I hope you all had a very happy and blessed Triduum and Easter with your families and loved ones. Mine was truly wonderful. But before I get to that, I’d like to share with you some of my experiences over the last month.

On March 3, I participated in a Zoom meeting regarding the situation in Ukraine.  

Archbishop Borys Gudziak, the Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia, has started a campaign called the Healing of Wounds of the War in Ukraine Fund to help rebuild and provide humanitarian aid to the people there.  I had suggested this to him at the time the war began.  So, we gave him some help from Boston, and they’ve been very successful in raising money and trying to help people to be aware of the situation there.

Archbishop Gudziak had a prayer service and meeting in which people from all over the country participated, and he asked me to lead a prayer and to make some remarks.

We’re still praying for the people of Ukraine and are grateful to those like Archbishop Gudziak, who has helped the people materially and pastorally and is doing so much to keep the needs of Ukraine before people’s minds here in the States.

On March 9, I traveled to Georgetown University for a Mass and conference on the role of women in the Church.  It was organized by Kim Daniels, who is now the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.  She had this synodal gathering of Vatican and U.S. women leadership, and it was wonderful to see so many women there who I had been with for the two sessions of the Synod on Synodality.

Among those present were Myriam Wijlens, a Dutch theologian who served with me on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, and Sister Nathalie Becquart, a French nun who is the undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod.

I had Mass for them in one of the little chapels there at Georgetown.

It was good to see them all again and to see that they are continuing to study synodality and see how it can be applied in the life of our Church.

On March 14, I was in Miami for the funeral of my first cousin, Deacon Rob O’Malley.

His father was a young lawyer in Miami when he died at about 40, leaving nine children.  Rob was the oldest and became a kind of surrogate father to his younger brothers and sisters.  Later on, he became a lawyer himself, but for the last 40 years had been a deacon at his parish, St. Richard’s, and had been teaching at Belén Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami.  It was a very big funeral, with about 800 people.  Of course, he had a very big family, but I think the numbers also reflected his many years of ministry in those two communities.

I reflected on Rob’s life in my homily and, afterwards, we heard some words of remembrance from Rob’s son.

It was a very nice funeral.  And, of course, as you would expect from my family, we had the bagpipes and the singing of “Our Lady of Knock.”

Because I was in Miami for the funeral, I joined Father Mario Castaneda, who had been my secretary when I was Bishop there, for lunch with the new Bishop of Palm Beach, Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez.  We were also joined by Bishop Gerald Barbarito, who followed me in Palm Beach and served there for over 20 years.  Bishop Manuel is originally from Santo Domingo but was a pastor in Brooklyn at St. Peter and Paul’s Church, where the former pastor, Mgsr. Augustin, was a very good friend of mine.  I had been unable to attend his installation because I was giving a retreat at the time, so I was very glad to have the opportunity to meet him and talk to him, and Bishop Barbarito again.

After lunch, I took a walk and passed by the Brickell City Center, which is this huge shopping center downtown.  I had read in the paper that it was the most photographed street in Miami, but I wasn’t really sure where it was.  Then, as I was walking along, I saw all these young people there with their phones taking pictures, and I said, “Oh, this is the street.” So I took a picture too, to be in on the craze!

On March 15, I participated in a Zoom meeting for the planning of the next New York Encounter.

This event has become such a success, with about 30,000 young people participating this year.  I am very grateful to Olivetta Danese and all of those involved in preparing the program.  It’s so much work, but it is a wonderful means of evangelization and gathering young people where they can learn more about their faith and experience a sense of deep community with other young Catholics.  So, I’m happy to be a part of their efforts.

Then, on March 22, I went to The Catholic University of America for the Gratus Dinner that they hold each year to thank the college’s benefactors.

I was very honored by the recognition of the Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley Endowed Chair for the Study of Hispanic Catholics in America among the programs they highlighted.

It’s one of a number of endowed chairs they are working on, which is a very good way for a university to be able to expand its reach, but also have the financial backing so that it can continue.

As I always do when I’m in Washington, I stayed at Capuchin College, where I was very happy to see Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Congo, who was with me on the C9 Council of Cardinals.

He was staying there for a month to study English.  Also, at the same time, Bishop Donald Lippert was visiting from Papua New Guinea.  So, actually, there were three Capuchin bishops at Capuchin College at the same time.  I think that’s probably a record!

Father Emelio, Bishop Don and I also went to visit my old friends Tony and Manela Diez.  Tony’s been sick, and I wanted to check in on them.

Manela worked with me years ago at Centro Católico, where she ran a number of the education programs.  The biggest one was a program to train women to be bilingual secretaries.  So, you could come to the Centro Católico, learn English, get a high school equivalency in Spanish, and then learn how to be a bilingual secretary to get a job somewhere like the World Bank or an embassy.  It was a wonderful program, and she was such a big help to me.

She was also one of the people who helped type my doctoral dissertation.  It was in five different languages, and she and two sisters helped me do it.  (We had to rent extra typewriters.) I always say that those of us who got our PhDs in the past should have a star by our names, meaning we had to do it with no word processors or computers.  Every page would have to be typed two or three times because you’d make a mistake; you’d have to retype the page, and when you did, you would probably make a second mistake.  And it just went on and on!  So, if it hadn’t been for Manela and the sisters, I would never have gotten that dissertation finished in those days.

When it came time to graduate, they asked me when the ceremony was.  I said, “Oh, I’m not going to the ceremony.” And they said, “You certainly are going to that ceremony!” They would have killed me if I hadn’t gone; they worked so hard on that.

On March 28, I attended the Faith and Veritas conference at Harvard University, at which Mary Ann Glendon was honored with the establishment of a Harvard Law School fellowship in her name, the Mary Ann Glendon Fellowship Program in Law, Life, & Liberty.

She gave an extraordinary talk, and I was asked to offer some remarks as well, which I’d like to share with you here:

At some formal affair, perhaps at Oxford, an Anglican divine was introducing Sir Winston Churchill and referred to him as “a pillar of the church.” Churchill corrected him, saying, “I am not a pillar of the church, I am more like a flying buttress.” In Psalm 144, we read, “that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth, that our daughters may be pillars, carved columns beautiful as those of the temple.” Mary Ann Glendon is a strong pillar and beautiful column in the Lord’s Temple.

It is a great joy to be here with all of you today at this Faith and Veritas conference here at Harvard University and to express our delight that you have decided to honor Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon for her outstanding contributions to our country, to our church, and to our community. This university is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and has been a force for the good in so many areas of life. It is not surprising that Harvard would recognize the genius of Mary Ann Glendon and her contributions.

My friendship with Mary Ann Glendon goes back 35 years, when I first came to Massachusetts as Bishop of Fall River. I have always known her to be a woman of deep faith committed to the values of the gospel. Her unwavering commitment to the defense of the dignity of human life, made in the image and likeness of God, and her eloquent promotion of human rights, especially freedom of religion and conscience, have been inspirational.

This ancient institution of Harvard, in its history, has had three mottos: “In Christi Gloriam”, “Christo et Ecclesiae”, and, more recently, “Veritas.” All three of these stirring ideals find an echo in Mary Ann Glendon’s personal life as well as in her professional and academic life. Her path has always been what Anselm of Canterbury describes in his concept of “Fides querens intellectum.” There is no contradiction between faith and reason; both illumine the path to truth, to Veritas.

Reason left to its own devices eventually abandons the search for great truth, and that diminishes our humanity, and we lose direction. As Pope Francis said: “There is an urgent need then, to see once again that the faith is a light, for once the flame of faith dies out, all other lights begin to dim.” Thanks to faith, we have come to understand the unique dignity of each person. Without the insight of faith into the realities of God’s embracing all humanity, there is no criterion for discerning what makes human life precious and unique. Man loses his place in the universe; he is cast adrift in nature, either renouncing his proper moral responsibility or else presuming to be a sort of absolute judge, endowed with an unlimited power to manipulate the world around him. (Lumen Fidei 54)

The Second Vatican Council defines the role of the laity as a call to sanctify the secular order, politics, culture, economy, and the family. Gaudium et Spes, the Council’s pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, sees the church’s mission as engaging with, serving, and understanding the world’s joys, hopes, and anxieties. It emphasizes promoting human dignity, the common good, and dialogue with contemporary culture. Today, we are honoring a woman who is the incarnation of those ideals of a modern Catholic leader. We have all been the beneficiaries of her talent, generosity and goodness, and we relish this opportunity publicly to manifest thanks to God for the gift of this great lay woman in our midst.

In a recent book, talking about the crucial role of the laity, Mary Ann quotes two great modern prophets in the church: St. John Henry Newman and the soon-to-be-Blessed Fulton Sheen. St. John Henry Newman, in response to the bishop who asked what he thought of the laity, said: “We looked pretty foolish without them”. And when Fulton Sheen was asked, “Who is going to save the church?” He replied: “Not our bishops, not our priests and religious! It is up to you, the lay people! You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the church!”  Mary Ann Glendon’s service to the church as a dedicated lay woman has been a great blessing. Pope Paul VI said that more than teachers, we need witnesses.

Mary Ann Glendon’s vocation has been both to be a teacher and to be a witness. I have known so many of her students who have expressed their gratitude for having had such a guide, not just in their academic life but in their spiritual life. She is a great teacher who inspires with her brilliant intellect but also with her vision and courageous defense of the truth. Mary Ann Glendon has never been a person to teach one thing and do another. Her coherent life of fidelity and service reinforces the message that she expresses so eloquently in academia and in the public square. Her capacity to articulate the ideals of the gospel for modern people has touched the hearts and minds of many who may never have had the opportunity to glimpse the truth that her intellectual prowess, personal virtue and eloquent arguments communicated to them.

Mary Ann, your life has been marked by the unfailing devotion and love of Ed Lev and your beautiful daughters, as well as the affection and gratitude of your many students and coworkers, the admiration of countless people all over the world, and the confidence deposited in you by presidents of the United States as well as popes of the Catholic Church who have called upon you for great responsibilities. I am proud to be counted among those who recommended that you be named an ambassador. For a while, Boston had a lock on Vatican ambassadorships with three stars: Ray Flynn, Ken Hackett and Mary Ann Glendon. But for full disclosure, I should tell you, I also recommended that they name you a Supreme Court Justice. I’m still waiting on that one.

While in Cambridge, I passed this statue of Charles Sumner.  I must have gone by it a million times in Cambridge, and I never knew that was him.

There was a wonderful book about him that came out last year, “Charles Sumner: The Conscience of a Nation” by Zaakir Tameez, and I was so impressed with his life.  To me, he was one of the great Bostonians.  He was a huge promoter of human rights, a sworn enemy of slavery, and one of Abraham Lincoln’s closest advisers.  In fact, he was with Lincoln when he died.  And he himself, when he was a senator, was almost beaten to death by a Southern senator with a cane because of his speeches against slavery.

The interesting thing about him is that his father was a graduate of Harvard but had all kinds of economic problems, and so the family lived in a poor section of Beacon Hill that was predominantly Black.  So, his opinions about slavery and about Black people were shaped by the fact that he grew up in a Black community and knew how capable they were.  Many of the people who opposed slavery thought the solution was to send the Black population back to Africa from whence they had been kidnapped, but he saw how these Black Americans could make a great contribution and really were a valuable part of the community.

So, he was very forward-looking.  So much so that, later, when they finally desegregated the schools, the judges went back and were using arguments that he had used when he was trying to get them to allow Black students into public schools in Boston at the time of the Civil War.  It’s a very interesting story, so when I saw that statue, I was very struck by it.

On March 30, I celebrated the funeral Mass for Ann Carter at St. Paul Parish in Wellesley.  Sadly, she declined very quickly from a very aggressive cancer.  It was only a few weeks ago that she came to visit me at the cathedral, and she would always make homemade pasta for us.

Ann was a great woman, and I had recommended her to Pope Francis for the Dicastery for Communications in Rome.  Both she and Kim Daniels were two American members of the Dicastery and both of them are extremely competent, committed, wonderful Catholic laywomen who have been invaluable to the Church with the advice and help they have given.  Kim actually wrote a beautiful article for Vatican News about Ann, which I quoted in my comments at the funeral and that I’d like to share with you here:

The overwhelming sentiments that pulsate in our hearts this morning are those of gratitude for the life and goodness of our friend Ann Carter and the sorrow that crushes our hearts like a stone as we contemplate her departure. Our faith gives us the consolation that life is not ended but merely changed. As believers, we know that our life is a round-trip ticket: our origins are in God, and we return to him as our destiny and destination. 

During this Lenten season, we have a beautiful devotion which we call the Stations of the Cross. In one of the stations, Jesus stops to console the women of Jerusalem who are weeping because of his suffering. Although Jesus was enduring such excruciating pain and humiliation, he was not thinking about himself but sought to console those holy women who are overwhelmed by the sight of his pain. This Lent has been Ann Carter’s Stations of the Cross, but like Jesus, she was focused not on her own suffering but on her desire to mitigate the suffering of her loved ones.

For many years, as a young friar, my day began at 4:45 a.m., chanting the Litany of the Saints in Latin. One of the petitions of that litany is: “A subitanea et improvisa morte, libera me, Domine.”  (“From a sudden and un-provided death, Lord deliver us.”  At the time, it seemed to me to be counterintuitive. We all seem to want to die in our sleep, dying painlessly and quickly. Anne’s was not a sudden death, and certainly not an un-provided death. She died surrounded by love, all the while communicating her love and strength to her family and friends. If any could speak to us here today, she would tell us not to weep, that love is stronger than death.

When a meteor comes crashing to earth, it leaves a huge footprint. Ann was a star who made a huge impression on our community. It was always a delight to be with Ann. She radiated energy, light and joy. She had a genuine interest in people and their well-being. In a world where common sense is the least common of the senses, Ann was a woman of great intellectual capacity, good humor, true wisdom and unwavering common sense. It has often been said that we will remember people not because of what they say or what they do, but how they make us feel. In the case of Ann, I’m sure that we shall remember her sayings and her deeds, but especially how good she made us feel.

In today’s world, there is a crisis of suspicion. People do not trust that they are being told the truth by politicians, business executives, doctors, the clergy or the media. We are literally drowning in information, but we don’t know what to believe. Certainly, people demand that others tell them the truth, even when they’re not convinced they have the same obligations themselves. Ann Carter brought to her professional life honesty and sincerity that allowed reasonable people to overcome their suspicion and cynicism.

 I want to quote here from Kim Daniels, who wrote this for the Vatican news: “Ann exemplified credibility and fostered trust, which she knew was born, in Pope Francis’s words, not from marketing or strategizing but from the beating heart of the Gospel. Her counsel was rooted in the conviction that good communication begins with substance, not spin and that substance grows from truly listening to others. She articulated this as a professional principle, but it was first a personal one. She listened to people with patience and attentiveness that made everyone around her feel genuinely heard.”

 As soon as I heard about Ann’s passing, I informed Pope Leo of her death and of the extraordinary service that she gave to the Church of Boston and to the Vatican during the pontificate of Pope Francis. The Holy Father assured me of his prayers for Ann and for all of us here today who mourn her passing. May our beloved friend celebrate this Easter in the realms of eternal light and joy with our Risen Lord.

We also want to remember Bishop Bill Murphy, who passed away at the end of March.  As many people know, he was an auxiliary here for a long time before becoming Bishop of Rockville Centre on Long Island.  He retired in 2016, and for about the past year, he had been living with us at Regina Cleri.

His funeral was this week, and I felt badly that I wasn’t able to get to New York for it, but we want to express our condolences to the people of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Bishop John Barres and his friends and family.  We also want to express our gratitude for the staff at Regina Cleri, who always take such good care of our priests.

Finally, of course, last week was Holy Week, and I was happy to be able to join the celebrations with people here in Boston.

On Tuesday, of course, we had the annual Chrism Mass, and it was wonderful to see everybody.

On Holy Thursday, I had the Mass at St. Mary’s in Brookline.  Then, on Friday, we had the procession here at the cathedral, and I had the English services in the afternoon and the Spanish services in the evening.

Saturday, I concelebrated the Easter Vigil with Bishop Robert Reed at the cathedral.

He has a great voice, and he sings absolutely everything.  It’s amazing!  He puts every priest to shame!  I was amazed.  We know that he will bring that beautiful way of presenting the liturgy to his new role as rector of St. John’s Seminary as he trains future priests.

On Easter Sunday, I had the Spanish Mass, and the cathedral was packed.  It was very encouraging.

Everybody’s talking about how this Holy Week, numbers are up, and many more people are coming into the Church, which brought to mind this picture I received from Father Maurus in Washington of the Capuchin Church in Zagreb during Holy Week.

They had 50,000 confessions, and you can see the people lined up down the street.  I know a lot of our churches where we have many confessions, but 50,000 in one week is a lot by any standard!

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

It’s a joy to be with you once again.  As we continue our Lenten journey and begin to enjoy the warmer weather (and melting snow!) I’d like to share with you some of my experiences of the past month.

My first event of February was the installation of Archbishop Hicks as the new Archbishop of New York on February 6.

I first met Archbishop Hicks shortly after he was named a bishop because, as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, I would often be asked to give a conference on safeguarding to the new bishops at what we call the “baby bishops school.” Every year, they gather the about 300 men who have been named bishops during the course of that year, and they go to Rome for a series of seminars.  One of the talks is always on safeguarding, and he invited me to join him and the other American bishops for dinner afterwards.

I got to hear about his experiences in El Salvador and in Mexico, and I was very impressed.  Now that he is in New York, I feel that he has a lot to offer the archdiocese.  Certainly, Cardinal Dolan was an extraordinary shepherd for the people of New York, especially being the larger-than-life personality that he is.  But I know that Archbishop Hicks brings a lot of gifts to his new role, and particularly his experience with Hispanic ministry will be invaluable in an archdiocese like New York.

Then, from February 9 to 17, I traveled to San Francisco for a retreat of the bishops of the San Francisco Province.

It was always a joy to stay with our Capuchin friars there.  I stayed in the house that’s near the University of San Francisco.

Their province was started by the Capuchins from Ireland, and that’s why they have the statue of Our Lady of Knock in their garden.

It’s a formation house for the postulants, and my sister Mary Ellen lives very close to them.  So, I was able to see her, my nephew, and his family in the days as we got ready for the retreat.  (I felt a little guilty about being there while we were suffering this terrible cold spell here in the Northeast.  I left Boston when it was one degree and got to San Francisco, where it was about 60 degrees!)

The retreat itself was at the Jesuit retreat house just outside San Francisco in a place called Los Altos.  It’s a beautiful house where they are so hospitable.

The retreat was for the bishops of the Province of San Francisco, which is all the northern California dioceses plus Honolulu.  So, Bishop Silva from Honolulu was there, as well as Bishop Barber, a Jesuit himself, who was our spiritual director at St. John’s Seminary for a long time.

On February 19, I went to the Catholic University of America for a retreat day for the three ecclesiastical faculties: philosophy, theology, and canon law.  I gave them two conferences and celebrated a closing Mass, but the big event was what they call the Dean’s Vespers in the evening.

I preached at the Vespers, and they invited all the seminarians to join us at St. Vincent’s Chapel.  This was the day after Ash Wednesday, so I spoke on themes of conversion, baptismal retreats, and prayer.

From there, I traveled to Spain, because I had been invited to celebrate a Mass for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Carmelite Sisters of Charity of Vedruna.  These are the sisters who worked with me for many years in Washington.

My first stop was in Madrid because that’s where the sisters have their retirement community.  I was very happy to visit, celebrate Mass and have lunch with them.

One of the sisters, Sister Covadonga, is 90 years old.  She was just a joy to meet!

While I was in Madrid, I stayed with the Capuchins at the Basilica of Jesús de Medinaceli, and I walked through the neighborhood.

The Capuchin church is right downtown near the Prado and Los Jerónimos, which is a very important landmark.

The Jerónimos ran the Escorial, where I taught in 1970.  The order itself was suppressed, but their church has that wonderful painting of the Last Communion of St. Jerome behind the high altar.

I also visited the family of Louis and Matilde Alvim. Matilde’s mother, Maria, was one of my parishioners at my Portuguese parish in Washington many moons ago, so I baptized Matilde.  And, now, Louis and Matilde have nine children, and I have the privilege of baptizing them all!

Luis is not in the photo because he was traveling on business to Milan — though we suspect that he really went there for the Winter Olympics!

