Hello and welcome!
As I mentioned last week, this is the time of year when we hold a Mass of the Holy Spirit at each of our three seminaries to begin the academic year. So, last Thursday, I went to celebrate the Mass at our Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Brookline.
It was a wonderful celebration with all the seminarians, at which seminarian Gerson Garcia received the rite of candidacy.
Afterward, there was a lovely dinner where, as always, the seminarians entertained us with their musical talents.
That day also happened to be the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist and the 54th anniversary of my priesthood ordination. So, they were nice enough to have a lovely cake for me.
The following day, we had the Mass of the Holy Spirit at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston.
We were joined by several members of the Board of Trustees and, of course, the faculty and students. This year, we have about ten seminarians studying for the Archdiocese of Boston there, which is very encouraging.
Saturday, my old and dear friend Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington was at the cathedral to celebrate the wedding of friends of his from Atlanta.
It was very nice to have a chance to visit with him.
He was so impressed with the cathedral’s renovations. He had not had a chance to see them yet, so I was pleased to give him a short tour.
Every year, Father Bob Casey hosts a barbecue for priests on Labor Day weekend.
So, on Sunday, we went to South Boston to join about 60 or 70 priests for the festivities.
We were fortunate to have beautiful weather that day, and it was held outside on the patio behind the rectory. Father Casey is always very gracious in hosting the priests, and everyone enjoyed being together.
On Tuesday, I was visited by Father Andrea Filippucci, a Boston priest on loan to the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Father Andrea has been in the US Virgin Islands for almost three years and is currently the Vicar General of the Diocese and the Pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish in Frederiksted, St. Croix.
Father Andrea Filippucci
St. Joseph’s Parish
Father Andrea with the Bishop of the Diocese of St. Thomas, Bishop Jerome Feudjio
He was visiting with Father Louis Kemayou, a priest from the Virgin Islands, to make mission appeals. They visited two parishes in Cambridge: Saint John the Evangelist and St. Peter’s.
He has shared with me some of their prepared remarks about their needs there, and I would like to share them with you.
Despite its beauty, the Diocese of St. Thomas is the smallest and poorest diocese in the United States. Our Chancery, parishes, and Catholic schools currently rely heavily on outside donations to cover the cost of their operations, especially after the devastating hurricanes that inflicted a serious blow on our economy and destroyed our tourism industry.
Clergy in St. Thomas
There is a great deal of poverty within this territory. Many people still live far beneath the “poverty line.” That is why, on all three islands, we have a very active Catholic Charities program. It includes homeless shelters, soup kitchens, food pantries, and clothing distribution centers, as well as providing the needed financial support to the nuns who live in rented apartments and work in our schools and parishes.
Catholic Charities distributing food
Your Mission Cooperative Plan collections will help us fund our Catholic Charities, continue with our recovery efforts to repair and rebuild school and parish structures affected by previous hurricanes, and care for our priests, nuns and seminarians. Since we do not have a seminary of our own, it takes us about $40.000 to form our seminarians each year.
Painting
After cleaning a cistern
Power washing the roof of a church
Furthermore, we invite your parish to join our “missions program.” This pioneering initiative offers an opportunity for groups sponsored by your parish or affiliated organizations to engage in meaningful missions within the Diocese of St. Thomas. We are grateful for your great generosity, prayers, and active support for our pastoral work. May God reward and bless you abundantly. If you would like to help the work of the diocese of St. Thomas, please visit www.catholicvi.com.
This week’s theme seems to be episcopal visits because, over Labor Day weekend, I was visited by Cardinal Arlindo Gomes Furtado, the bishop of Santiago in Cape Verde. He was here as part of the 500th anniversary celebrations of his diocese and stopped by the cathedral.
I also had a visit from Bishop Robert Chrzaszcz, the auxiliary Bishop of Krakow in Poland, who was here to celebrate the Portuguese Mass as part of the huge celebration for Our Lady of Fatima they hold every year in Ludlow around Labor Day. (It might seem surprising that they invited a Polish bishop to celebrate a Portuguese Mass, but he had been a missionary in Brazil for 15 years.) While he was in the area, he wanted to see the cathedral, so he came by to say hello.
They were in their street clothes for their visit to Boston, but you can tell the bishop by his pectoral cross.
One of the priests who accompanied the bishop (on the far left of the photo) is Father Pedro de Oliveira, who is the pastor in Ludlow. His family is from Fall River, so I’ve known him since he was a seminarian. It was nice to be able to see him again, as well.
Until next week,
Cardinal Seán