous event that takes place the day before the Orthodox Christian celebration of Easter.
For safety reasons, attendance at the May 4 event was capped at 4,200 people inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, though the crowds were more manageable and somewhat subdued this year because of a lack of pilgrims from the Palestinian territories and abroad due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli police man a checkpoint inside the Old City of Jerusalem during the “Holy Fire” ceremony held at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on May 4. 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini/CNA
Access to the Old City where the basilica is located was restricted beginning on Friday night amid a heavy police presence. Numerous medical personnel and firefighters were present inside the basilica.
Though its authenticity is disputed by some, the “Holy Fire” or “Holy Light” refers to a fire of purported divine origin that ignites inside Jesus’ tomb while only the Greek Orthodox patriarch is present. Pilgrims then light their candles by extending them through a small opening in the tomb, producing a dramatic scene of flickering flames and joyous celebration.
The Orthodox Christian ceremony, which is attended by Catholics and other Christians, as well, has been held continuously since at least 1106, though accounts dating to the fourth century relate that the apostle Peter saw the holy light himself inside the tomb.
Pilgrims carry candles lit from the “Holy Fire” inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem on May 4, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini/CNA
The doors of the Holy Sepulcher were opened at 9 a.m. by Greek Orthodox representatives and again at 9.30 a.m. by representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church — the two Orthodox communities that serve with Catholic Franciscans as the custodians of the site. Only then did the faithful begin to enter the basilica.
Around 11 a.m., those present began to sing traditional hymns in the loudest voice possible. These chants date back to the Turkish occupation of Jerusalem in the 13th century when Christians were not allowed to chant anywhere but in the churches.
The heart of the ceremony was between 1 and 2 in the afternoon. After the solemn entrances of the other Orthodox patriarchs of Jerusalem, the Greek Orthodox patriarch, Theophilos III, entered the basilica.
Previously, the doors of the Aedicule (the small shrine that houses the tomb of Jesus Christ) had been sealed with a large wax seal — signifying that the tomb had been inspected and that nothing was present that could be used to start a fire. Shortly before the arrival of the Greek patriarch, the seal was removed, and a large oil lamp was carried into the tomb.
After completing three rounds around the Aedicule, leading a procession of monks and priests, Patriarch Theophilos III entered the Aedicule, followed by a delegate of the Armenian patriarch (who could not attend due to an internal dispute) and several bishops from various denominations.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III exits the Aedicule of the Holy Sepulcher on May 4, 2024, in Jerusalem, showing the faithful the two candles just lit from the oil lamp that is believed to have been miraculously ignited inside Jesus’ tomb. Credit: Studio Sami Jerusalem
Only the Greek Orthodox patriarch is allowed to enter the chamber that houses the tomb of Jesus, while all the others remain in the Chapel of the Angel, a sort of antechamber that commemorates the appearance of a heavenly messenger to the women at the tomb announcing Jesus’ resurrection.
Before entering the tomb, the Greek patriarch was inspected by Israeli authorities to prove that he didn’t carry any technical means to light the fire.
All the lights and lamps in the basilica were extinguished, especially those inside the Aedicule, which was left in darkness.
What believers attest to be a miracle takes place after a brief time of prayer: A holy fire is said to descend from heaven and ignite an oil lamp inside the tomb.
Pilgrims inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher hold their candles aloft after the “Holy Fire” was ignited inside Jesus’ tomb on May 4, 2024, the day before the Orthodox Christian celebration of Easter. Credit: Marinella Bandini/CNA
On Saturday, after the lamp was lit the Greek Orthodox patriarch emerged from the tomb and lit bundles of 33 candles (a number representing the age of Christ at the time of his crucifixion and resurrection.) Meanwhile, pilgrims lit their candles also from the small round windows on the sides of the Aedicule, creating a dramatic scene outside the tomb. It is said that the fire does not burn anything (or anyone) for the first 33 minutes after being lit.
For Orthodox believers, the lighting of the fire is a genuine miraculous event, although voices within the Orthodox world itself have repeatedly questioned the authenticity of the miracle, attributing the spontaneous lighting of the lamp to tricks or chemical methods.
A lamp used to transport the “Holy Fire” from the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem to Bethlehem is carried at the lighting ceremony on May 4, 2024. By longstanding tradition, the flames from the purported miraculous fire are brought to the main Orthodox churches in the Holy Land and sent to the main Orthodox churches around the world via specially arranged flights. Credit: Marinella Bandini/CNA
In solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and the victims of the war, the Orthodox Christians have chosen a more subdued celebration this year. To that end, the Holy Fire was not passed hand to hand through the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, as is the custom, but was brought directly into the homes of the faithful.
Special lanterns transport flames from the tomb to the main Orthodox churches in the Holy Land and around the world (via specially arranged flights). The arrival of the flames from Jerusalem will mark the beginning of the Easter celebrations.
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