Next, I traveled to Barcelona and stayed with the Cardinal in the bishop’s residence, which is a very historic building.  One of the chapels is in a tower built by Caesar Augustus.

That day, I also visited the Cathedral del Mar.  It is a huge and beautiful church that was built very much with the participation of the people — the stevedores, sailors, and fishermen of the city.

St. Ignatius of Loyola went there as a young man on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land without any money and was begging.  So, they have a very modern statue there to represent St. Ignatius as a beggar.

From there, we drove about 35 miles north to Vic, where the Sisters’ anniversary celebration was held.

Their foundress, St. Joaquina, was from an aristocratic family in Vic, which is a walled and historically significant city.

She founded this order to teach girls, run schools, perform works of mercy, and care for the sick.  It was at the time of the Napoleonic wars, and for a while she had to flee to France.  So it was a difficult founding, but she was accompanied by a very holy and famous Capuchin friar, Friar Esteban de Olot, and she wanted to found a Franciscan order.  But, as I mentioned in my homily, the bishop turned them into Carmelites.

But her religious name was Joaquina de San Francisco de Asis, and the order is still rather large in Spain.  They have about 1,100 sisters and run 70 schools in Spain, and their sisters are also in Africa, India, and Latin America.

The sisters who worked with me when I was a young priest in Washington were just extraordinary women.  They were so dedicated to the poor and so faithful in their religious life that they were a great example to me.  They even made me an honorary member of their community many years ago.

For the Mass itself, there were maybe three or four hundred sisters there, assembled in their beautiful chapel.  The chapel is extraordinary, and the tabernacle is just a treasure.

They had wonderful music, and the sisters composed a lot of the songs, and some of their students from their different schools sang.  Afterward, they held a wonderful banquet in their school’s gymnasium, and the students prepared and served an extraordinary meal for everyone.

There were many civil officials and other dignitaries with us for the celebration, including the Abbot of Montserrat.  Regular readers will remember that last year, when I gave the priest retreat in Barcelona, the Capuchins took me to visit Montserrat, a monastery over a thousand years old, where St. Ignatius of Loyola experienced his great conversion.  It’s one of the most important Benedictine abbeys in the world, and so I was delighted to see the abbot again.

We were also joined by the local bishop, Bishop Román Casanova.

While in Vic, I was able to visit the tomb of St. Anthony Mary Claret, who is also from that city.

I wanted to go there to pray for Cuba.  He was the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba and brought a lot of energy and evangelization to Cuba at a time of great crisis.  So, I was happy to be able to pray there.

When I returned to Barcelona, I visited the National Museum of Catalan Art at Montjuïc, where they have an extraordinary collection of Romanesque art from medieval churches in Catalunya.

They have a process where they put canvases on the walls of these old churches, and it allows them to take the frescoes right off the wall so they can put them in the museum.  And apparently, a lot of them have Italian influence because many of the people making the pilgrimage to Compostela would pass through Catalunya.  So, it was a very interesting exhibit.

Finally, I’d like to express congratulations and offer our prayers for Friar José Ángel, the new superior of our friars in Puerto Rico, who held their chapter last month.

I worked in Puerto Rico when I was a subdeacon and, over the years, have ordained many of their friars as priests.  So I have always felt very close to the men there who are part of our province of St. Augustine.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

As we prepare for the start of Lent later this month, I am happy to share with you some of the events and experiences that have filled my month of January.

From January 6 to 9, I was in Rome, as Pope Leo XIV called his first extraordinary consistory.  It may have been the largest consistory ever.  I think there were like 160 cardinals there, which was very impressive.

We began with Mass in the San Sebastiano Chapel.  Then, the initial session was in the Synod Hall, which is upstairs in the Paul VI audience building.

Then there were sessions of discussion among the cardinals, where we used the main audience hall.

We were in different linguistic groups, and there were a number of themes that were talked about: Praedicate Evangelium and the reform of the Curia, the relationship between the Curia and the bishops’ conferences, the whole notion of synodality, and the question of liturgy.  And of course, there were opportunities for informal conversation.

It was a wonderful experience, and all the cardinals were delighted to be a part of it.  We were very pleased that the Holy Father announced that he would have another one of these extraordinary synods before the feast of Saints Peter and Paul in June.

As I usually do, while at the Vatican, I stayed at the Casa Santa Marta, where I noticed this picture.

It is in the basement where the coffee machine is.  I must have walked by it a thousand times and never paid it any attention.  But this last time I went by, it was sort of like the conversion of St. Teresa of Avila when she saw the Ecce Homo.  I said, “Oh my gads, that’s Martha and Mary!” Of course, in the Casa Santa Marta, why wouldn’t you have Marta?

Just before the consistory, we also held a meeting of some of the cardinals at the Campo Santo Teutonico (the Teutonic Cemetery), which has been there for centuries.  Pope Leo III gave the land to the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne back in 799 to serve as a hospice for German pilgrims.

The cemetery is located where the Circus of Nero once stood, and it was the site of the martyrdom of so many of the early Christians of Rome.  In fact, the cemetery chapel marks the very spot where St. Peter was killed.

Today, a seminary stands where the old hospice used to be, receiving priests from Germany and Austria who come to Rome for their studies.  As you look through the cemetery, you see the graves of many notable figures, including Sister Pascalina Lehnert, the famous housekeeper of Pope Pius XII.  They also have some wonderful exhibits there about Pope Benedict XVI, which is very fitting as he was the first German pope in about 1,000 years when he was elected.

In this photo, you can see St. Peter’s Basilica just behind the cemetery walls, and the yellow/ orange building to the side is the German seminary.

Of course, being there at the beginning of January, it was nice to be able to see the Vatican Christmas decorations still up.  The Christmas tree was just spectacular, and this year’s crèche was very impressive.

The theme was from the beautiful Italian Christmas carol “Tu scendi dalle stelle” (“You Come Down from the Stars”) written by St. Alphonsus Liguori.  And in the crèche scene, they have St. Alphonsus to the side in his bishop’s robes, composing the carol.

During my time in Rome, I was also able to visit with some of my Capuchin brothers, including Brother Robert and Brother Diogo, who are in the Capuchin Curia.

And I also met up with my good friend Cardinal Adalberto Martínez.

From January 12 to 16, I traveled to the Bethany Center in Lutz, Florida, for the retreat for Episcopal Region III, which comprises the bishops of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  This is the same retreat house where Bishop Hennessy always takes the diocesan priests from Boston every year.

There were about 25 bishops, including several Eastern Rite bishops.  In that part of the country, there are many Eastern Rite Catholics: Pittsburgh is an archdiocese for the Byzantine Catholics, and Philadelphia is an archdiocese for the Ukrainian Catholics.  So, we had Mass one day in the Eastern Rite Liturgy, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.  It was a wonderful group.

The weather was very nice until the last night, when it went down to 32 degrees!  The rest of the time, it was about 60.  I was feeling sorry for those poor alligators.

I told the bishops I was worried about them, and I was going to invite them into my room!  I’m not sure what alligators do in the cold, but at least they won’t fall from a tree on you like an iguana.  We never had that problem in the Virgin Islands because it never got that cold, but in Florida, you can be hit by a falling iguana!

On January 21, I attended an event at Georgetown University titled “50 Years Connecting Catholic Social Thought and Public Life: Lessons from John Carr’s Leadership.”

John Carr worked in the peace and justice office of the USCCB for 20 years, and before that, he worked for Cardinal Hickey when I worked for the cardinal in the Archdiocese of Washington.  Of late, he had been running that institute at Georgetown from which he retired at the end of the year, and now it is being run by Kim Daniels.

They had a panel discussion featuring several distinguished speakers, including David Brooks from the New York Times.  He was fascinating, and it was an interesting evening.

One day, while driving through the city, I also happened to pass the Kenesaw apartment building, which brought back many memories of my time living and working in Washington.

The following evening, January 22, I attended the opening Mass of the annual National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  As always, it was standing room only.

We were all very surprised that Bishop Daniel Thomas didn’t have the Mass because he’s the chairman of the USCCB Pro-Life Committee.  But, apparently, he was unable to come due to some medical reasons, so he asked Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, to do it in his stead.  He gave a beautiful homily; I thought it was splendid.

As always, the Mass was standing-room only, and while we didn’t have the same number of bishops as in the past, it was still a very good group.

The concelebrants included Cardinal Robert McElroy, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, and myself.  Cardinal Pierre read a beautiful message from Pope Leo XIV, expressing his “heartfelt appreciation” to the participants for their “eloquent public witness.”

On the morning of January 23, they asked me to do Mass to conclude the vigil, and, once again, we had a full basilica.

In my homily, I told the people that if we aspire to overcome abortion in our world, we must commit ourselves to helping mothers, especially those with a difficult pregnancy and challenging circumstances, with programs such as Walking with Moms in Need and Project Rachel.  I told them that Jesus Christ came into the world as a baby so that we might have life and have it abundantly.  That life in abundance is sustained by grace and that the antidote to abortion is love, compassion and solidarity.

After Mass, I went down to the March.  Of course, it was good to see many familiar faces, including Archbishop Bill Lori and the Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly.

It’s a bit like being in Rome.  You can’t go to Rome or the March for Life without running into people you know from all over the world.

I have been to every March for Life since the first one in 1974, and I was happy I was able to be there again this year.  I was also happy to see so many of our younger generations of Catholics participating.

As I always like to say, the March for Life in Washington is the “poor man’s World Youth Day.” It’s a wonderful opportunity for our young people to experience the faith and enthusiasm of thousands and thousands of their peers.  Especially for those in public schools or other places where their faith might be belittled or ridiculed, it’s very affirming to be part of an assembly like the March for Life.

I know some people wonder why the March for Life still takes place in Washington each year, even after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but I think it is one of the most important events to keep the theme before the eyes of the nation.  The fact that the President and the Vice President would participate, and people on Capitol Hill are aware of it, is very important.

Of course, like much of the eastern half of the country, Washington was hit by a tremendous snowstorm in the days after the March, causing several events to be cancelled.  But by January 31, I was able to travel to New York for an event for the Tallaj Foundation, run by SOMOS.  I was pleased to attend with Bishop Octavio Cisneros and Mario Paredes, two very close friends of mine.

A friend of mine, Dr. Ramon Tallaj, is from Santo Domingo and was brought to New York by Cardinal O’Connor to work in healthcare for the archdiocese and eventually began SOMOS, which is a conglomerate of about 2,000 doctors who work with low-income families in the New York metropolitan area.

He has started a foundation to give scholarships for young men and women who want to study medicine, nursing, or other health-related professions.  They are supporting about 70 young people right now in the New York area and Santo Domingo.  The occasion for the celebration was Dr. Tallaj’s 70th birthday.  And it reminded me how every birthday I had in Boston was used as an excuse for a fundraiser.  So, I was happy it was somebody else’s this time!

Of course, we were all very concerned earlier this week when it looked like many of our Haitian brothers and sisters would be losing their Temporary Protected Status (TPS).  While we are very pleased that this seems to have been paused for the time being, it is likely an issue that will come up again in the coming weeks or months.

Recently, Msgr. Bryan Hehir wrote a very eloquent piece in The Pilot explaining the importance of preserving TPS for Haitian immigrants, and I’d like to share it with you here:

Immigration today is a pervasive fact of life for states, countries, and their societies.  This fact creates a political, legal, and moral challenge which must be addressed.  In a distinctive way immigration creates a challenge for the Church in our country.  It is a challenge we have the resources and the track record to address.  Catholicism in the United States is tied to immigration because of our teaching, our history, and our institutions.

From the Sermon on the Mount to contemporary Catholic Social Teaching, we are instructed to welcome the stranger and to serve the vulnerable in our societies.  Historically, we have been an immigrant Church reaching back since the 19th century.  Socially, we have created the institutions where immigrants from multiple countries and cultures have found first a community of faith and worship, and then have found schools, social services and deep human ties.

Today, our Church and our country are being tested not only by the needs of immigrants, but by a national debate that is too often disparaging of their presence among us and divisive in our political system.  To meet the test we face, we have been inspired by the continuing concern and messages of Pope Leo XIV.  During his first year as the successor of St. Peter, the Holy Father has returned often to the suffering of immigrants, and, at times, to their situation in the United States.  After the U.S. Bishops issued their “Special Message” on immigration from their annual meeting in November 2025, the Holy Father expressed his appreciation and support: “I would like to invite all Catholics — and also people of good will — to listen carefully to what they have said.  I believe we must seek ways of treating people with humanity, with the dignity that is theirs.”

In their “Special Message,” the bishops voiced their pastoral concern about the suffering of immigrants: “We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.  We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and vilification of immigrants.  We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of pastoral care.”
In response to the climate of fear they have observed, the U.S. Bishops went on to oppose “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” as well as to pledge and promise: “we stand with you in your suffering, since when one member suffers, all suffer.” (I Cor. 12:26)
In the face of constantly changing federal policies toward immigrants, one immediate problem we all face is the removal of “Temporary Protected Status” (TPS) for the Haitian community in the United States.

What is “Protected Temporary Status?” It is a procedure granted by the Secretary of Homeland Security to persons already in the United States who are nationals of a country experiencing armed conflict, environmental disaster or other situations that make it difficult or impossible for them to return safely to their country.  For those who qualify for TPS, the significance of this status is that it allows the recipient to remain in the United States and possibly to obtain work authorization for a designated time.  TPS grants eligible recipients the ability to remain in the United States, but it is not equivalent to lawful admission to the United States.

Under existing policy, the Secretary of Homeland Security designates which citizens of countries qualify for TPS, and the Secretary can and does remove the protection granted by the procedure.  It is the Secretary who must renew the status when necessary.  The removal of TPS can be devastating to individuals and their families.  Boston is the city with the third-largest Haitian population in the United States.  The Secretary of Homeland Security has designated Feb. 3, 2026, as the date to terminate TPS for Haitians.

For those affected, the very fabric of their lives will be fundamentally changed.  Moreover, the consequences of the removal of TPS will be felt immediately in the wider society precisely because Haitians are woven into the general life of our country.
While TPS is designed to provide a certain stability in the lives of immigrants who are not citizens, the constantly changing implementation of the program seriously erodes or eliminates the humane purpose this status could fulfill.  The fact that TPS depends upon Executive Orders in any administration is itself a problem.  Congressional action could enhance the status and stability of TPS, but so far, it has not been adequately addressed in legislation.

In his message of support for the U.S. Bishops, Pope Leo XIV reminded the world that immigrant enforcement must treat people with the dignity they possess.  In Catholic teaching, that dignity is the basis of the human rights we all share.  Respecting the unique dignity of each person and recognizing the moral demands of rights which flow from dignity for each person are prior principles to recognize before the necessary legal status of persons is determined in any society.

Many of the Haitian individuals and families now threatened with disruption are members of the Catholic community of the Archdiocese of Boston.  In their name, the Catholic Church finds it imperative to oppose the imminent threat now facing individuals and families whom we know and serve through our pastoral care.  In their name, the Church is called upon to seek relief and redress from the dangers now hanging over their heads.

The original reason Haitians were granted TPS was the chaotic, violent context that has prevailed in Haiti for years.  That context has not changed.  The original rationale for TPS by any standard still applies.  Human decency is one reason to stand against removing basic protection from our neighbors and parishioners.  Beyond decency, charity and a sense of social justice are reasons to speak for and stand with Haitians in the United States at this time.  This nation’s record on immigration is not perfect, but we have protected large numbers in the past, and we have the capacity to do so again.

The Haitian immigrants who now hold Temporary Protected Status entered the United States in good faith and received their status from the U.S. Government.  To strip away that status with too little notice and while the need for refuge continues does an injustice to our vulnerable neighbors here in Boston and its surrounding communities.  In accord with Catholic moral teaching, we respectfully ask the U.S. Government to extend this protected status for so many of our Haitian residents.  And we wish to assure our neighbors that they are not alone and that we desire to stand with them in this moment of need.

The Church lives within and is grateful for the American legal system.  Functioning within that legal system, we seek to provide the spiritual, sacramental, and social assistance Haitians now need.  The danger to others is clear, so should our witness be clear.  To the best of our ability, we seek to speak for and stand with the Haitian community.  For them, we seek to provide hope.  For them, our prayers will continue.  For them, our advocacy will be sustained.

Finally, I want to say how saddened I was by the news of the death of John Allen.

John was from a little town in Kansas called Hays, where there’s a big Capuchin parish and most of the people are Volga Germans, many of them wheat farmers.  John was a member of the Capuchin parish there and went to St. Thomas More High School, which the Capuchins run.  He, of course, grew up to be a famous Vaticanista.

Eventually, he started Crux in conjunction with the Boston Globe, and after two years, it became independent and Rome-based.  He had an interesting career as a journalist, always providing deep insights into the life of the Church.  Among his many books were two on Pope Benedict and a very interesting book on Opus Dei.  He had been struggling with cancer for many years and finally passed away on January 22.  They had the funeral at the Opus Dei church in Rome.

I was able to speak to his wife, Elise, and he will always be fondly remembered as a good friend.  We pray for the repose of his soul.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

As we begin 2026, I would like to share with you some of the events and liturgies with wich I ended 2025.

My first event came on December 1st, when I celebrated the funeral Mass for Barbara Roche at St. Christine’s in Marshfield.  Archbishop Henning was also there and concelebrated with us.

Barbara and her husband Pat, who died a few years ago, have been very close friends of the archdiocese and great supporters of the mission of the Church in so many ways.  After a very long and beautiful life, she was called home to God.  Father Tom Walsh, who had been her pastor and a very close friend of the family, gave a very lovely homily and reflection.

Then, on December 3rd, Mother Olga and her sisters came for a visit at the cathedral.  Originally, it was supposed to have been on December 1st, which is the feast of St. Charles de Foucauld, one of the patrons of her community.  So we postponed it, but we had a Mass that culminated with a blessing with the relic of St. Charles de Foucauld.  Afterward, we had lunch and were able to catch up.

It was wonderful to hear about the extraordinary work that they’re doing — the hundreds of people they take communion to every weekend in the nursing homes and so many other situations where the sisters are present to families and people in moments of suffering and loss.  Their joyful presence is always a great grace, and I was happy that we were able to celebrate the feast of their founder together.

On December 4th and 5th, I traveled to New York for the installation of Bishop Mark O’Connell as the new Bishop of Albany.

On the eve of the installation, there was a Vespers ceremony in the cathedral.  Archbishop Al Hughes gave a beautiful homily.

It is a spectacular cathedral—a Keely cathedral like our own in Boston.  Patrick Keely built about 700 churches and around 20 cathedrals, from Boston to Chicago.

I was glad that we had that opportunity at least to visit the cathedral, since the installation ceremony the following day was held in a parish church.  The cathedral is beautiful, but they have very limited parking, and there’s no lower church to allow for vesting for the different groups.

The installation Mass was held with the Nuncio and the Metropolitan, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and many other bishops, priests, and laity.  

Bishop Mark gave a beautiful homily.

They actually took the cathedra, the bishop’s throne, to the parish church.  So he was enthroned in the official seat of the Diocese of Albany.

One thing you can’t see from the photos is how bitterly cold it was outside.  It was two degrees below zero, but I was happy there was a nice atrium at the hotel with big skylights, which was quite a contrast with the polar weather outside.

On December 6th, the feast of St. Nicholas, we held the annual Women Affirming Life Mass and Breakfast at the Pastoral Center.

In my homily, I reflected on the role of martyrs, which literally means “witnesses.” And I said our task is to carry the Gospel of Life forward and help people embrace the value of life in the face of modern challenges.

It is alarming to see polls showing a majority of Americans saying they do not want to have children, or the increase in physician-assisted suicide in Canada.  We see a diminishment of the sacredness of life in our society.  I told them that Women Affirming Life have that mission to be witnesses, and the fact that they are women speaking to women makes the message even more powerful.

At the Mass, we also remembered Mary Elizabeth De Winter, a pro-life advocate from Needham who passed away in July.

Her daughter, Mary Ellen, shared the history of how her mother helped to found American University Women for Life over 40 years ago after realizing the American Association of University Women had a strong pro-abortion stance.

The next day, December 7th, I went to the North End to celebrate the Vigil Mass of the Immaculate Conception at St. Leonard’s.  The Franciscans there are the Province of the Immaculate Conception, so it was their patronal feast.

They also had a relic that had come from Assisi, part of the cord of St. Francis.  So that brought a lot of Franciscans to the celebration.

The relic had been brought by Father Michael della Penna, who is a Conventual Franciscan.  Then we had a number of the OFMs and myself, a Capuchin.  And Father Antonio Nardoianni, the former pastor, was visiting.  It was nice to have him there as well.

On December 11th, I participated in a Communion and Liberation event on the life of Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete at St. Clement Shrine in the Back Bay.

It was part of the Albacete Forum.  There were a lot of young people there, some who were just learning about CL and being exposed to Msgr. Albacete for the first time.

I spoke along with John Touhey, who had a very interesting presentation in which he included video clips of some of Lorenzo’s talks.

Having known Lorenzo for so many years, from the time before he went into the seminary, I shared some of my experiences with him and his other extraordinary exploits and ministries.  I also talked about how the different failures in his life helped to form him into who he was.

They also had a man read a letter that he had received from Lorenzo, who had been his godfather.  He wrote his godchild a very beautiful letter that he was given years later.  It was very moving.

On December 12th, we had the Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe at the cathedral.  They did an enactment where they had the bishop receiving Juan Diego with the roses, but I told him afterward that he was obviously an impostor because Bishop Zumarraga was a Franciscan!

This was a parish event on the feast day itself that I was celebrating.  Archbishop Henning had celebrated there earlier during the week as part of a novena throughout the archdiocese, where he had gone to various parishes for their Guadalupe celebrations that really brought together thousands of people.  It was a magnificent manifestation of people’s faith and devotion to Our Lady.

On December 14th, we had a Christmas Concert at the cathedral featuring the Copley Singers.  We had a full cathedral, and it was very beautiful.

On December 16th, I was at St. Theresa’s in West Roxbury to present the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal from Pope Francis to Barbara Thorp, Tom Hannigan, and Father John Connolly.

This was the first time that we had an opportunity to bring them together, hand them the insignia, and congratulate them and their families for their work in the whole area of safeguarding for decades.  This includes the help they gave during the visitation of the Archdiocese of Dublin that we did at the behest of Pope Benedict XVI.

On December 19th, I went to Washington for an event honoring Apostolic Nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre, which took place in the context of the Christmas party they have for the personnel at the Nunciature.  He was awarded the Legion of Honor, France’s highest national recognition, and the French Ambassador was there to bestow the decoration. There was a Mass, and all five of the cardinals with some connection to Washington were there, along with some of Cardinal Pierre’s family.

In his acceptance speech, the Nuncio became emotional.  He said that he felt he really did not deserve this medal, but said, “I think my father deserved it.”

His father had also received the Legion of Honor.  (In fact, the Nuncio is the third generation in his family to receive it.) His father had been part of the French Resistance, was imprisoned for three years, and then escaped from a Nazi prison to continue his battle against the occupation of France.  It was very impressive to hear that dramatic history.

Of course, around Christmas, there’s always lots going on at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and the cathedral is always very beautifully decorated.

We had our annual Christmas Bazaar, which Father Nicanor Vivas organized.

Then we also had our dinner to thank all the cathedral volunteers.

For Christmas Day itself, I had the 11:30 English Mass at the cathedral with the big crowds, and the music was just beautiful.

I also want to share with you a greeting I received from Bishop Donald Lippert over Christmas.

Christmas in Papua New Guinea looks very different than here!

Finally, on December 29th, I went back to Washington to celebrate the funeral Mass for Sister Maria Pilar, one of the Carmelitas de Vedruna who worked with me at the Centro Catolico.  They are a Spanish order, originally from Barcelona, but they are international with almost 2,000 sisters all over the world, and I have always been very close to them.

Sister Maria Pilar had been a missionary for a short time in Africa, working with refugees there and then came and worked with us at the center.  She ran the youth program, was involved in educational programs, and did a lot of work with families and women in need.  After 66 years of consecrated life, she went home to the Lord during this Christmas season.

Afterward, we went to the cemetery, and I took this picture of the tombstone with the names of all the sisters buried there.  Practically all of them had worked with me.  (You begin to feel a little bit like the last leaf on the tree!)

We had the funeral at the Scalabrinian parish, St. Bernard’s, where they still had all the decorations up from Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I also took pictures of Our Lady of Fatima because the Portuguese community that is there is a group that I started 55 years ago at the Capilla Latina.

A number of people who were in my youth club were coming forward to introduce their grown children and grandchildren!

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

Iâ€m so happy to be back with you to share my experiences over the past month.

My first event came on November 8th, when we had the Mass of Investiture for the Order of the Holy Sepulchre at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

A very large number of new members were inducted, I believe over 50 new Knights and Dames, including several priests and deacons.  It was a joy to welcome them.

During the ceremony, we also announced that Dame Marianne Luthin has been named the new Lieutenant, succeeding Sir Gerry Foley.

Itâ€s the first time we have had a woman appointed as Lieutenant for the Northeast Lieutenancy, which is certainly a big step for us.  Marianne is very, very committed to the Order, and if anyone deserves that distinction, itâ€s her.

The following day, I traveled down to Baltimore for the USCCB General Assembly, where I participated in meetings for the Committee for the National Shrine and the Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation.

In the assembly, of course, we discussed many topics, but perhaps the most important one we addressed was immigration.  As a result, our President issued a strong statement in the name of the conference that Iâ€d like to share with you here:

As pastors, we the bishops of the United States are bound to our people by ties of communion and compassion in Our Lord Jesus Christ.  We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.  We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants.  We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.  We lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status.  We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools.  We are grieved when we meet parents who fear being detained when taking their children to school and when we try to console family members who have already been separated from their loved ones.

Despite obstacles and prejudices, generations of immigrants have made enormous contributions to the well-being of our nation.  We as Catholic bishops love our country and pray for its peace and prosperity.  For this very reason, we feel compelled now in this environment to raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity.

Catholic teaching exhorts nations to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants.  We bishops advocate for a meaningful reform of our nationâ€s immigration laws and procedures.  Human dignity and national security are not in conflict.  Both are possible if people of good will work together.

We recognize that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good.  Without such processes, immigrants face the risk of trafficking and other forms of exploitation.  Safe and legal pathways serve as an antidote to such risks.

The Churchâ€s teaching rests on the foundational concern for the human person, as created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27). As pastors, we look to Sacred Scripture and the example of the Lord Himself, where we find the wisdom of Godâ€s compassion.  The priority of the Lord, as the Prophets remind us, is for those who are most vulnerable: the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger (Zechariah 7:10). In the Lord Jesus, we see the One who became poor for our sake (2 Corinthians 8:9), we see the Good Samaritan who lifts us from the dust (Luke 10:30—37), and we see the One who is found in the least of these (Matthew 25).  The Churchâ€s concern for neighbor and our concern here for immigrants is a response to the Lordâ€s command to love as He has loved us (John 13:34).

To our immigrant brothers and sisters, we stand with you in your suffering, since, when one member suffers, all suffer (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:26). You are not alone!

We note with gratitude that so many of our clergy, consecrated religious, and lay faithful already accompany and assist immigrants in meeting their basic human needs.  We urge all people of good will to continue and expand such efforts.

We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.  We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.  We pray that the Lord may guide the leaders of our nation, and we are grateful for past and present opportunities to dialogue with public and elected officials.  In this dialogue, we will continue to advocate for meaningful immigration reform.

As disciples of the Lord, we remain men and women of hope, 

and hope does not disappoint!  (cf. Romans 5:5)

May the mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe enfold us all in her maternal and loving care and draw us ever closer to the heart of Christ.

I also want to share with you some pictures of the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is the first cathedral of the United States, and where we have our annual Mass with the bishops.

It was my first time visiting the crypt where John Carroll, the first American bishop, is buried.

On November 15^th, I celebrated Mass for the opening day of the Shalom Catholic Communityâ€s North American Congress that was held at St. Anthony in Cambridge.

There was a very good crowd of people, with some coming from as far away as Canada and Florida, in addition to those from the Northeast.

We were so grateful to be joined by Moysés Azevedo, founder of the Shalom.  It was his first time here in North America.

In my homily, I spoke to them about the importance of unity and communion in the Body of Christ and that true mission comes from surrendering our hearts to God. And I told them Shalomâ€s charism of peace and joy is truly a gift for the Church.

Later that evening, I attended the Boston Black Catholic Communityâ€s annual Healy Award Dinner at BC High.

As always, it was a very lively celebration, and I particularly enjoyed the performance by the archdioceseâ€s Haitian choir.

This yearâ€s Healy Award Recipient was Father Michael Davidson, S.J., and I was the recipient of the Ruffin Award.  Maître Jean-Louis Daniel also received the Meyer Chambers Award.

From November 16th through the 20th, I was in St. Louis for the Pontifical Mission Societies National Directors Conference, where I gave a retreat.

It was held at the Augustine Institute, which is a magnificent facility there.  It was formerly a conference center for the Boeing aircraft company, and it is just stunning.

While I was there, I had a nice meeting with the instituteâ€s president, Dr. Tim Gray.

Father Roger Landry, the national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, organized the retreat.

He brought a Frenchman whose daughter, Mayline Tran, was miraculously cured through the intercession of Blessed Pauline Jaricot, the founder of the Pontifical Mission Societies.

Mayline was in a coma with very severe brain damage that the doctors presumed was permanent, and then the family began a novena.  She was miraculously healed, and this was the miracle that led to Blessed Paulineâ€s beatification.

I also learned that Blessed Pauline Jaricot had started a rosary crusade called the Association of the Living Rosary.  There are actually millions of people who participate in this rosary around the world; it really is amazing.

Blessed Pauline Jaricot, whose spiritual director for many years was the Cure of Ars, was truly an extraordinary person whose devotion to the missions has resulted in this extraordinary effort and has been a source of support, both spiritual and economic, for the work of the Church throughout the world.

So, I was very happy to be able to give this retreat and encourage the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies, particularly because of its long ties to Boston.  When the Diocese of Boston was founded, our then-missionary diocese received a great deal of help from the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, one of the three Mission Societies.

Next, I went to Washington, D.C., where, on November 21st, I had the privilege of celebrating one of the Masses marking the visit of the relics of St. Therèse of Lisieux to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  I had a noon Mass there on Friday, and the basilica was packed.

It was very moving to see so many people willing to come out in the middle of a weekday, and there were many, many priests as well.

That evening, I went with a group of friars to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hartke Theater at The Catholic University of America.  They had free admission for religious, so the price was right!

Itâ€s kind of an unusual musical that came out in 1970, and a lot of people criticize its theology.  But itâ€s important to remember that itâ€s the Passion story as seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot.  If you lose sight of that, then youâ€ll be very worried about the theology, but if you think about the fact that itâ€s supposed to be from Judasâ€s point of view, it all makes a lot more sense.

The school of performing arts was founded by Father Hartke, who was quite a figure in the universityâ€s history.  He would always do a presentation every year on the White House, and many famous actors and actresses in Hollywood studied in his school.

I hadnâ€t been back to the Hartke Theater since 1975, when I organized a conference on preaching social justice there for the Holy Year.  I invited Bishop Fulton Sheen and Father Avery Dulles (later Cardinal Dulles) to give the talks, and it was a wonderful experience.

So, it was good to be back there again, and the kids all did a great job and had beautiful voices.  And, while I was there, I ran into the provost and a number of people from the university board of directors and faculty whom I knew.  It was a lovely evening.

On November 25th, I was at the State Department for the swearing-in ceremony of Dan Negrea as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. on economic matters.

They have refurbished a series of rooms in the State Department building with the style of 18th-century America, and the swearing-in ceremony was in one of those very beautiful rooms dedicated to Benjamin Franklin, the first ambassador from the United States to France.

Iâ€ve known Dan for many decades, since he was sent to me late one Friday afternoon at the Centro Católico in Washington, D.C.

I often got calls at that time because I figured the immigration office people wanted to go home, and if they had cases they couldnâ€t solve by the weekend, they would just send them to me, whether they were Hispanic or not.  This particular day, they sent this young man in his early 20s who came on a diplomatic mission from Romania and asked for political asylum.  (This was during the time of the Communist dictator Ceausescu.) They granted his asylum but didnâ€t know what to do with him, so they sent him to me.

When he arrived, he said, “Father, Iâ€m not sure why they sent me here.  Iâ€m not Hispanic, and Iâ€m not Catholic.” And I said, “Well, I canâ€t make you Hispanic, but I can make you a Catholic!” And, as a matter of fact, years later, I did receive him into the Church, presided at his marriage to his wife Nikki, and baptized his children.

So, it was a privilege to be present as he was sworn in for this important position.  Itâ€s not exactly typical to have a cardinal present for these sorts of things.  So, in his remarks, he explained his story and why I was there.

I was asked to give the invocation, and I used part of the prayer that Archbishop John Carroll composed for George Washingtonâ€s inauguration.

Dan began his comments by using Yogi Berraâ€s famous line about Dublin electing a Jewish mayor: “Only in America!” And Dan said, “Well, only in America could a penniless immigrant arrive and a few decades later be the representative of that country to the United Nations.” It was a wonderful moment.

While in Washington, I also had a visit from Mauricio Villeda of Honduras at the Capuchin monastery.

Mauricio and his wife, along with the Cascos, worked with me many, many years ago to start the pro-life movement in Honduras.  We took Dr. Bernard Nathanson to speak to the Congress there and at the medical school, and we were able to reverse the legalization of abortion in that country.  The pro-life movement in Honduras remains very successful even to this day.

I was also able to greet members of the Secular Franciscans of the Fraternity of El Camino, who were having a day of recollection at the monastery.  Many, many years ago, before I ever knew El Camino Neocatecumenal, I started a secular Franciscan fraternity at the Capuchin parish in Washington and gave it the name “El Camino.”

It was amazing to see how much it has grown since those days.  There are something like five different groups that have come out of it, and also a youth group.  So, it was very good to be able to talk to them and have my picture taken with them.

Finally, I spent Thanksgiving with our community in Washington, and all the friars chipped in to make a great meal.  We were about 40 or so at the house, and there were several turkeys.  And I thought, “Oh, itâ€ll be so nice.  The next day weâ€ll have turkey sandwiches for lunch.” The amazing thing is, there was just a tiny piece of turkey left.  It was like the plague of locusts had descended!

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

At the beginning of the month, I was in Washington, D.C., for the Transitus celebration at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land.

The Transitus is a ceremony to recall St. Francisâ€s death, which takes place on October 3rd, the eve of his feast day, at the Portiuncula in Assisi.  Every year, throughout the world, Franciscan friars, sisters, and third-order members celebrate this wonderful commemoration.  I have been in Assisi on the feast of St. Francis in the past, where the superior generals of the three branches of the First Order and the Third Order Regular, and many other Franciscans, gather for the occasion.

In Washington, the tradition is that the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land hosts a gathering of all the Franciscans in the area — priests, sisters, brothers, and lay Franciscans.

The Franciscan Monastery belongs to a province that St. Francis founded so that the friars could serve in the Holy Land, particularly at the holy places.  When you go to visit Bethlehem, Nazareth or Jerusalem, you find many churches that are cared for by these Franciscan friars who have been working there for 800 years.

Besides their houses in the Holy Land, they also have houses in Rome and Washington.  The one in Washington is to promote the Good Friday collection thatâ€s taken up for the holy places.  At that monastery, they have replicas of all the various shrines in the Holy Land, such as Bethlehem, Calvary, the Holy Sepulchre, and so forth.

They also have a chapel that is a copy of the Portiuncula.

This year, they asked me to preach at the celebration, and I told them that, for the Irish people, the Transitus is like the wake and the reading of the will.  And then I reflected on St. Francisâ€s last testament, his “will.”

The service is the same service that they had when St. Francis was dying.  We prayed the psalms that he was praying.  We read the Gospel from St. John of the Last Supper.  And after the prayers, we carried his relic and a habit in procession from the main church to the chapel that is the replica of the Portiuncula, where we concluded with a blessing with the relic of St. Francis.

From Washington, I traveled to Toledo, Ohio.  The Bishop of Toledo, Bishop Daniel Thomas, has invited me several times to come for the Feast of the Holy Rosary on October 7th, which is the patronal feast of the diocese and its cathedral, Rosary Cathedral.  So, I was very happy I was finally able to make it.

I had never been to the cathedral in Toledo before, and I was quite overwhelmed by the beauty of the church.  It is just stunning.  It must be one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the country.

I told them I have a long connection to the Toledo Diocese because, as a child, we would go in the summers to a cottage at a place called Put-in-Bay on an island in Lake Erie, near the Canadian border, which belongs to the diocese.  Every Sunday, a priest would come in a little Piper Cub to celebrate Mass in the church there, and I would serve at Mass.

But this was my first time at the cathedral, and I was really blown away by the beauty of the church, which was begun by Cardinal Stritch, who later on became the Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago.  (I was happy to remind Bishop Thomas that Cardinal Stritchâ€s mother was an Oâ€Malley from County Mayo!)

We had a rosary and then the Mass afterwards.  It was a very beautiful celebration, and I was very happy to be a part of it and to finally get to see the beautiful Cathedral of the Holy Rosary.

In the cathedral, they have a mural of the Battle of Lepanto, which was, of course, the day of the Holy Rosary because Pope St. Pius V had called for a rosary crusade when Europe was so alarmed by the invasion of the Ottoman Empire.

And in my homily, I said it was sort of like our Cuban Missile Crisis, where people were so terrified and felt that they were really endangered.  And it was the intercession of Our Lady that delivered them.

In my church in Rome, we have the flags that were carried into the Battle of Lepanto.  And I have seen the cross in the cathedral in Barcelona, which was on the prow of the ship of Don Juan de Austria when he led the Christian forces in the Battle of Lepanto.

I was also very happy to see Sister Anthony Mary, who is working as the delegate for religious in the Diocese of Toledo.  She was with us in the bishopâ€s office and at the Pastoral Center and wanted to be remembered to everybody.

On October 14th, I was in New York for the Napa Instituteâ€s Eucharistic Mass and Procession.

For the last several years, theyâ€ve organized this Eucharistic event at St. Patrickâ€s Cathedral, and this year, I was asked to preside at the Mass and preach.

Before the Mass, there was a Holy Hour with several very good talks.

Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, the Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, gave a conference.

He told a very moving story about an incident that took place many years ago in Mongolia, just after the fall of communism, when there was great poverty.  Someone broke into the tabernacle in the church they were constructing and stole a monstrance, probably thinking it was very valuable and they could sell it.  The catechist who reported it to the police told them their most precious possession had been stolen and that it is what supports the entire church.  When the officer taking the report asked for a description, assuming it was solid gold or covered in precious stones, the catechist said it was contents that were valuable, and it was “a thin, white, unleavened bread.” The officer got very upset with him, thinking this was some sort of joke, and sent him away.  But, the cardinal said, the catechist was telling the “pure truth,” the Eucharist is the immeasurable treasure of the Church.

Father Ambrose Criste also spoke about the kind of poverty we experience in the West, not one of money but one of loneliness and spirituality, and about the great value of the Eucharist.

There was also a conference by the man who plays Christ in “The Chosen,” Jonathan Roumie.

He spoke about the intensity of filming the Crucifixion for the upcoming season of the show and said it was the hardest thing he has ever done.  He said the only way he could sustain himself was by partaking in the Eucharist as often as possible.

In my own homily, I continued with the theme of Jesus†promise to stay with us always in the Eucharist.  Iâ€d like to share that homily with you here:

After Mass, they carried the Blessed Sacrament in a procession through the streets of Manhattan.  It was very impressive.

Then, on October 18th, I went back to Washington for the dedication of the chapel and altar for the Sisters of Life, who moved into a new convent that had formerly belonged to the Poor Clares.  I noticed they painted it the color of their habits—the shutters are dark blue and the house is white.

They have a beautiful new chapel, and so we had the consecration of the altar and the blessing of the chapel.

The Sisters were founded by John Oâ€Connor, the Archbishop of New York, who was a very close friend of mine.  And so I was happy to be at the dedication of the chapel with their sisters.  They were founded to promote the gospel of life, and as I mentioned in my reflections to them, in every generation, religious communities arise to address the particular challenges of that age, and certainly, their community is a gift for us at a time when the gift of life is under attack.

The next day, October 19th, I celebrated Mass at the Capilla Latina, where I ministered as a young priest.  There is a young pastor there now, an American, and he called me and asked me if I would be willing to come and say their Mass for the closing of Hispanic Heritage Month.

I hadnâ€t been there for many years, and it was a joy to be back.  I was particularly surprised to see that some of my parishioners are still there, even though itâ€s been 42 years since I left!

While I was there in Washington, I also visited two Spanish sisters who had worked with me in the Centro Catolico.  They are Carmelitas de Vedruna, Sister Carmen and Sister Pilar.

And, of course, they treated me to some coffee and pastries.

On October 23rd, I was back in New York for the Catholic Extension Society Dinner, which was held at the Metropolitan Club.

I was happy to be invited to introduce Mario Paredes, who received the Spirit of St. Francis Award.  Mario has been a friend for half a century and has made just an outstanding contribution to the life of the Church.  He was the director of the Northeast Hispanic Catholic Center that organized Hispanic ministry in over 30 dioceses of the Northeast, at a time when the Church was just beginning to focus on the need for Hispanic ministry.  He helped dioceses set up Hispanic ministry, he trained leaders, and he published catechetical and liturgical materials in Spanish.

He was also the founding editor of El Visitante Dominical.  He used to organize retreats for the Spanish-speaking priests.  He became involved with the American Bible Society and made thousands of Bibles available in Spanish throughout the country.  He has been involved as the head of Somos, a group that works with low-income families, providing them with medical attention in New York.  And he is also the head of the La Academia Internacional de Líderes Católicos, which is a program to give pastoral formation to Catholic leadership.  His contributions have been very, very great, and so I was very pleased that he was singled out for this honor by the Catholic Extension Society.

As I shared with people, when I became a bishop in the Virgin Islands, our total diocesan budget was $30,000 a year.  With that, I had to support the retired bishop, myself, two seminarians, and a nun.  And so I was very happy when I started to get help from the Catholic Extension Society, which has done so much to help missionary dioceses and parishes throughout the United States and U.S. territories.

My last trip of the month was to Pittsburgh for our Capuchin Jubilee on October 24th.  Every year, thereâ€s a day when all of the friars celebrating significant anniversaries of profession or ordination are invited to St. Augustineâ€s Church in Pittsburgh for a celebration.

This year, there were about 10 of us who were able to go, and three of us — myself, Brother Paul, and Brother Bill — were celebrating 60 years of profession.  Itâ€s hard to believe!

Finally, I want to add a word of congratulations and gratitude for Bishop Oâ€Connell on his new appointment as Bishop of Albany.

He was such an invaluable help and close collaborator here for 20-some years, and we wish him godspeed as he takes on this very challenging ministry.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

September is the time when things pick up again after the leisure of the summer.  So, this has been a busy month, with lots of activities Iâ€d like to share with you.

My month began with a trip to Portugal, which was on the way to Rome for the canonizations of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati.  I still have contacts with people from my Portuguese parish in Washington from 50 years ago, so I am asked to do many weddings and baptisms in Portugal.

This time, I had the joy of baptizing little Jaime, whose parents and grandparents I married— itâ€s wonderful to maintain those connections over the generations.

It took place in the Church of St. Isabel, which was just stunning.

It was a pleasure to have Bishop Don Lippert with me.  He was also coming to Rome for the canonizations, so he joined me in Portugal.  It was the first time heâ€s been away from Papua New Guinea in a few years, so it was good to see him and be able to spend some time with him.

From there, we went on to Rome.

Of course, the Holy Year is going on, so there were many activities in St. Peterâ€s Basilica for the pilgrims, and I participated in one of the holy hours.

I ran into Father David Campo, who was there with a group of pilgrims.  Heâ€s a military chaplain from the Archdiocese of Boston, whom I ordained a few years ago.

There were huge crowds who had come for the canonization of Blessed Carlo and Blessed Pier Giorgio.  It was a great joy to be present to see these two models for young Catholics become saints.  This was a great moment for the Church, and I thought it was particularly fitting that this was the first canonization Pope Leo presided at.

Of course, Carlo Acutisâ€s mother was there.  (Itâ€s not often the mother of the saint is there for the canonization!)  And I was hoping to get a chance to meet her, but as you can see in the photo, the poor woman was completely surrounded by reporters.  But I thought it would be interesting for people to see what she was going through.

Of course, the canonizations drew people from all over the world to Rome, and many of them had Boston connections.  One of them was Father Louis Merosne, a young priest who works in Haiti and is originally from Boston.  He was in Rome with a group of pilgrims that included his sister-in-law and his nephew.

When he felt called to the priesthood, he went to Haiti and was ordained there.  Heâ€s now the director of the cathedral of St. Anne in Bishop Dumasâ€s diocese of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne.  I was able to have Mass with them and show them around St. Peterâ€s.

I had dinner with Father Dan Hennessey, who was also there with a group, and we had dinner with Bishop Ali Herrera and met with the staff of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Nolan, the CEO of Eversource, were in Rome for the canonization as well.  They are very close friends and strong supporters of the archdiocese, so I was happy to run into them in Rome.

On September 9, I came back to Massachusetts to attend the fundraiser for St. Anne Shrine in Fall River, which was chaired by Jeffrey Montigny.  The fundraiser was held at Whites of Westport, a big restaurant that belongs to the Lafrance family and is often used for church events in the Diocese of Fall River.

St. Anneâ€s is a beautiful, monumental church right in the heart of Fall River.  In front of it, thereâ€s Kennedy Park, and when people go to Fall River, itâ€s the first thing they see.  Most people, when they come into the city, presume itâ€s the cathedral because itâ€s so large and grand.  (Itâ€s probably twice as big as the cathedral.)

It was built a century ago by the French immigrants and the Dominican friars.  There were, at one point, 40 friars in the monastery there, and they built this so it would be the St. Anne de Beaupré of New England.  The church holds probably almost 2,000 people, or close to it.

Besides the church, they started St. Anneâ€s Hospital and brought in the French Dominican Sisters of the Presentation.  They also started a couple of schools and a credit union, which turned into a huge bank.

Itâ€s the largest and most spectacular church in the diocese, but it needs a lot of repairs.  So, this wonderful group of laypeople, working with Father Murphy, have dedicated themselves to raising the funds needed, and theyâ€re doing a great job.

When I left Fall River to go to Palm Beach, I had my last Mass there.  It happened to be the “Peace Mass,” which was around Columbus Day.  It was dedicated to Our Lady of Fátima, and thousands of people came to the procession.  There were so many, they could not fit into the church, as large as it is.  It was a magnificent celebration with all of the people with candles.

Unbeknownst to me, they televised the Mass, and the people in Palm Beach were watching it.  When I went there, they told me how they were all amazed by seeing this church and the celebration, and they said, “We thought you were Harry Potter.  It was such a magical place.”

So, I was saddened when I heard the church was having such challenges, but I am very grateful to the committee that is working so hard to restore St. Anneâ€s to its original splendor and preserve this landmark for the Catholics of Fall River.

It was also good to see some old photos of my time in Fall River.  This picture was taken when I went to the shrine for an event in 1994.

The priests there were Father Bergeron and Father Hamel, two of the Franco-American priests in the diocese.  Standing next to me, of course, is Msgr. John Olivera, who was my priest secretary and Chancellor of the diocese for such a long time.

On September 11, I came to Boston for the Celebration of the Priesthood Dinner.  As always, it was a great success, and it was wonderful to be there with Archbishop Henning, the priests,  and so many of the friends and benefactors of the archdiocese.

Once again this year, they showed a beautiful video about the priesthood, which Iâ€d like to share with you:

Because it was 9/11, they had the Firefighters†Pipe and Drum Corps perform a tribute to first responders.  I enjoyed it very much because I have a great love for the bagpipes.

When was growing up, in the park near where we lived, they would play the bagpipes every Saturday night, and I would fall asleep listening to them.  (Though itâ€s really an outdoor instrument, you know!)

Of course, our keynote speaker for the evening was Kevin James, whom many of you may know from the movies or television.  He was very funny but also had a wonderful message for our priests.  We were so fortunate to have him join us.

It was always a joyful event, and weâ€re so grateful for the hard work that resulted in such a successful evening.

Next, I went to St. Paul, Minnesota, for the 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo on September 13.

The local superior in the States is Father Antonio Lopez, and, of course, Archbishop Hebda was there with us.

Don Massimo, the founder of the Priestly Fraternity, was one of the early followers of Father Guisanni. And 40 years ago, Father Guisanni proposed to him founding an order for priests that come out of the Communion and Liberation movement.  A just few years afterward, I met them through Father Lorenzo Albacete, and I was the first bishop to invite them to the States.  They took a parish in Fall River, and now they have a parish in Boston, as well.  So Iâ€ve been involved with them since almost their beginning.

Last year, I celebrated their ordinations at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and I was very honored to be asked to be part of the 40th anniversary celebration.

The church they staff, St. Peterâ€s, received many of the stained glass windows and other works of art that we had sent from Boston when they were renovating, and the people there expressed their gratitude to me.

We were very pleased that these beautiful items that people made so many sacrifices to give to the church are still being used in worshiping communities.

While I was there, they brought me to visit a couple of churches in the area nearby, which is right near the Wisconsin border.

One of the churches is where Blessed Solanus Casey, grew up; he was confirmed there, and he worked in that town.  So, as you can imagine, they have great devotion to him.

Thereâ€s a procession every year in his honor, and they have many relics and icons of him.  The young priest in the church gave us a wonderful tour.

Solanus has an extraordinary story.  His parents were Irish immigrants who came to America, were married in Boston, and then went to the Midwest, where they were farmers and had a very large family.  I believe there were three sons who became priests and one who became a nun.

When Solanus wanted to enter the seminary, he went to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.  But when he got there, he realized that all the classes were in German, and they threw him out because he didnâ€t speak the language.  So he went to the Capuchins in Detroit.  Their classes were also in German, but the difference is that the Capuchins didnâ€t throw him out!  They pushed him through and ordained him, but they never gave him faculties to preach or to hear confessions.  So he lived his whole life as a porter and worked at a soup kitchen in Detroit during the Depression, where they had thousands of people who came in.  He was constantly curing people and performing all kinds of miracles.

I still fondly recall being present for his beatification in Detroit.  It was a great event, and we look forward to his canonization, which we hope will come soon!

I also visited a German parish there where they had a shrine to Blessed Karl von Habsburg and his wife, Servant of God Empress Zita.

There is an interesting connection between the Capuchins and the Habsburgs: practically all of them are buried in the Capuchin church in Vienna.  When a member of the royal family dies, they usually have the Mass in the Stefandom, which is the cathedral, and then take the body in procession to the Capuchin church.  When they get there, they knock on the door and the friar says, “Whoâ€s there?” They answer, “It is the emperor, archduke of so-and-so…” and list all of his titles.  The friar says, “I donâ€t know you.” And then they knock again, and he says, “Who is there?” And they say, simply, “Otto (or whatever the name), a poor sinner.” Only then do they open the door and let them in.

On September 20, I had a meeting with the leadership and many of the supporters of the New York Encounter to prepare for the 2026 event.

The New York Encounter is an extraordinary cultural and religious event for young people that they hold every year, modeled after “il Meeting” in Rimini, Italy, where they bring together over a million people.  Itâ€s the largest cultural event in Italy.  Now theyâ€ve done something similar in New York, and Iâ€ve always been a part of that.

That same weekend, on September 21, I was invited by Cardinal Dolan to participate in the dedication of the new mural in St. Patrickâ€s Cathedral, which represents Our Lady of Knock.  The cathedral was dedicated the same year as the apparition in Ireland.  Itâ€s an extraordinary piece of art in the narthex of St. Patrickâ€s.  They have Our Lady of Knock with St. Joseph, St. John, the angels and the Lamb of God.  Then they have many people representing the immigrants coming to New York, first responders, and outstanding Catholic New Yorkers and saints like Dorothy Day and Pierre Toussaint, Mother Cabrini, and Father Felix Varela, whose cause has been introduced.  (Father Varela was a Cuban exile and the vicar general of New York.  They had wanted to make him a bishop, but the Spanish objected because he was part of the original revolution for independence in Cuba.)

It was a beautiful celebration.  At the end of Mass, Dana Scallon sang “Golden Rose Queen of Ireland,” which is a very moving song she wrote herself for John Paul IIâ€s visit to Knock.  Cardinal Dolan announced that he wants Dana to sing at his funeral, and Iâ€m putting my name on the list, too!

On September 26, I went to California to speak at the FOCUS Founders Forum in Santa Barbara.

Curtis Martin gave a wonderful talk, and his wife, Michaelann, talked about how they started the movement.  They started with just two volunteers.  Now there are a thousand FOCUS missionaries in colleges and universities all over the United States doing just wonderful work and making such an extraordinary contribution to the life of our Church.

Their chaplain was Father John Lager, a Capuchin from my province.  Heâ€s sort of stepped aside, and the young Jesuit Father Kevin Dyer has taken his place.  He is one of the Jesuits whom I ordained a deacon at St. Ignatius years ago, and is doing a wonderful job.

Our novitiate is nearby in Santa Ynez, so Iâ€ve been staying there and having Masses for the novices.

One day, we went to the Capuchin Mission Church in a town called Solvang, which they call “The Danish Capital of America.”

My life has always been sort of touched by the Danes.  My first diocese, which was St. Thomas, was for 350 years the Danish West Indies.  And then I wrote my thesis on Kierkegaard.  Now I come here, and the Capuchin parish is in this Danish town.  It was very interesting to make that connection.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

My August began with a trip to Mexico for the Capuchin friars†annual retreat, which took place from August 3rd to the 9th.

We have two Capuchin provinces in Mexico, what we call Custodies. One is connected to the province in California, and the other has been associated with the Capuchins from Spain, and thatâ€s the one I went to.

When I arrived, I first went to the parish in Las Aguilas, a neighborhood in Mexico City.

That first weekend, Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes invited me to celebrate the noon Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  I was accompanied by a very close friend of mine, an auxiliary bishop in Mexico named Javier Acero.

The Mass was televised, so I have the YouTube link that Iâ€d like to share with you.

In Mexico City, I was very interested to see these gondolas.  It turns out, they are not a tourist attraction, but a form of public transportation.  The congestion in Mexico City is so horrendous that it can take you hours to get from one side of the city to the other.  So, they have developed these gondolas to bring you over it instead of trying to go through it!

I asked the bishop if they get stuck sometimes, and he said, “Well, theyâ€re getting the bugs out!”

After the weekend, we drove out to the retreat house that the Capuchin friars have in a very rural part of the state of Puebla.  Now, I had thought that I was going to be in the city of Puebla, where in 1979, as a young priest, I was sent to the Puebla Conference as the priest-secretary and translator for the president of the U.S. bishops†conference, Archbishop John Quinn.  Archbishop Quinn did not speak Spanish, so I was recruited to go with him.  Of course, I was thrilled because it was Pope St. John Paul IIâ€s first trip after his election as pope.  Also, my sister was living in Mexico at the time, so that was another reason I was so happy to be able to go.

Thereâ€s been great tension between Church and State since the revolution in Mexico, with times of terrible, bloody persecution of the Church.  There were many martyrs and many anti-clerical laws passed that resulted in priests and religious not being allowed to vote, own property or wear clerical garb in public, and many things like that.  So the Holy Fatherâ€s visit there was just an extraordinary event.

When he landed in Mexico City, they rang all of the church bells in the country.  And in Puebla, thereâ€s something like 300 churches, so it was just deafening!

The Holy Father asked to have an open car.  So, he was standing in a convertible as they drove him from Mexico City to Puebla, which is about a 2-hour trip ordinarily.  But the crowd extended the whole way, and people had slept on the road overnight to have a spot.  It reminded me of the early Christians putting people by the side of the road so that Peterâ€s shadow would touch them.  And when he arrived in Puebla, he got out of the car, walked across the soccer field, put on his vestments, and celebrated the Mass.

I still remember the beautiful homily that he gave, which was addressed to all the bishops of Latin America, saying that the Church must teach the truth about the human person, the truth about Christ, and the truth about the Church.  It was just an extraordinary reflection.

And then the meetings were held in the seminary, which is named for a bishop of Puebla, Juan de Palafox y Mendoza.  It was so fascinating to be at this assembly of all of these famous prelates from the Hispanic world.  It was the first time that I met Monseñor Oscar Romero, Father Pedro Arrupe and just so many extraordinary churchmen.  So, going back to the state of Puebla was exciting, even though I didnâ€t get to the city itself.

The Capuchins†Casa de Oracion is built on the slopes of a snow-covered volcano in a very isolated area with very little telephone service and no internet.

The monastery was surrounded by farms and many pear orchards.  (I never saw so many pear trees in my life!)

Most of the friars were Mexican, but some of the older men were Basques and had been friends with Father Ignacio Larranaga, a very close friend of mine who was part of that province.

So, it was a wonderful week to be with the friars there and to see their enthusiasm and their prayerfulness.

The only small hiccup was the food.  Donâ€t get me wrong, I love Mexican food, but having chilaquiles and enchiladas for breakfast was a new experience.  And one of the treats that the friars offered me was fried grasshoppers.  It was very kind of them to offer, but I told them I was waiting for the wild honey!

At the conclusion of the retreat, we returned to Las Aguilas, where Bishop Acero took me to an exhibit held at the Museo Memoria y Tolerencia (the Museum of Memory and Tolerence) in Mexico City.  It was an exhibition on human trafficking, especially the trafficking of children.

Of course, the whole exhibit is in Spanish.  So, Iâ€m only sharing a small sampling of the different displays, but it was very thorough and they went through different areas where this trafficking and abuse take place.

And one of the things that theyâ€ve done in Mexico is to go around to all of the hotels and airlines to make sure that they have policies about children who are accompanied by adults to make sure they are with their parents or caregivers and not kidnappers.  This is a problem, of course, that the Holy Fatherâ€s Commission for the Protection of Minors is concerned with, and many of the different offices in the Vatican have tried to address this problem.  But this was an extraordinary exhibit, so I was happy to be able to go with Bishop Javier to see it.

After that, I returned home.

Then, from August 10th to the 13th, we had a meeting at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross with the leadership of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors: the new president, Archbishop Thibault Verny; the secretary, Bishop Luis Manuel Ali Herrera; and the adjunct secretary, Teresa Kettelcamp.

They wanted to have sort of a final briefing with me to talk about where the commission has been and what some of the plans for the future are.  Since Bishop Ali and Teresa were both visiting the Boston area in August, it made it very convenient to host it at the cathedral.

We had a wonderful meeting, and I feel very good about the fine team that is in charge of the commission.  I know that they will serve the Holy Father very well, and I let them know that I am available to help them in any way I can.

The month also brought the sad news of the passing of my cousin, Barbara Oâ€Malley Hinterkopf, who was the first one of our generation of cousins to pass away.

On August 16th, we had a memorial Mass for her.  She died at her house in Montana, so they had the burial there.  But, since she had lived her whole life in Miami and much of her family was there, they wanted to have the principal Mass in Miami.  Sheâ€s from a large family — one of nine children — and has also always been very involved in a lot of philanthropy and served on the boards of different non-profits, so there was a huge crowd.

I had the Mass, and my cousin, Deacon Rob Oâ€Malley, who teaches at Belen, the Jesuit High School in Miami, preached.  It was a sad occasion, but she was a person of great faith, and we pray for the consolation of her husband and her children.

On August 20th, I had lunch with Pat Dinneen, who has been so involved with the Social Justice Ministry in the archdiocese and with Catholic Relief Services.

Sheâ€s been very active on the CRS board, so it was good to catch up with her.

Then, on August 24th, I celebrated a Mass with the nine Sister Disciples of the Divine Master who work with us at the Pastoral Center, Regina Cleri, West Street and at the cathedral.

The Mass was to be an occasion to welcome their new Mother General on her first trip to Boston.  Unfortunately, something came up and she wasnâ€t able to make the trip, but we went ahead with it anyway because, of course, they were going to go to Mass on Sunday anyway, whether the Mother General was here or not.

It reminded me of a time we had a Mass for Mother Teresa at St. Patrickâ€s in New York, and Cardinal Oâ€Connor, who was such a character, was preaching.  He said, “Mother, look at all of your sisters who are here.  This is amazing!  They never come to Mass unless youâ€re in town!”

Finally, I must say something about the recent tragic shooting at Annunciation Church and School in Minneapolis.  It is with great sadness that we once again see a senseless act of violence and, in this case, one that is particularly heinous for having taken place at a Catholic school and during the celebration of Mass.  Indeed, I understand this is the first time a shooting of this kind has taken place in a Catholic school, which makes it all the more shocking.

As I have many times in the past, I urge our nation to work for reasonable and effective policies that prevent access to deadly firearms by the general public.  As the Holy Father said in his Angelus address on August 31st: “Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world.  May our Mother Mary, the Queen of Peace, help us to fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks.â€â€

At the same time, let us continue to pray for the victims, students, teachers, parishioners and all those who were affected, and particularly for the families who have experienced the tremendous loss of a child.  We ask the Lord to heal all who were injured and to bring comfort to all who are grieving.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

This past July was a particularly busy month. Iâ€d like to share a bit about it.

The month began in San Francisco, from July 1 to July 3. I was invited to preach and deliver a keynote address at the Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit, a liturgy conference organized by the Archdiocese of San Francisco at its seminary, St. Patrick’s in Menlo Park.

At the summit, I celebrated the Novus Ordo Mass in Latin.

The Capuchins invited me to celebrate Mass on Sunday at the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi. Itâ€s one of the oldest churches in San Francisco, and it features numerous pieces of Franciscan art.

Itâ€s a very beautiful church, and they have a replica of the Portiuncula there, very much like the one we have in Hanover.

The Catholic footprint in San Francisco is enormous. I also visited the Jesuit church, St. Ignatius, at the University of San Francisco, and it’s spectacular; it probably hosts at least 1,500 people.

We also visited the Mission San Francisco de Asís, popularly known as Mission Dolores —the mission that the city of San Francisco is named after — and went there on the feast day of St. Junípero Serra.

While I was there, I went to visit my sister and her family and stayed with the friars.

I also saw a Waymo self-driving car. I’d never seen one before; I didn’t have enough courage to go into it.

On July 7th, I attended the funeral Mass of Capuchin Friar Brian Newman in Pittsburgh.

He had spent many years as a missionary in Papua New Guinea. When he went there over 50 years ago, nobody knew whether they would come home at all. That had not been established. It was a very challenging mission, particularly at the beginning, so the men who went were very generous and wonderful missionaries.

Then, back in Boston on July 9th, I had a visit from Maureen Heil.

Maureen has done an excellent job with the Office of the Propagation of the Faith and has supported missionaries all over the world. It’s truly remarkable to see the relationships that she has built up with so many of the missionary bishops. The one that she brought to see me was Bishop Raymond Wickramasinghe from Sri Lanka. Bishop Raymond happened to be with me at the Synod on Synodality. I enjoyed greeting him again.

I went back to Pittsburgh on July 18th for the profession of Brother Joseph. He was professed in our church in Pittsburgh, where I did my profession 60 years ago this month.

Celebrating Brother Joseph’s profession

With missionaries from Papua New Guinea, Brother Ray, Fr.Cyril and Sister Agnes. Fr. Cyril baptised sister Agnes in Mendi, New Guinea.

For 150 years, the friars of my province have been making their vows and ordinations there, so it’s always a very uplifting experience to go back.

The Capuchin brothers from Bavaria made all the statues and the altars. I was trying to figure out why they chose the different saints there. On the altar, there’s St. Lawrence the Deacon, and of course, that section of Pittsburgh is called Lawrenceville. Then they had St. Raphael; the Germans had a great devotion to St. Raphael, particularly as a protector of immigrants.

At the same time, I was glad to see that 14 or 15 new novices arrived at the novitiate. They wear a different habit; they have a scapular in the front called the caparon.

Flags represent the three countries of our capuchin province of Saint Augustine

On July 21st, Msgr. Steve Avila and retired Maronite Chorbishop Michael Thomas came for lunch. It was so good to see them. Bishop Thomas is from New Bedford; his family is very active in the Maronite parish there, Our Lady of Purgatory—a rather original name! He was the Vicar General of the Eparchy of Saint Maron for many years and founded two parishes in Florida. It was a great joy to reconnect with him and Father Steve Avila, who had been my priest secretary for many years in Fall River.

The next day, I attended the funeral for Mr. James Cusak, the father of Father Anthony Cusak.

I attended the Mass at Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston, which is one of our most beautiful churches. Father Anthony, of course, celebrated the Mass for his father and gave a very beautiful reflection on his father’s life.

On July 26th, I attended St. Ann Parish in Hoboken, New Jersey, for the 115th anniversary of their Festa.

It was the church of Italian immigrants from Salerno, and the Capuchin friars who staffed the parish were from the province of Florence. Interestingly enough, it was Frank Sinatra’s parish!

With Fr. Roberto, the capuchin provincial, Fr. Robert, the definitor general, and Fr. Martin the pastor of Saint Annes in Hoboken

Ministers of the altar with the statue of Saint Anne

At St. Annâ€s, they have the Società Sant’Anna, and I mentioned to them that we also have these societies in our Italian parishes, which have been around for over 100 years. They have always been building blocks in the community, promoting family, faith, and culture in a very significant way.

After the celebration, the friars announced we were being taken to the airport with a police escort. Very embarrassing, yes, but we got there very quickly. I was kind of amused by it.

Very close to the church is Weehawken, where the famous duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr took place, resulting in Hamilton’s death.

Apparently, it was a popular place for duels. One of the men who was in a duel there was Commodore Oliver Perry, who won a crucial naval battle in Lake Erie, near the island where I spent all of my summers as a child. His duel did not result in death. The man who had challenged him shot and did not hit him. So, then, he just shot up in the air, and that was the end. That was one way to end a duel bloodlessly.

While in the area they brought me to admire New York’s skyline.

My last trip this month was to Washington for the annual Immigration Mass at Sacred Heart Shrine on July 27th.

Fr. Emilio and Fr. Luke

I talked to the people in the parish about my experience of working there as a young priest. When I started, we had only one Spanish Mass; now there are four. I also started the Haitian Mass there, but now there are also Vietnamese and Brazilian Masses, all in the same parish. During the riots after the death of Martin Luther King, we had over 300 people whose homes had been burned down living in the basement.

While in Washington, I also had the opportunity to visit with Sister Maria Rosa, of the Spanish sisters, the Hermanas de la Caridad de Santa Ana, with whom I worked closely at the Centro Católico during those days. She celebrated her 101st birthday. She sings like an angel, and for 101, she’s as sharp as a tack.

Finally, I would like to mention Deacon Rafael de los Reyes, who has just passed away.

Since I was at the St. Ann’s festival, I couldn’t attend his funeral. When I was a brother, I made the Cursillo with him. He had been on the Cuban basketball team, and when the team was going to Russia, they stopped in Ireland. Some Irish kids came up and said to him, “What is Cuba like?” and with Cuban military personnel nearby, Rafael said, “Oh, it’s the paradise of the workers. It’s wonderful, and President Fidel is doing a wonderful job.” And then the soldiers walked away, and he turned to the kids and said, “It’s all a lie. I want to stay here. Help me.” So they called a policeman, who called Dublin. The people in the government said, “You take him to jail, lock him in a cell and don’t open the door until the plane takes off.” He came to America and was one of the first candidates in the diaconate program I had at the Centro Católico. In those days, the Cursillo made such a contribution to a time when there were very few priests working with Hispanic immigrants, and the ministry they did in many places was the salvation of the Church.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

I hope you all are having a happy, safe and restful 4^th of July!

In anticipation of the U.S. Bishops†Spring Meeting, held in San Diego this year, there were a number of virtual meetings that I attended.  Among them were the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism and the Committee for Africa.

We also had a virtual meeting of the Pontifical Mission Societies with the board of directors, members of the staff, and the new president, Msgr. Roger Landry.

Msgr. Landry gave a very good report, and weâ€re confident that the Pontifical Mission Societies are going to make great progress under his leadership.

On June 11, I met with Dmitri Solzhenitsyn, the grandson of the famous Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.  Dmitriâ€s grandfather is a great hero for so many people in the world for the way that he courageously opposed totalitarianism and for his commitment to the Christian faith.

Dmitri is a Harvard graduate who is working for McKinsey but has taken a sabbatical to work on a book on Catholic-Orthodox relations.  He is very passionate about this topic; his mother is Catholic, and his father is Orthodox.

It was an opportunity for me to talk to him about my own experience working on the USCCB dialogue with the Orthodox and particularly our relationship with Metropolitan Methodios and the Greek Orthodox here in Boston.  He was also very happy to hear that I had an opportunity to speak with the Ecumenical Patriarch when I was in Rome for the installation of the new Holy Father.

We had a very good discussion about Orthodox-Catholic relations, and I look forward to reading his book when it is published.

The next day, I attended an event at the Museum of Science for the Friends of Caritas Cubana, a group founded here in Boston by Consuelo Isaacson and Micho Spring.  They have been instrumental in raising considerable funds each year to support the works of Caritas Cubana, the Churchâ€s social service agency in Cuba.

For the longest time after the Marxist Revolution, the Church was unable to carry on any kind of ministry to the poor.  But since the time of Cardinal Ortega, the Church has begun to carry out works of mercy with food pantries and food distribution, particularly for the elderly and for children, and also help with medicine.  The funding for all of this has come from the Friends of Caritas Cubana.

This year, they decided to honor me for my long involvement in Cuba.  For 40 years, Iâ€ve been going to Cuba and have been involved in negotiations there with the government to accept more priests into the country, and later on as a visitator for the seminaries, and, of course, in the more recent negotiations for the liberation of prisoners.

They gave me an award called the “Rosa Blanca,” named for a lovely little poem by José Martí, which speaks about growing a white rose both for the friend and the enemy. I think itâ€s very appropriate because part of the thrust of Caritas Cubana is trying to bring about reconciliation and dialogue between the Cubans on the island and those in the diaspora.

This is the original in Spanish:

Cultivo una rosa blanca

en junio como enero

para el amigo sincero

que me da su mano franca.

Y para el cruel que me arranca

el corazón con que vivo,

cardo ni ortiga cultivo;

cultivo la rosa blanca.

And hereâ€s an English translation:

I cultivate a white rose

in June as in January

for the sincere friend

who gives me his frank hand.

 

And for the cruel person who tears out

the heart with which I live,

I cultivate neither nettles nor thorns;

I cultivate a white rose.

I was very happy to see some members of the Suarez family at the celebration.  Melchor and his wife, Susan, live here in Massachusetts, and Manella, who used to work with me at the Centro Católico, came up from Washington for the event.

On the evening of June 21, I was happy to celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi Mass with three Neocatechumenal Way communities from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

The next day, June 22, I joined the Daughters of St. Paul for their Profession Jubilee Mass, held on the feast of Corpus Christi itself.  We celebrated the anniversaries of one sister celebrating 70 years of religious profession, Sister Mary Agnes Coniglio, and three celebrating their 50th anniversary: Sister Catherine Bernadette Bennett, Sister Dorothy Anne Guyer, and Sister Kathleen Thomas Lang.  They also had one sister whom they were celebrating in memoriam, their classmate, Sister Karen Joseph Hamm.  One of the jubilarians, Sister Dorothy Anne, was at the residence helping out when I arrived in Boston 22 years ago, so I thanked her for all of her kindness to me when I was just starting out in Boston.

I told them that they had made a very egregious omission — that there was one 60th anniversary of religious profession that was not mentioned: mine!  I will be professed 60 years on July 14.  But I told them that I had not revealed it until that moment because I was afraid they would make me wear a corsage!

That same day, I went to St. Anthonyâ€s in Cambridge, where they were celebrating Corpus Christi and their patronal feast, which was the 13th.

I was not able to be there for the Mass, but I got there to have the blessing of the St. Anthony Bread and to lead the Eucharistic procession for Corpus Christi with the parishioners.

The church is not particularly Portuguese in its architecture, but the shrines indicate the popular piety particularly of the Azorean Portuguese parishioners who built the church.

There are shrines to St. Michael the Archangel, as most of the people are from the island of São Miguel; the Santo Cristo, which is the big procession and feast every year; Our Lady of Fatima; and, of course, St. Anthony, the Portuguese saint who is the patron of the parish.

It was a lovely celebration, and I was very grateful to have been invited by their pastor, Father Michael Harrington.

Finally, while I was recently in New York for a meeting on safeguarding with some religious sisters, I came across this sculpture, which reminded me that this is the Jubilee Year of Hope.

But I also thought it was rather amusing that next to that sculpture of “HOPE” there was an advertisement for a psychic.  So, it seems some people are putting their hope in the wrong places.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

Of course, when talking about the events of the last month, we have to begin with the election of our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.

I was at the North American College when the white smoke appeared, accompanied by the bells of St. Peterâ€s, which confirmed the election of our new Holy Father.  I immediately went down to St. Peterâ€s Square and waited with the people.  It was a beautiful day, unlike when Pope Francis was elected, when it was at night and rainy.  So, this time, the crowd was very big; I think they said there were 200,000 people gathered.

While we were waiting almost an hour for the Holy Father to come out on the balcony, different military groups from the state of Italy played the Italian national anthem and the papal anthem, which provided a little entertainment.

I heard from many people that I appeared on television quite a few times while we were waiting for the Holy Father to appear.  I got a kick out of that because it was just a case of being in the right place at the right time at a moment when everybody in the world was watching.  I received messages from all over, and I told them that I felt like only the seagulls had more air time than I did!

But one of the most moving things for me, being in the square that day, was seeing the faith of the Catholic people who were joyful at the announcement that there was going to be a new pope.  Even before they knew his name or his origin, everyone was filled with joy.  You could hear people shouting “Viva il Papa!” and it didnâ€t matter to them who appeared on that balcony.  But they all knew, in faith, that Christâ€s promise to continue guiding the Church through the ministry of Peter was once again being fulfilled for us.  So, it was a beautiful moment.

After the Holy Father addressed us, the cardinals went to Casa Santa Marta to greet the Holy Father there and congratulate him.

The day after his election, all the cardinals gathered for Mass with the Holy Father in the Sistine Chapel.

While we were there for the Mass, I took this photo with my fellow Capuchin cardinals, Cardinal Celestino Aós Braco and Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa.

That brought to mind this photo that a friend recently sent me of the tomb of another Capuchin cardinal, Cardinal Antonio Barberini.  He is buried in the famous Church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, what they call the “bone church,” where a number of our saints are actually buried.

His tombstone, which is in the middle aisle as you walk through the church, says, “HIC IACET PVLVIS CINIS ET NIHIL,” which means, “Here lies dust, ashes, and nothing.” Iâ€ve often wondered if he chose that epitaph or whether the friars chose that for him!

The American Embassy, which is right up the street, was originally the palace of the Queen of Italy.  The monastery garden extended all the way up to the palace, and the friars were the chaplains for the queen there.  Now, the Via Veneto has sort of become the center of “la dolce vita,” and I find it ironic that in the midst of all of that is this memento mortis, the Capuchin crypt with all the skeletons and skulls.

Then on Saturday, we had a meeting in the Synod Hall with the Holy Father for the whole morning.  It was sort of a conversation, back and forth with the cardinals.  It was a wonderful meeting, though it was obvious that a lot of cardinals did not know each other well, though the three weeks of congregations certainly were a help.

I think the impression is that the Holy Father is going to have more opportunities to bring the whole College of Cardinals together.  This is something that Pope Francis did at the beginning, but afterwards it was mostly the C9 who met with him.  But going forward, I think the Holy Father will gather us with greater frequency.

On May 14, I had a private audience with the Holy Father in a small office behind the Paul VI Audience Hall.  It was held there because earlier in the morning, he had met in the hall with a large group of pilgrims who were in Rome for a Jubilee event for the Eastern Catholic Churches.

It was my first opportunity to talk to him about the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, our hopes for the future, our desire to be helpful to him and to raise some of the issues I thought he should be aware of.  It was a very good meeting.

While I was waiting to see him, some tennis stars, including Jannik Sinner, were also there with the Davis Cup.  The smaller cup is the womenâ€s trophy, the big one is the menâ€s.

Then, on May 18, we had the Inauguration Mass of the Holy Father, which was a very moving experience.  I donâ€t recall if we did this when Pope Francis was elected but, before the Mass began, all of the cardinals stood in a semicircle around the Confessio, where the tomb of St. Peter is, and the new pope and the Catholic patriarchs went down to pray at the tomb.  I thought that was a very beautiful way of stressing the catholicity of the Church because, in Rome especially, the Church is so overwhelmingly Latin Rite.  But here, a special consideration was made for the 20-some Eastern Rite Catholic Churches.

Then the procession went to the sagrato, where the Holy Fatherâ€s Mass was celebrated.

He was given three symbols: the ring, the pallium, and the Gospels.  Three cardinals were chosen to make the presentation: one from the cardinal deacons, one cardinal priest, and one cardinal bishop.

In another acknowledgment of the Eastern Churches, during the Mass, the Gospel was sung in Greek as well as in Latin.

That weekend was also the Jubilee weekend for people belonging to cofradías and hermandades (confraternities and brotherhoods), which are groups that support different shrines and images of popular Catholic religiosity.  Many of them brought their images with them, particularly from Spain.

One of the members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors lives in Spain and is involved in one of these groups.  So, they asked if I would have Mass for them.  We celebrated it in the Capella Clementina, which is a beautiful little chapel in St. Peterâ€s Basilica, where the altar is closest to the tomb of St. Peter.

I was happy to be able to be a part of their pilgrimage to Rome for the jubilee.

While in Rome, I was very happy to see Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who was staying at the Domus for the inauguration of the new Holy Father.

He had been so gracious to us, giving us hospitality when we visited him in Constantinople with Metropolitan Methodios on our pilgrimage in 2007, so it was good to see him once again.

I returned to Boston on May 19 to attend the installation of Bishop Bruce Lewandowski of Providence on May 20.  Bishop Lewandowski is a Redemptorist who was working in Philadelphia and then became the auxiliary bishop of Archbishop Lori in Baltimore, and from there has been made the Bishop of Providence.  As a young religious, he worked in St. Lucia in the West Indies, and, of course, I was in the West Indies for 10 years working with many of his confreres from the Redemptorist order, including the bishop who ordained me, Bishop Harper.

He had prepared to go to the missions, so he learned Spanish and Portuguese, and during the installation ceremony, he used both languages fluently to greet the people of Providence.  Those are very important immigrant groups there, so Iâ€m sure that was very well received.  At the end of his talk, he also he said, “I plan to be here a long time,” which, of course, was an allusion to the fact that Bishop Henning was there only a year before the Holy Father moved him to Boston.

The following day, May 21, we had a little birthday party for Msgr. Kevin Oâ€Leary at the cathedral with a couple of his priest friends.  He had another celebration with his family, of course, but we didnâ€t want the occasion to go unmarked at the rectory.

On May 22, I went to Father Michael Nolanâ€s 25th anniversary Mass at St. Maryâ€s in Waltham.  It was a beautiful Mass.

Father Nolan has been such an extraordinary pastor.  St. Maryâ€s is one of the few parishes where the numbers increase every year, and he has been so creative in his many pastoral initiatives and his outreach to immigrants, particularly the Ugandan and the Hispanic communities there.  So, we were very pleased to help celebrate this important milestone with him.

Then, from May 25-28, I traveled to Cleveland for the Provincial Chapter of our Capuchin province at the seminary in Wickliffe, Ohio.  The chapel there has been recently renovated and is very beautiful.  Father General was not with us, but he sent one of the counselors, Father Robert Williams.

They had asked me to give a talk on synodality, which I did.  We also had an election for provincial, and Father Robert was elected for a second term.  At one point, Bishop Edward Malesic of Cleveland also came and presided at one of the Vespers ceremonies for us.

It was wonderful to be with all of our friars.  In all, I think there were about 130 men gathered for the chapter, including a number of priests working in our missions from Puerto Rico and Papua New Guinea.  Itâ€s always a wonderful opportunity for fraternity and for the friars to get together and to hear the reports of whatâ€s happening in different parts of the province.

After that, on my way back to Rome, I passed through Portugal on May 31 to celebrate the wedding of Tomás Lobão. Father Jonathan Gaspar and Father Roger Landry were also there with us.

I had baptized Tomás many years ago, and he and his wife were married in the cathedral in Beja, which is a very beautiful church near the Spanish border.

From Portugal, I then went on to Rome for a meeting of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors with the Holy Father on June 5.

He had asked for this meeting about two weeks ago, so it was sort of last minute, but Iâ€m so glad we were able to put it together.  About 20 commission members and some of our staff were able to meet with him for an hour or so.

This is obviously a time of transition as weâ€re waiting for the Holy Father to name a new president, but it was very important to see his commitment to safeguarding.  It was an opportunity for us to talk about the work of the commission.  And we were very gratified that, within a month after his election, he had already met with me once and asked for this meeting with the commission.

In relation to the meeting, I conducted interviews with Vatican Media, which I would like to share with you here:

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

The whole Church rejoices and gives thanks for the gift God has given to the Church in Pope Leo XIV, a missionary from the Augustinian Order.  He served in Peru, a country where scores of Boston priests have also been missionaries since the days of Cardinal Cushing, who founded the Society of St. James.  Pope Leo XIV has chosen a name widely associated with the social justice legacy of Pope Leo XIII, who was pontiff at a time of epic upheaval in the world, the time of the industrial revolution, the beginning of Marxism, and widespread immigration.  The new Popeâ€s rich pastoral experience in Latin America and as leader of an international religious community, and the years spent in Rome, will all provide valuable preparation for his new ministry as Pope.

Pope Leoâ€s frequent references to peace in his opening remarks point to the mission of the Church to be a leaven for unity in the human family.  The second Vatican Council declared in Gaudium et spes, “the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of this age, especially of those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.  Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise and echo in their hearts.”

God in his providence has given us Pope Leo XIV to lead us on this journey of hope.  The Holy Spirit, always present in a conclave, guides the Church as we work to build a civilization of love and make Godâ€s kingdom more visible.  Our task is to announce the Gospel of Jesus Christ with faith and conviction and to witness Christâ€s loving presence in our midst.  At the heart of our mission is the obligation to protect the sacred dignity of every person in Godâ€s creation.

I invite Catholics across the globe and particularly in my own nation to join in unity and support for our new Holy Father. Christ has told us that the hallmark of discipleship is the love we have for each other.  In this Jubilee Year, the Church is inviting us to be pilgrims of hope, walking together with a special compassion and love for those who are suffering and alone.  God in his providence has given us Pope Leo XIV to lead us on this journey of hope.

The first of my activities Iâ€d like to share with you was on April 7th, when we had our metropolitan bishops†meeting of the Boston Province, which includes the dioceses of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont.  It was the first time Archbishop Henning presided.

It was a great joy to be there and very humbling to look around and see that I had ordained most of the bishops present.  We traditionally have about two such meetings a year for the province.  Itâ€s always a valuable opportunity for us to have a moment of fraternity and also to share ideas on the needs of the Church and whatâ€s happening in our various dioceses.

On April 8th, I attended the funeral Mass for Sister Rita Marie Teasdale, SJA, at St. Maryâ€s Cathedral in Fall River.

Sister Rita was a Sister of Ste.  Jeanne dâ€Arc, and the last one remaining here in New England.  Their ministry was very much involved in taking care of rectories and bishops†residences, but more importantly, theirs was a life of contemplation and prayer for priests.

When I first became Bishop of Fall River in 1992, Sister Rita and the Sisters of Ste.  Jeanne dâ€Arc were there.  At that time, in addition to the Bishopâ€s Residence in Fall River, they were also working at the Cardinalâ€s Residence in Boston and the monastery at Saint Anselmâ€s Abbey.  But since then, the sisters have, little by little, all returned to Canada.

For me, it was a great joy to have them in the house.  There were always three sisters, at least one who could speak English to answer the phone, and the others were all French-speaking.  I used to celebrate Mass for them in French every morning, and we would spend a Holy Hour together at 11 oâ€clock on Thursday nights, praying for priests.  They were just such lovely, kind and gracious women who gave such a beautiful example of religious life and service.  It was truly a joy to have them for those 10 years with me when I was at the Bishopâ€s Residence in Fall River.

Bishop da Cunha celebrated the Funeral Mass, and I concelebrated.  At the end, I gave a little talk in French for the sisters who had come down from Quebec for the funeral.

They still have my old portrait in the sacristy there, which I told them was a picture of my son!  But it reminded me of the rather funny story of how it came about.

In 1984, right after I was ordained Bishop of the Virgin Islands, I came up to the Boston area to do confirmations.  One stop was St. Catherineâ€s in Norwood, where Father Brian Kiely was serving as the curate.  His father, who was always very kind to me, asked if I had “pictures.” I said, “Pictures?  What for?” He explained that a bishop is supposed to have his picture in all the parishes.  Since I didnâ€t have any, he told me, “Well, Iâ€ll take you to have your picture taken.”

So, the next day, he showed up at the residence where I was staying with the cardinal and took me to Bachrachâ€s, a very high-end photography studio with pictures of celebrities all over the walls.  The photographer had me bring my episcopal robes and spent hours taking photos of me in various vestments and my Capuchin habit.

The next day, he came to the residence and laid out what must have been hundreds of proofs on the dining room table.  I picked out the one you see, wearing a Capuchin habit.  When he asked how many copies I wanted, and I said, “I think eight will be enough.” The look on that manâ€s face!  I thought I was going to be turned into a pillar of salt!  The poor man had spent two days on this, presumably thinking I needed hundreds of prints for my parishes.  However, about 10 years later, when I became Bishop of Fall River, and the diocese needed an official portrait, I told them, “Just call Bachrachâ€s.  They have the picture.  You can order more copies.” So, a decade later, he finally got to sell his couple hundred pictures after all!

On April 10th, I attended the Catholic Memorial Gala, which was a great success, raising over $2 million.

It also served as an opportunity to celebrate the leadership of Dr. Peter Folan, who is stepping down after 11 years of leading the school.

During the evening, they honored the late Michael McNally of the class of 1979 with their Vince in Bono Malum Award, and I was also honored to receive the Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice Award.

It was good to see Father Michael Nolanâ€s sister, Liz Oâ€Connell, who was there along with their mother, Joan.  Liz is part of the administration at Catholic Memorial.

On April 12th, Archbishop Henning and I went to a banquet for MAPS, the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers, where they honored Bishop Cristiano Barbosa with their Person of the Year award.

Bishop Mark Oâ€Connell and Father Paul Soper were also with us to mark the occassion.

Also, just before Holy Week, I had the opportunity to visit the home of Deacon Chris and Jen Connelly.

I first met them about 30 years ago, when I celebrated the Mass at their graduation from Stonehill College when I was Bishop in Fall River.  Chris taught at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River, and later, I ordained him a deacon here in Boston.  Now, he is the head of our diaconate program.  Jen has been ill, so I was very happy to be able to celebrate Mass for them in their home.  The whole family was there for the Mass, which was a pleasure.

They have an interesting piece of history there — a sign reading, “Help Wanted — No Irish Need Apply.” As you may know, when the Irish first came to Boston, the Yankees were not always happy to see us, and those signs were put everywhere back then.  It serves as a reminder, I suppose, that they werenâ€t too pleased to see all these Irish Catholics arrive!

Then, on Palm Sunday, I joined Communion and Liberation for their Lenten day of recollection.  I gave them a presentation on the Jubilee year, and afterwards, they kindly gave me one of their beautiful Easter posters.

I also went to St. Maryâ€s in Waltham to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass there, as well.

For Holy Week itself, I went out to California to be at our Capuchin novitiate at San Lorenzo Friary.  The scenery there is very beautiful, with wonderful gardens, flowering cacti, and roses that bloom all year.  Itâ€s quite lovely.

I also visited our mission of Santa Ines, which is right nearby.  It is one of the original Franciscan Missions and is now overseen by the Capuchins.

I was at the friary for all of Holy Week.  We had Tenebrae on Wednesday, then Holy Thursday Mass and Good Friday services.

On Good Friday, in addition to the liturgy, we also had the Stations of the Cross outdoors.

On Holy Saturday, we had the Easter Vigil there and, of course, Mass on Easter Sunday.

Then, early Easter Monday morning, about 4 a.m. California time, I received the call from Father Kickham telling me that the Holy Father had died.  So, immediately, I made arrangements to travel to Rome.  I came back from California on Easter Monday, passed through Boston on Easter Tuesday, and went on to Rome, arriving there Wednesday morning at about 6 a.m.

Just a couple of hours later, at 8:30, they had the ceremony to transfer the body of Pope Francis to St. Peterâ€s Basilica from the Domus Santa Marta.  I was very happy I was able to make it for that.

They had the Holy Father lying in state in St. Peterâ€s on Wednesday through Friday night.  People came all day long.

The line went far out from the Vatican, with people waiting patiently to get in to pay their respects.

And then, of course, the funeral Mass on Saturday was just spectacular.  The sheer number of people was just astounding.

And Cardinal Re, who is 91 years old now and our Dean of the College of Cardinals, gave a magnificent homily.  It was very, very stirring.

It was also very impressive to see how many dignitaries came to be present.  I think there were something like 60 monarchs, presidents, and prime ministers there from all over the world — including  President Trump, President Biden, and President Macron — and also many leaders from other churches.

On Sunday, the cardinals went to Vespers together at St. Mary Major.

During my time in Rome, I also had the opportunity to celebrate Mass at the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, in the ancient chapel over the tomb of St. Tarcisius, with groups from the Papal Foundation and the Napa Institute.

Father Matt Williams also joined us for that.  Like many people, he had come to Rome for events related to the canonization of Carlo Acutis. So, he came and concelebrated with us.

One night, I had dinner with my friend Cardinal Adalberto Martínez, and afterwards, I wanted to show him my favorite fountain in Rome, the Fountain of the Galleon.  Thereâ€s such a beautiful view of the whole city from up there.

Finally, as I write this, we are now in the period before the conclave.  As you may know, cardinals over 80 are not electors.  We donâ€t go into the Sistine Chapel for the voting itself, but we participate fully in the discussions, meetings and prayers with all the cardinals during this time.

We gather each day and talk about the needs of the Church and what are some of the qualities we need to look for in a candidate.  We also have many opportunities to pray together.  For example, one morning, we had the Abbot of St. Paul Outside the Walls who came and gave us our meditation.  And then there was also a meditation given by Cardinal Cantalamessa. So, the senior cardinals are certainly participating in what we call the General Congregations — all the discussions and the prayers leading up to the actual voting.

And, every day, there are Masses being offered in the basilica at five oâ€clock in the afternoon.  I have been attending those each day, as well.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

Quite a bit has happened since my last post.

On February 28th, Christopher Lindquist from the bishopâ€s conference accompanied me to a meeting with Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío and Cuban Ambassador to the U.S. Lianys Torres Rivera at the ambassadorâ€s residence.  We were there to follow up on the release of prisoners announced in January and get more detail on how that is progressing.

March 5th was, of course, Ash Wednesday, and I had the Mass at Capuchin College for the friars.

Then, on March 11th, was Cardinal McElroyâ€s installation as Archbishop of Washington, which was held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

St. Matthewâ€s Cathedral downtown is a beautiful old church, but itâ€s very small, and parking is always challenging in the center of the city. So, having it at the basilica allowed them to have a very large crowd there. Iâ€m sure there were at least 4,000 people and maybe 60 or 70 bishops present, along with many priests and religious sisters.

It was a very beautiful celebration, and there was a great spirit of hope and enthusiasm.

I lived in Washington for 20 years in my youth and feel a great affection for that local church and for the bishops whom I served there when I was a priest: Cardinal Oâ€Boyle, Cardinal Baum, and Cardinal Hickey, who were all extraordinary shepherds for the people of Washington.

Iâ€m sure Cardinal McElroy will continue that legacy. We pray for his ministry and that the Lord will bless him and guide him as the new Archbishop of Washington.

The day of the installation, there was a celebration at the Nunciature to celebrate the anniversary of the Holy Father.

While I was in Washington, I was approached by a journalist who wanted to do an article on El Pregonero, which she told me is the oldest Hispanic Catholic newspaper in the United States.

We looked at many old photos, and I told her the story of how I founded the paper, which, like many providential things, was not my original plan.

You see, when I was newly ordained and working at the Centro Católico, there was only one Spanish radio station in Washington, so everyone in the Spanish community listened to it, and it was very important for us. I had a weekly program there, and we also advertised all of our English classes, retreats, Masses, and everything else on that station.

The owner also had an English radio station. On the English station, there was a minister who had this program where he would announce Scripture quotes like, “from Psalm 25,562.” Obviously, this was very unusual. Well, people came to realize that he was announcing the numbers for an illegal lottery! Not surprisingly, the FCC took their license away.

The owner, now down to one station, switched the Spanish station to English because the English station was more lucrative. With that, we lost the only Spanish station in Washington.

Around that time, Father Marty Fox, who was the communications director in Washington, had heard that Father Tim Healy, the president of Georgetown, wanted to get rid of the Georgetown radio station. At the time, they had the most powerful FM station in Washington, with a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week license.

Father Fox suggested I try to get it for a new Spanish radio station. So, I went and spoke with President Healy, and he did not seem at all interested in giving it to the Church. Instead, he wanted to give it to some secular community group.

I had been told that it cost $50,000 a year to run the station. So, I spoke with the Capuchin Mission Office in Pittsburgh, and by some miracle, they sent me $50,000 for that radio station. I went back to President Healy and offered to underwrite all of the expenses and raise money so it would never cost the university anything if they wanted to keep the station or, if they wanted to give it to the diocese, Cardinal Baum was prepared to receive it. He still refused.

But, since I already had the $50,000, rather than send it back, I went to Father Cecil, who was in charge of the Mission Office, and said, “Father, will you give me permission to use that money to start a Spanish newspaper?” And with that, El Pregonero was born.

We wanted it to be a community paper that would give news from the local community, from the Latin American countries where our immigrants were from, a good sports page, and entertainment. Of course, we would also put in different spiritual messages and advertise the Masses and other religious activities, as well as give some catechetical articles and some editorials from the viewpoint of faith.

Now, this was right at the time when The Washington Star, which was the afternoon paper, closed down. So, I called them up and asked them if they would give me all the sidewalk newspaper boxes that they had, and they did. We painted them yellow and put them by all the bus stops that Hispanic people would be using, in front of the bodegas, the Spanish movie theaters, and churches. In that way, we began to distribute El Pregonero.

I chose the name “El Pregonero” (“The Herald”) because, at one point, when a group of robbers accosted St. Francis, they asked, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am the herald of the great king,” and they beat him up. So, it hearkens back to St. Francis, and, of course, in English, the herald is the town crier. Itâ€s someone communicating the news and the Good News, and Iâ€m happy to report that the paper is still alive and well 50 years later.

The following week, March 12th through the 14th, was The Way Forward Conference at Fordham University in New York. The Way Forward Conference is an annual gathering of theologians, bishops, and other experts who come together to discuss a particular topic on the life of the Church in workshops, talks, and panel discussions. The theme this year revolved around the Holy Fatherâ€s encyclical Fratelli Tutti.

Among the theologians participating this year was Hosffman Ospino from Boston College, and our own Bishop Mark Oâ€Connell was among the nearly 60 bishops.

During the conference, we gathered with the bishops for a Mass at St. Paulâ€s Church in New York. This is the Paulist church from the time of Isaac Hecker, the founder of the Paulists, right next to Fordham Universityâ€s downtown campus, right near Lincoln Center and the Opera House.

I took this photo while I was there waiting for our Mass to start. I was very struck by the parishâ€s very Lenten lighting scheme.

There was also a painting of Archbishop John Hughes, whom they called “Dagger John.” He was the Archbishop of New York at the time of the Know Nothings, and he was a very strong leader. Heâ€s the one who built St. Patrickâ€s Cathedral and started Fordham University, which he eventually gave to the Jesuits.

While I was in New York, I was happy to be able to attend a birthday party for my friend Mario Paredes. Auxiliary Bishop of New York Joseph Espaillat was there with us.

On March 18th, I met with Fathers Garcia Breneville and Stanley Rosseau and representatives of the Archdioceseâ€s Haitian community at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. We talked about the situation in Haiti and the difficulties facing so many Haitian immigrants in the United States.

They also gave me a plaque as a token of gratitude.

The picture on the plaque is from one of the Masses for Haitian Independence Day that I started when I came to Boston and have always been very well attended by the Haitian community.

On March 19th, I took part virtually in a discussion at Georgetown University: “The Francis Factor: The Leadership of the Worldâ€s Pastor.” This was part of the universityâ€s Dahlgren Dialogues program.

It was a very good discussion, and you can watch it for yourself here:

On March 19th, I was happy to attend the Spring Celebration hosted by the Planning Office for Urban Affairs. The evening began with a welcome by Maurice Coleman of Bank of America, followed by an opening song from Father Oscar Pratt. We also heard remarks by Planning Office President Bill Grogan and Msgr. Bryan Hehir.

I was very humbled to be honored during the evening.

They also had a powerful video presentation that underscored how affordable housing goes hand-in-hand with social justice, reminding all of us of our responsibility to serve those in need.

It was a wonderful evening that raised over $525,000 to support the Planning Officeâ€s important work.

On March 22nd, the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which had been making a tour of churches around the archdiocese, came to the cathedral. Father Nicanor, along with Bishop Barbosa, organized a day of events around that.

Many people came to pray, and they also had the relics of the visionaries Francisco and Jacinta Marto.

Then, on March 24th, I departed for Rome for the plenary meeting of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which will probably have been my last. The next commission meeting will be in September in Poland, but I trust that by then the Holy Father will have named another president.

Iâ€d like to share with you my opening address to them, in which I speak about the important things we have accomplished and the work to come:

Good morning. As we commence this March plenary assembly in the Churchâ€s Jubilee Year, I wish to review the commissionâ€s three pillars, which are the foundation of our goals to change the safeguarding and the victim/survivor accompaniment culture of the universal Church in a way that has never been done before in the history of the Catholic Church.

Through the annual reportâ€s commitment to transparency and accountability efforts, the Church will be viewed as one Church, whether it be an episcopal conference, the Roman Curia, a religious congregation, or a lay association. We are one body, just as scripture tells us: “There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so, we are formed into one body. It didnâ€t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people.” (1 Corinthians)

The PCPMâ€s annual report shines a light on the entire Church on a rotating basis, opening the doors of transparency and accountability, building collaborations, and positive relationships consistent with a synodal Church and the principles of conversional justice. This is not for personal gain but rather to help Godâ€s vulnerable and hurting through the sustained promotion of our common safeguarding ministry.

In October 2024, the commission marked an important milestone with the publication of its pilot annual report. I thank each of you for accompanying that defining moment in the commissionâ€s life. Indeed, since receiving this mandate from our Holy Father, we have always noted that the promise of this reporting tool is in the long term. As such, this week, we will have the opportunity to continue our reflection on the lessons learned from our first annual report while also turning our attention to the progress made on the second annual report. I look forward to discussing the notable developments with this second iteration of our methodology as we work toward publication this autumn.

Our annual report team will provide us with a series of updates, especially regarding additional components of the methodology, that we committed to progressively implementing, as outlined in the pilot annual report. Among others, these include: implementation of the annual report victim focus group in each of the four regions; inclusion of data sourced from outside of the Church, especially from key United Nations bodies, academia, journalistic outlets, and independent reports; and consultations with the apostolic nuncios in the respective local churches in focus.

During this plenary assembly, we will once again review the text of the instrumentum laboris, now that it has completed the synodal phase of the methodology. This synodal phase involved contributions from dozens of stakeholders around the world, allowing us to enrich the text with additional insights and wisdom from the Universal Church. It is my hope that upon reviewing this document, we might approve it for the critical next steps towards its publication.

Our second pillar is the universal guidelines framework. The Holy Fatherâ€s first words in the chirograph for the institution of a Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors were: “The effective protection of minors and a commitment to ensure their human and spiritual development, in keeping with the dignity of the human person, are integral parts of the Gospel message that the Church and all members of the faithful are called to spread throughout the world. The commissionâ€s specific task is to propose to me the most opportune initiatives for protecting minors and vulnerable adults, in order that we may do everything possible to ensure that crimes such as those which have occurred are no longer repeated in the Church. The commission is to promote local responsibility in the particular churches.”

From this mandate, and in response to the mandate in Praedicate Evangelium directing the PCPM to help the local churches develop safeguarding guidelines: “That propose suitable strategies and procedures for protecting minors and vulnerable persons,” came the creation of the commissionâ€s universal guidelines framework: PCPMâ€s pillar #2.

Much work has taken place over the last two years in developing the universal guidelines framework, as the Holy Father asked us to do. I have been encouraged by the efforts that the commission members and staff have made to engage the local churches, religious congregations and institutes, especially since we last met in October 2024, and to include them in this framework development by scheduling many locally based listening sessions.

I have been advised that both the UGF training and the listening sessions with key stakeholders have provided great insights to us as to the needs of the local churches in requiring our assistance in the development of safeguarding guidelines and victim/survivor accompaniment.

Importantly, this framework must not be seen as a directive, but as a tool to be adapted and shaped by local ordinaries in accordance with the Churchâ€s principle of subsidiarity.

We will hear over the next few days how many churches have suggested that the implementation of good safeguarding practices cannot be imposed through a top-down process from the commission, but that good safeguarding practices are grown locally through the hearts and minds of strong local leaders, and their supportive personnel — lay, ordained, and vowed.

I must also emphasize that the focus and goal of this work is not a paper exercise, but for ensuring that we follow Christâ€s example of supporting the shepherds in caring for their sheep. Our goal is to save lives from harm and help heal the hurting.

I have learned in my many years of ministry never to underestimate the power and effectiveness of safeguarding education, guidelines implementation and accountability, or the accompaniment of victims/survivors on their journey toward healing.

This training, support, and victim/survivor accompaniment by the PCPM for local church leaders will assist them in developing the capacity to lead with confidence and put in place in their cultural context robust safeguards that will protect children and vulnerable people, as well as recognize the critical importance of providing compassionate care to victims and survivors and their family members.

But let me be very clear here: as much as local culture is to be respected, the dignity of the human person comes first, and culture may never be used as an excuse for any type of sexual abuse.

It is my hope that throughout this plenary, we can consider the feedback that we have received about the guidelines framework and then make a plan to enable all episcopal conferences, and religious congregations and institutes to engage with us to create safe spaces for all in the Church, to listen to and care for victims and survivors of sexual abuse, and to ensure a just process of inquiry following allegations and concerns.

The care of children and vulnerable people in our ecclesial spaces does not culminate with these measures alone, but requires permanent efforts towards conversion, listening, fraternal accompaniment, and reparation. May the Lord find us dedicated to this task with the greatest commitment, living in a manner worthy of him, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God (cf. Col 1:10).

I end by thanking you for what you are doing and share with you a philosophy that I have found helpful in my almost 55 years as a priest, having been ordained on August 29, 1970: Work like it depends on you, pray like it depends on God, and watch God work.

May God bless you all.

Following the meeting of the Pontifical Commission, there was also supposed to have been a meeting of the C9 Council of Cardinals, but it was canceled due to the Holy Fatherâ€s health situation. Though we typically had been meeting about every six weeks or so, the Holy Father had told us in December that we would have just one C9 meeting in this busy Jubilee year. And since three of us — Cardinal Gracias, myself, and Cardinal Vérgez — are all over 80, it was going to be our last.

Unfortunately, I didnâ€t have an opportunity to speak with the Holy Father. Though he is back at Casa Santa Marta, he is not receiving any visitors, and they are limiting his contacts to make sure that he doesnâ€t get any other infection or sickness during this time of recovery.

While in Rome, I met with representatives of the World Bank. The Holy Father is supporting a project of Sister Lucía Caram in Ukraine and has asked me to work on that.

Sister Lucía is a Dominican sister who has done extraordinary things in Ukraine. Just last week, she took 50 buses to Ukraine that will be used as school buses and transportation for the elderly. She has taken over 60 ambulances, and sheâ€s brought thousands of children and wounded people to be cared for in Spanish hospitals.

When I was in Rome, I took occasion to go through the Holy Doors for the Jubilee Year. There were huge lines, with thousands and thousands of people passing through the Holy Doors. It was very inspiring.

When I went through, I prayed for all the people here in Boston and our Church.

As I always like to do when Iâ€m in Rome, I also celebrated Mass at my titular church, Santa Maria della Vittoria.

A group of students from the Midwest happened to be visiting the church, so they joined us. We were also joined by Father Rafael Capo from St. Thomas University and Capuchin Brother José Antonio.

Afterward, the Carmelite Sisters had us all to lunch.

As I have mentioned in the past, the church is now overseen by these Carmelite Sisters from a Brazilian community, after the Carmelite Friars moved to their generalate. The friars still come to say the Masses, but the sisters now live in the monastery there and take care of the ministry to the pilgrims and provide music and other assistance with liturgies.

Following the Mass, Brother José Antonio and Father Capo joined me for a walk around the Vatican.

These photos were taken from the Piazzale della Galea, where they have my favorite fountain in Rome.

Itâ€s one of the highest places in Vatican City, and from there, you get a fantastic view of Rome, and also a very good view of the Vatican Observatory.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

Last week was the Oscars ceremony, which brought a lot of attention to the film Conclave.  I was very interested to see that Aleteia and the Associated Press picked up some of my comments from the last blog post.  Iâ€d like to share the Aleteia article with you here:

Cardinal Oâ€Malley shares his experience in a real conclave

By Cerith Gardiner

Although you might be surprised that a religious-themed film — dubbed a political thriller — has proved so successful, thereâ€s no denying that from a cinematographic point of view, the movie is stunning.  Furthermore, the acting is certainly Oscar-worthy, with acclaimed actor Ralph Fiennes putting on a sterling performance as a troubled dean of Cardinals.

While weâ€ve previously spoken about the movieâ€s numerous flaws, and moments where it does reflect what goes on when the Churchâ€s prelates gather to make a momentous decision, itâ€s interesting to get some insight from Cardinal Oâ€Malley, former Archbishop of Boston, who took part in the conclave that saw the now Pope Francis elected as pontiff.

A movie lacking in spiritual reality

The 80-year-old prelate took to his blog to share his thoughts of the movie when asked: “Was it really like that?” To which he explained:

“My answer is, no, it wasnâ€t really like that.

The author, of course, has a surprise ending that I will not give away here, but my experience of being in at least one conclave was not that it was some sort of scene of political backroom plotting of how to get your candidate elected.  It was an experience of a very intense retreat where there was much prayer and silence and listening to conferences on spiritual themes.

Throughout the process, we had a very acute awareness that millions of Catholics around the world were praying for us so that the Holy Spirit would guide us in our deliberations. And, of course, at the moment when each cardinal votes, you take your ballot, stand in front of Michelangeloâ€s image of Christ in the Last Judgment and swear before God that you are going to vote for the person that you believe is Godâ€s will for the Church.

Itâ€s a much different experience than what they depicted in the movie.  For all its artistic and entertainment value, I donâ€t think the movie is a good portrayal of the spiritual reality of what a conclave is.”

A final takeaway

Itâ€s important to bear these thoughts in mind if you are considering watching the movie.

If there is something positive to take away from Conclave itself, itâ€s that people are curious to know what happens during such events that have shaped the Church since its very beginning.  And this curiosity allows Catholics to not only educate themselves more, but to try and share their knowledge with others.

On February 3, I went to Regina Cleri to celebrate a wake service for Father John Mulloy, whom I used to call my classmate because he was ordained the same year I was.  He was a man of such incredible talent and pastoral love for the priests and people of the archdiocese.  I donâ€t think any of the priests have been as faithful in attending all the priests†funerals as Father John Mulloy had been.

So, it was a privilege and an honor to preside at the wake service for him and to reflect on the wonderful pastoral service that he gave to the Church in so many different ways, not the least of which was being a wonderful pastor.

February 6-9, I went to Naples, Florida, to attend the annual summit of Legatus.

This organization for Catholic business leaders was founded by Tom Monahan, the founder of Dominoâ€s Pizza and it has done so much to promote evangelization, social ministry, and the works of the Church.

During the summit, I celebrated two Masses for them.

Then, at the banquet, I was very honored to be presented with the Cardinal John Oâ€Connor Defender of the Faith Award.  Mother Olga Yaqob introduced me very kindly and generously.  (In addition to introducing me, Mother Olga delivered a talk, as well.)

In my remarks, I talked about Tom Monahan and how he came to our rescue in the Virgin Islands after Hurricane Hugo.  The terrible devastation resulted in the public schools being closed for two and half years, but I was able to open the Catholic schools in tents after a month, thanks to Tomâ€s help.

I told them the story of how we were six weeks without water, electricity or phones, so it was very difficult to get in touch with him.  But someone gave me a satellite phone, and I was able to reach him.  Tom sent his private plane full of generators to get the Catholic schools up and running.

It was the first plane to land on St. Croix following the hurricane, so I worked with the parishioners to pull all the debris off the runway to allow the plane to land.  When the people saw the plane with the Dominoâ€s logo, they said “Bishop Sean has sent for pizza!”  And I said “Yes!  And it is going to be free because it took them more than 30 minutes to deliver it!”

And that was just one example.  After the earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua it was Tom Monahan who rebuilt the cathedral there.  So we are very grateful to him for all the ways he has supported the Church.

I also spoke a little bit about Cardinal Oâ€Connor, who was a very close friend of mine.  We took many trips together to Central America during the time of the wars there and stayed in different refugee camps.  He was just an extraordinary figure in the history of our Church, and I was honored to be given an award named for him.

On February 10, I attended the wake of Mary Kemp.  Mary and her family have been great supporters and friends of the archdiocese, particularly the seminary, for many years.

I have been happy to be with her at home many times.  So, I was pleased to be able to celebrate a wake service for her, at which her daughters and their families were all present.

From February 14-16, I went to New York to attend the annual New York Encounter sponsored by Communion and Liberation.  Of course, every year, this is a very important event in the life of the Church that gathers young people, not only from New York and New England but from all over the country.

As always, the weekend consisted of a number of talks and events, including a discussion led by Apostolic Nuncio Christophe Pierre on Carlo Acutis in which Carlo Acutisâ€s mother participated in the dialogue about her son.

For my part, they asked me to give an introductory talk before , the major architect of the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral spoke about the renovations.

It was a very beautiful presentation and it was stunning to see the pictures and what they have been able to accomplish with the restoration.  Heâ€s definitely a man of faith and a man who saw this as a special mission in his life and professional career to be able to rebuild the cathedral.

Of course, I could not pass up the opportunity to mention the fact that the Capuchin Friars ran the fire department of Paris for over two centuries, and I said that if we were still in charge, the Notre Dame would not have burned down!

From there, I flew to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic for a retreat for bishops hosted by the Neocatechumenal Way at the Casa de Convivencia Maria de la Altagracia, a wonderful retreat house that I had not been to for many, many years.

There were about 25 bishops with us from all over the United States and the Caribbean, including four cardinals: Cardinal Pierre, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Cardinal Wilton Gregory and myself.   I also understand that the president of our bishops†conference, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, came after I had to leave.

It was a wonderful week of fraternity and learning about the spirituality, history and ministries of the Neocatechumenal Way, including an excellent exhibition about the seminaries.  I think all the bishops had a very enriching experience.  Certainly, the weather and hospitality could not have been better.

As I alluded to earlier, unfortunately, I was not able to stay for the whole retreat because we received the sad news that my Aunt Patricia had passed away at the age of 99, and I went to Florida for her funeral on February 22.

My Aunt Pat was just an amazing woman.  She was widowed at a very young age and raised nine children on her own.  She also taught for many years at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami.  She had a long and beautiful life and was a great woman of faith and prayer who raised her family in a beautiful way.  So, it was a privilege to be able to celebrate the Mass for her and to gather with some of my cousins.

On February 26, I went to Sacred Heart University in Connecticut to participate in their Bergoglio Lecture Series on Pope Francis.

In my address, I talked about the Holy Fatherâ€s Jesuit identity and the influences of St. Francis in his life and ministry.

It was a beautiful day, and I was amazed at how many students came to hear the lecture.  I think if I were a student, I wouldâ€ve played hooky because it was so nice outside!  But there were hundreds of kids; it was standing-room-only.

And they were very engaged; they had lots of questions.  It was very encouraging to see the interest and involvement of these young people in the life of the Church.

Of course, this event was long planned, but it took on a special significance as international media was focused on the Gemelli Hospital, waiting for reports of the Holy Fatherâ€s health.

The news continues to be guarded, but we pray that the Lord will give him renewed strength and restore his health.  Certainly, the whole world is praying for him.  We entrust him to Godâ€s holy providence and pray for his recovery.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

Last month, Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona Joan Josep Omella i Omella invited me to give a retreat for the clergy of Barcelona that went from Sunday, January 12, to Friday, the 18th.

I arrived a few days before the retreat was to start and the local Capuchins took me to see two very famous mountains near Barcelona: Montserrat and Tibidabo.

Montserrat is the home of the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat, which is the home of the statue of Our Lady of Montserrat.

This is the place where, when St. Ignatius of Loyola converted, he took his sword and arms and put them at the feet of Our Lady of Montserrat.  That is why, when the Jesuits built a new chapel for priests and seminarians at their Peter Faber community in Boston, I gave them a statue of Our Lady of Montserrat.

The monastery is over a thousand years old and is very impressive to see thier library.

I was particularly taken with this map of the world they have.

It’s a little hard to see, but did you notice that the Americas are missing?  Itâ€s because it was made before the time of Columbus!

From there we went to Tibidabo, where there is the built by St. John Bosco.

There is a window there depicting the theme where the name Tibidabo comes from.  When Satan was tempting the Lord, he said, “et ait ei tibi dabo” (“I will give it to you”) if you worship me.

Then, on Sunday the 12th, the morning before the retreat started, I celebrated Mass at the famous basilica, Sagrada Família, which they say is the most visited site in Spain.  It was what they call the International Mass, which is celebrated in Latin, and I preached a little bit in French, Italian, Portuguese, English and Spanish.

All the other Masses are in Catalan, so itâ€s a big draw for anyone who doesnâ€t speak the language, and there were about 2,000 people there.

The basilica itself is quite impressive.  The columns and the windows are just stunning, so itâ€s definitely worth a visit.

The tomb of the architect who designed Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí, is in the crypt below.

The interesting thing is, if you donâ€t have the time to make the line, you really donâ€t have to go inside to see beautiful artwork.  Inside, there are only three statues: one of Jesus, one of Mary and one of Joseph.  All the other statues are on the outside.  The whole life of Christ is on the outside of the building.

As I said, the retreat went from Sunday to Friday, and there were about 50 priests with us.  It was a very serious retreat, all in silence, with holy hours every day, and we prayed the office in Catalan.

The retreat house where it was held was just outside the city.  Itâ€s run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart and is right on the Mediterranean; you can see the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other.  Itâ€s a very beautiful spot.

In this photo of the retreat house, you see the garden with all the flowers.  (While it was snowing in Boston, we had lovely weather there!)

Their founder was a Capuchin.  They have a very classical photo of him with the tonsure.  (In Europe, they wore the tonsure into the 1970s.)

In addition to the retreat house, the sisters have a home for children with mental and physical disabilities where they also house their retired sisters.  So, the cardinal and I went to visit them.

After the retreat ended on Friday evening, I came back to the city and met with the seminarians of Barcelona and had a time of dialogue with them.

While I was in the city, I stayed at the Cathedral of St. Eulalia.

Barcelona is interesting in that it has three churches that people often call “cathedrals”: Sagrada Família, the Basilica of St. Mary of the Sea, often called El Catedral del Mar (The Cathedral of the Sea); and St. Eulalia.  While the other two are impressive basilicas, St. Eulalia is the only one that properly deserves that title.

One of the towers in the bishopâ€s palace was built by Caesar Augustus.  So itâ€s 2,000 years old.

The cathedral has a choir in the center, and at the far end lies the crypt containing the remains of St. Eulalia.

Above the crypt is the high altar, which has the Christ of Lepanto, the figurehead from the ship that led the flotilla into the Battle of Lepanto.

In the cloister, there are 13 geese, which are the security system for the cathedral.  If anyone tries to sneak in, those birds will squawk their heads off!  There are 13 geese because St. Eulalia was 13 years old when she was martyred.

Another thing I learned about the cathedral is that every night, people come from the parishes and sing — and stand under my window!

Near the cathedral is the Temple of Augustus, a structure built by Caesar Augustus.

The Catedral del Mar is also very close to St. Eulalia.  It was built with contributions from the poor — the fishermen, stevedores and sailors of the city.

Thatâ€s the church where St. Ignatius of Loyola went after he was ordained and sat on the steps begging for money to be able to go to the holy land. So, outside, they have a statue of St. Ignatius begging.

Following the retreat, I came back to Boston to celebrate the funeral of Robert Travers, Sr.  Mr. Travers was the head of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.  He spent decades of his life working for the Church.  He and his wife are so supportive of many of our priests and, of course, his son, Bobby Travers, works here at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, helping out in many different ways.

So, there were many people there at his funeral.  His last days were at St. Patrickâ€s with the Carmelite sisters of the Aged and Infirm, who were so good to him.

Then, on January 22nd, I went to New York for the Inaugural Heart of the Missions Dinner to benefit the Pontifical Mission Societies USA.

They presented me with their first Blessed Pauline Jaricot Distinguished Catholic Philanthropy Medal, named after the foundress of the Pontifical Mission Societies.

In my comments, I talked about how, when we celebrated the Bicentennial of the Archdiocese of Boston, we discovered letters from France sending money to help establish the then-missionary Diocese of Boston.

I also talked a little bit about how important the missions were in my family and parish growing up.

Our Diocese of Cleveland had a mission in El Salvador where, since the time I was a small child, they were sending a mission team, which was made up of priests, sisters and lay people.  From my parish, the curate, Father Dennis St. Marie spent 25 years in El Salvador and Jean Donovan, one of the women who was martyred in El Salvador, is from my parish.  Bishop Archbishop Sheen, who was head of the Propagation of the Faith, would also come every year, and that was always a very exciting event for us.

I also talked about Maryknoll Magazine and how much of an impact this made and the Holy Childhood Association in our Catholic schools.

Of course, today, we need to reemphasize the Churchâ€s mission to spread the Gospel.   So, I was very pleased that Bishop da Cunha of Fall River has allowed Msgr. Roger Landry to take over the responsibility as National Director of The Pontifical Mission Societies USA.  The energy, commitment and zeal that he has are going to be very important factors in trying to put our focus once again on the mission of the Church to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

This was one of the first activities that Msgr. Landry has organized.  So, we were happy to be a part of it.

January 24 was, of course, the 52nd annual March for Life.

As always, on the evening before the March, we have the Opening Mass of Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Then, this year, on the morning of the March, our Boston group attended Life Fest and Archbishop Henning celebrated Mass with the Boston seminarians at the Dominican House of Studies, as I have done in the past.

I had Mass with the Capuchin Friars and some of the parishioners from Sacred Heart in the crypt of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

A young friar whom I ordained a year ago, Father Michael Herlihey, preached and did a great job with the homily.

For many of us, the crypt church is a very important place.  Itâ€s where I was tonsured, ordained a deacon and received all my minor orders.

The crypt is the original part of the shrine.  It was constructed first, and then the upper church was completed only many decades later.

On the walls they have beautiful mosaics of the saints from the Roman Canon.

I have many wonderful memories of that place.  It is very special, and I was very happy to be there.

From there, we went to the rally at the National Mall.

They donâ€t release attendance figures for the March, but there were huge crowds.  Among the speakers was the new vice president, who I think gave a very good talk.

During the March, I ran into our Boston seminarians and the group from Harvard University with Father Nate Sanders.  I told the Harvard group about the first March for Life when Xavier Suarez and two of his buddies came and slept on the floor of the Centro Catolico.  They went to the March with a huge sign that said “Harvard Law Students for Life,” but, of course, there were only three of them!  So, over 50 years later, I was very happy to see that there were a lot more Harvard students coming to the March!

I also ran to the new Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal McElroy, who will be installed next month.

I also saw the Auxiliary Bishop of Washington Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, who, for a while, was pastor of the place I had been pastor of, Our Lady Queen of the Americas.

As I always like to say, the March for Life is something of the poor manâ€s World Youth Day.  It is an opportunity for our young people to feel affirmed in their faith and be together with thousands and thousands of their fellow Catholics and young people from all over, publicly witnessing to our faith and the Gospel of Life.  So, I was very grateful to all of those from Boston who came and those who helped organize our pilgrimages.

While I was in Washington, I had dinner at the home of Manela and Tony Diez.  With us was Oblate Father Leo Perez, the director of the Subcommittee for the Church in Latin America at the USCCB; Father Emilio Biosca, the pastor of Sacred Heart, the Capuchin parish in Washington; and Auxiliary Bishop of Havana Eloy Domínguez.

Bishop Domínguez has had the responsibility of working with the prisoners who have been released.

As I mentioned in my January 14 post, one of the things that I have been involved in the last few years has been trying to work for the release of prisoners in Cuba.  The Holy Father sent me with letters to Cuban President Díaz-Canel and former President Raúl Castro.

I was so delighted that, following meetings in Rome, Havana, Washington and New York, the Cuban government made the announcement that they are going to start releasing those prisoners.  About 200 have been released so far and they did assure us that they would continue releasing up to 553 people in response to Pope Francisâ€s appeal.

They are doing this as part of the Jubilee celebrations.  The Holy Father, in his letter on the Jubilee, “Spes non confundit,” “Hope does not disappoint,” calls us to be a sign of hope to prisoners.  So, it is wonderful that just in the last few days before the beginning of the Jubilee Year, the Holy Fatherâ€s appeal to President Biden to commute the death sentences of about 40 people in the United States on death row received a positive response.  The Holy Father had also made a request that some kind of clemency be made for Leonard Peletier, the Native American activist who has been imprisoned for 50 years and who is very, very sick.  That also was granted.

Then, of course, there was the release of these prisoners in Cuba.

I think it was almost miraculous that we had that wonderful response to the Holy Fatherâ€s appeals just as we were beginning this Jubilee year of hope.

Finally, Iâ€d like to offer you some of my thoughts on the recent movie Conclave.

So many people who have seen it come up to me and say, “Was it really like that?”  My answer is, no, it wasnâ€t really like that.

The author, of course, has a surprise ending that I will not give away here, but my experience of being in at least one conclave was not that it was some sort of scene of political backroom plotting of how to get your candidate elected.  It was an experience of a very intense retreat where there was much prayer and silence and listening to conferences on spiritual themes.

Throughout the process, we had a very acute awareness that millions of Catholics around the world were praying for us so that the Holy Spirit would guide us in our deliberations.  And, of course, at the moment when each cardinal votes, you take your ballot, stand in front of Michelangeloâ€s image of Christ in the Last Judgment and swear before God that you are going to vote for the person that you believe is Godâ€s will for the Church.

Itâ€s a much different experience than what they depicted in the movie.  For all its artistic and entertainment value, I donâ€t think the movie is a good portrayal of the spiritual reality of what a conclave is.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

It is significant that the year 2025 is being observed in Catholicism as a Biblical Jubilee Year.  In contemporary terms, it is a Holy Year inviting the community of the Church to foster forgiveness, reconciliation and various expressions of compassion.  It is in that spirit that I commend and welcome the decisions of the government of the United States and the government of Cuba to take steps that for years have seemed impossible.

The Cuban government has informed Pope Francis that, in response to his request, it is releasing 553 persons who have been incarcerated for several years.

President Biden has announced that the U.S. will make significant concessions to improve the lives of the Cuban people.  This action has resulted in the decision of the Cuban government to respond to Pope Francis’ petition on behalf of the prisoners.

Pope Francis†patient and persistent efforts to assist the Cuban people and to foster greater understanding between our two peoples have been an underlying force in bringing about this historic agreement.

The implementation of what has been announced today will obviously be a complex process both in the U.S. and in Cuba.  My prayer is that what has occurred today will indeed result in the release of these prisoners and greater cooperation between our two countries and their peoples.

I hope you all had a blessed and merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Just after my last post at the beginning of the month, we had the consistory at which the Holy Father created 21 new cardinals.

Among the new cardinals was 99-year-old Cardinal Angelo Acerbi. (He is the oldest cardinal ever to be named!)  He had been a nuncio for many, many years and is now a resident at the Domus Santa Marta.

He gave the opening talk addressing the Holy Father and spoke very eloquently.

Heâ€s just a wonderful person, and there was great enthusiasm that the Holy Father had named him to the College of Cardinals.

Of course, a consistory always draws many people to Rome, and I was very happy to see the Cardinal Archbishop of Havana Juan García, as well as Felice Gorordo, Antonio Señas, and Mario Paredes.

In the photos of the consistory, you can see Berniniâ€s newly refurbished baldacchino and Altar of the Chair.

For Christmas, someone sent me a book about Bernini, which was fascinating.  I had sort of lost sight of how many of the wonderful monuments and works of art in Rome he had created.

Regular readers will remember that in my October 25^th post I shared some photos of Berniniâ€s elephant obelisk outside the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.

This time, Iâ€m adding a photo of the tomb of Pope Alexander VI, who was the great patron of Bernini.

Bernini also, of course, created the famous statue of St. Teresa of Avila in my titular church Santa Maria della Vittoria, the angels carrying the instruments of the Passion on the bridge from Castel Santâ€Angelo, as well as the beautiful fountains in the Piazza Navona.

He certainly is one of the most important artists of all time, and we are so pleased that his works in St. Peterâ€s have been beautifully refurbished with the help of the Knights of Columbus from the United States.

Immediately after the consistory, I left for Washington, D.C., for a gathering of The Papal Foundation.

On December 9, we had our annual dinner at the Willard Hotel in Washington, at which they honored me.

The following day we had our annual meeting at the nunciature in Washington.

Our keynote speaker was Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. She gave an excellent talk.

At the nunciature, they have a very nice chapel and a statue of St. Peter that is a replica of the one in St. Peterâ€s Basilica.

On Saturday, December 14, I was very pleased to celebrate the baptism of little Teresa, the daughter of Deacon Tommy and Nancy, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

The following Monday, December 16, there was a dinner of the Catholic University of America Board of Trustees.

Though I have been on the board of CUA for many, many years, my service has come to an end with my retirement.  So, during the dinner, there were many tributes and honors for me, for which I am very grateful.

Also, while I was in Washington, I was very happy to be able to get together for dinner with my good friends, Father Emilio Biosca and Manella and Tony Diez.

On Christmas Day, I celebrated the Spanish Mass at the cathedral for our local community here.

I thought the cathedral was decorated very beautifully this year.

And on the subject of Christmas, in case anyone ever wondered what the Holy Fatherâ€s Christmas card looks like, I thought Iâ€d share a picture of this yearâ€s with you:

Then, on Sunday the 29^th, I had a Mass for some of the members of Communion and Liberation in Boston, dedicating their new home for the womenâ€s group of the Memores Domini, consecrated lay members of the CL community, in Newton.

It was wonderful to be with them, and we are delighted that we have both a community of men and of women Memores here in the archdiocese.

On December 30, we gathered at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Norwood for the funeral Mass of Msgr. Connie McRae, who passed away on Dec. 19.  There were several dozen priests and bishops gathered with the members of Msgr. McRaeâ€s family there at St. Catherineâ€s, where he had been pastor.

In his long and fruitful ministry, he had been a very successful pastor, the rector of Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary, and served as spiritual director at St. Johnâ€s Seminary twice and the Pontifical North American College in Rome twice.  (I still remember him riding on the cobblestone streets of Rome and his bicycle well into his 70s!)

Archbishop Henning was, of course, the main celebrant, but Archbishop Al Hughes, who had been a very close friend of Connieâ€s for many decades, gave the homily.  Msgr. McRae was a great and beloved priest of the archdiocese, and it was a very moving tribute to him.  We are also grateful that Archbishop Hughes was able to be there and give such a heartfelt reflection on Connieâ€s life.

I also want to remind everyone that we have now officially begun the Jubilee Year “Pilgrims of Hope,” which offers an opportunity for those who embrace it to receive many blessings and graces.

As we begin this special year, please join me in praying the prayer that our Holy Father Pope Francis has given us for this time:

Father in heaven,

may the faith you have given us

in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,

and the flame of charity enkindled

in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,

reawaken in us the blessed hope

for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us

into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.

May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos

in the sure expectation

of a new heaven and a new earth,

when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,

your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee

reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,

a yearning for the treasures of heaven.

May that same grace spread

the joy and peace of our Redeemer

throughout the earth.

To you our God, eternally blessed,

be glory and praise for ever.

Amen

Finally, because we have some new (or occasional) readers with us, I want to remind everyone of my new blog schedule.  Since the end of October, I have decided to switch from a weekly posting to just the first Friday of every month.

So, I hope you will all return to read my next post on February 7^th.

Until next then,

Cardinal Seán

I hope all of you have been well since my last blog post in October, and Iâ€m very happy to be back with you.

Of course, this is my first post since the installation of the new Archbishop of Boston, Richard Henning, which was a great event in the life of our Church.

Itâ€s always a very historic moment when the new archbishop comes.  I was particularly impressed by how many bishops and cardinals were present with us.  When I was installed, we were not in a position to invite bishops from outside to attend.  So, it was a great joy to see that at this point in our history, we were able to host about 60 bishops and six cardinals.

I was also particularly happy to see that so many Eastern Rite priests and bishops were able to be with us.  Itâ€s always good for our Catholic people to be reminded of the universality of the Church and the many different rites that we have, many of which are present locally.

So, I was delighted that Bishop François Beyrouti of the Melkite Eparchy of Newton, which shares territory with the archdiocese, was there for Archbishop Henningâ€s installation and had the idea of gathering the Eastern Rite priests and bishops for a picture.  He sent it to me just the other day, and I thought it would be nice to share with you.

Of course, many people are aware that we tragically lost one of our young priests last month, Father Corey Bassett-Tirrell.  Just a couple weeks before he died, I had been with him, and he helped prepare a meal for us and was full of life and joy.  So, his sudden death was a shock.

I was happy to be able to lead the prayer service at his wake at St. Aldelaideâ€s in Peabody and be able to tender my condolences to his father, brother and members of his family and friends.  I was very touched by the outpouring of affection for Father Corey.

When I was there, they showed me their new Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the parish.

Not long afterward, I traveled to Baltimore for the Fall Plenary Assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Itâ€s our custom that, during the assembly, all the Boston bishops gather for a nice meal together, and this was our chance to welcome Archbishop Henning to that gathering.

During the conference, I was very pleased to be honored by the bishops†Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs as one of the recipients of their Encuentro Award for contributions to the advancement of Hispanic ministry.

The ceremony took place on the Wednesday of the conference, and I was honored along with Sister Ana María Pineda of Santa Clara University, Carmen Aguinaco of the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry and Bishop Gerald Barnes.

Also, during the conference, there was a reception hosted by The Catholic University of America to thank me for my service and discuss CUAâ€s new Endowed Chair of Hispanic Catholic Studies in my name.

More than a personal honor, this chair signifies a deep commitment by the university to the future of Hispanic ministry in our country.  For many decades, I have seen firsthand the vibrancy and deep faith of our Hispanic communities.  At the same time, I have also seen the growing need for dedicated resources to support the Churchâ€s ministry to this important group that more and more makes up a significant portion of the Church in the U.S.  I know that the establishment of this new chair will not only benefit Hispanic Catholics but will enrich and strengthen the entire Church in our country.

I came back from Baltimore to attend St. Johnâ€s Seminaryâ€s gala dinner at the Museum of Fine Arts to mark their 140^th anniversary.  Itâ€s the first time they have held a gala like this, and they had a wonderful turnout.

Of course, it was a great venue to hold it in, and I think many people were amazed at how much of the artwork that surrounded us had religious themes.

Iâ€ve felt it was very important for the seminary to begin an annual fundraiser around which friends and benefactors can gather to express their support for the seminary, which has been such a blessing for the archdiocese for almost a century and a half.

It was also an opportunity to thank the rector, Msgr. Stephen Salocks, who has given so many years of his life to the formation of our future priests, both as a professor and now as rector.

The one time each year that I gather with most of my relatives is Thanksgiving.  Since most of the family lives in Florida, we gathered at the house of my aunt and cousin in Fort Lauderdale.

Each year, before we sit down for our Thanksgiving meal, we always have a Mass together at the local parish.  During the Mass this year, we had the baptism of a new nephew, Robert Dineen, the child of my cousins Kathleen and Bradley.

I had baptized Kathleen 30 years ago and now I had the joy of baptizing her son.  Shortly thereafter, I passed through Portugal on the way to Rome, where I had another baptism of a baby, Maria, whose mother I also baptized many years ago.

As a priest, itâ€s a joy to be able to see how people live out their life of discipleship and continue the sacraments in their lives and are now sharing that same faith and joy with their children.  (Though I presume that someone else after me will have to baptize the children of these babies!)

The baptism in Portugal was in a town called Ourém, which is very close to Fatima.  The church in Ourém is over 700 years old and right next to a Moorish castle thatâ€s over a thousand years old.

Because itâ€s so close to the Shrine of Fatima, we went there to pray at the Chapel of the Apparitions.

I was surprised to see how many pilgrims were there.  It was very encouraging to see because the large pilgrimage groups are often there on the 12th or the 13th of the month, but this was not one of those days.

As I say, for about the last week, I have been in Rome taking part in meetings of the Council of Cardinals, the so-called C9.

One of the central themes of our session was collegiality in the Church, and Cardinal Marcello Semeraro led a discussion on the relationship between particular churches and ecclesial assemblies.  We also offered our reflections on our experiences of the Synod and continued our discussions on the role of women in the Church.

Another important focus of our meetings was the implementation of the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium in diocesan curias and its application in the various regions.  In addition, Cardinal Gracias gave us a report of his study groupâ€s efforts on the topic “The role of Papal Representatives in a synodal missionary perspective.”

One night, I had an opportunity to have dinner with Colleen Donohoe, who worked in our Catholic Schools Office for many years and is now the Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina.

It was very good to see her again.

I also had a very interesting encounter with a German gentleman I met on the street.  Many people may not know this, but thereâ€s a German custom of collecting autographed pictures of bishops, and then they trade them like we do baseball cards.  So, this man had all sorts of pictures of me that he wanted to sign, and he gave me some of them, including this one of me with the Holy Father when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Thursday, I had a meeting with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.  And earlier today, I went to the first of the Advent sermons of the new Preacher of the Papal Household, Father Roberto Pasolini.  His theme this year is “Doors of Hope.”

Afterward, I had a meeting with the Holy Father in the Apostolic Palace.

Of course, since it is Advent, the Holy See has placed a Nativity Scene and a colorful Christmas tree in the center of St. Peterâ€s Square.

Finally, I want to share this pastoral letter that was issued by Cardinal Nichols of Westminster, England.

We see how the issue of physician-assisted suicide is moving ahead in many places, and there have been indications in England and now in Ireland that legislators are considering this.  Unfortunately, I think a lot of people, when they are asked about this issue, donâ€t take into account the full implications of legalizing assisted suicide.  So, I think more catechesis around this issue is very helpful, and I think Cardinal Nicholsâ€s letter is a very cogent defense of life.   I hope that it will have an influence in the British Isles and Ireland.

In both places, there is still a process underway, but, as Cardinal Nichols points out, in the countries where physician-assisted suicide is legalized, it almost immediately begins to lead to more and more legislation allowing more drastic interpretations of the law.  For example, right now in Canada, the number of people who are dying from suicide is quite considerable.

For the Church, this is a great moral problem, and it is really undermining peopleâ€s appreciation for the sacredness of life.  Cardinal Nichols puts it so well when he writes, “The right to die can become a duty to die” when pressures are put on the elderly, the sick and the disabled.

So, I want to share this letter with you.  I think itâ€s a very important contribution to the conversation.

My brothers and sisters,

This Wednesday, 16 October 2024, a bill will be introduced to Parliament proposing a change in the law to permit assisted suicide.  The debate will continue for a number of months, in society and in Parliament, before a definitive vote is held there.  This puts in the spotlight crucial questions about the dignity of human life and the care and protection afforded by our society to every human being.

As this debate unfolds there are three points I would like to put before you.  I hope that you will take part in the debate, whenever and wherever you can, and that you will write to your Member of Parliament.

The first point is this: Be careful what you wish for.

No doubt the bill put before Parliament will be carefully framed, providing clear and very limited circumstances in which it would become lawful to assist, directly and deliberately, in the ending of a personâ€s life.  But please remember, the evidence from every single country in which such a law has been passed is clear: that the circumstances in which the taking of a life is permitted are widened and widened, making assisted suicide and medical killing, or euthanasia, more and more available and accepted.  In this country, assurances will be given that the proposed safeguards are firm and reliable.  Rarely has this been the case.  This proposed change in the law may be a source of relief to some.  But it will bring great fear and trepidation to many, especially those who have vulnerabilities and those living with disabilities.  What is now proposed will not be the end of the story.  It is a story better not begun.

The second point is this: a right to die can become a duty to die.

A law which prohibits an action is a clear deterrent.  A law which permits an action changes attitudes: that which is permitted is often and easily encouraged.  Once assisted suicide is approved by the law, a key protection of human life falls away.  Pressure mounts on those who are nearing death, from others or even from themselves, to end their life in order to take away a perceived burden of care from their family, for the avoidance of pain, or for the sake of an inheritance.

I know that, for many people, there is profound fear at the prospect of prolonged suffering and loss of dignity.  Yet such suffering itself can be eased.  Part of this debate, then, must be the need and duty to enhance palliative care and hospice provision, so that there can genuinely be, for all of us, the prospect of living our last days in the company of loved ones and caring medical professionals.  This is truly dying with dignity.  Indeed, the radical change in the law now being proposed risks bringing about for all medical professionals a slow change from a duty to care to a duty to kill.

The third point is this: being forgetful of God belittles our humanity.

The questions raised by this bill go to the very heart of how we understand ourselves, our lives, our humanity.  For people of faith in God – the vast majority of the population of the world – the first truth is that life, ultimately, is a gift of the Creator.  Our life flows from God and will find its fulfilment in God.  ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.†(Job 1:21) To ignore or deny this truth is to separate our humanity from its origins and purpose.  We are left, floating free, detached, in a sphere that lacks firm anchors or destiny, thinking that we can create these for ourselves according to the mood of the age, or even of the day.

The clearest expression of this faith is that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God.  That is the source of our dignity and it is unique to the human person.  The suffering of a human being is not meaningless.  It does not destroy that dignity.  It is an intrinsic part of our human journey, a journey embraced by the Eternal Word of God, Christ Jesus himself.  He brings our humanity to its full glory precisely through the gateway of suffering and death.

We know, only too well, that suffering can bring people to a most dreadful state of mind, even driving them to take their own lives, in circumstances most often when they lack true freedom of mind and will, and so bear no culpability.  But this proposed legislation is quite different.  It seeks to give a person of sound will and mind the right to act in a way that is clearly contrary to a fundamental truth: our life is not our own possession, to dispose of as we feel fit.  This is not a freedom of choice we can take for ourselves without undermining the foundations of trust and shared dignity on which a stable society rests.

As this debate unfolds, then, I ask you to play your part in it.  Write to your MP.  Have discussions with family, friends and colleagues.  And pray.  Please remember: be careful what you wish for; the right to die can become a duty to die; being forgetful of God belittles our humanity.

May God bless us all at this critical time.

✠ Cardinal Vincent Nichols
Archbishop of Westminster

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

Last Saturday, I took part in the weekly rosary procession they are now holding in St. Peterâ€s Square.

In the photos, you can see the pictures of the four saints who were canonized the following day.

Much to my surprise, at the procession, I ran into Father Steve Madden, who was coming back from a pilgrimage to Assisi.  So, I made arrangements to have dinner with him Sunday night.

Also, that day, Cardinal Peter Turkson celebrated a special Mass in St. Peterâ€s Basilica to mark the 60^th anniversary of the canonization of the Ugandan Martyrs.

People traveled from all over the world to attend the celebration, including several members of the Ugandan community of Boston.  I was glad to be able to see them.

Sunday, I had a free day, so I had breakfast with Father Michael Nolan, who was returning from the Holy Land and passing through Rome.

Then, I went to visit the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, which was recently renovated.  It is the Dominican church in Rome where St. Catherine of Siena is buried.

It is a very beautiful church.

Outside the church, there is an obelisk placed on the back of an elephant statue created by Bernini.  Iâ€m not sure if there is any particular symbolism to the elephant, but itâ€s a wonderful artistic touch.

Many of the plazas of Rome have these obelisks that were brought from Egypt during the time of the Caesars.  They are over 2,000 years old, and many are in front of the principal churches in Rome.

Besides Father Madden, I had another chance meeting this week.  At one point, I was in a bookstore, and a friar came up to me and said that I had met him in Malta exactly 20 years ago that day.  He said he had just been ordained a transitional deacon the day before, and thatâ€s how he could remember the date.

It was when I went with the Boston priests for the priest retreat in Malta.  This friar had taken me to visit and have lunch with the Capuchin Friars of Malta.

I was very interested to hear what he has been doing in his different ministries.  He does a lot of preaching and so forth, but what really struck me was a story he told me about his prison ministry.  He is a prison chaplain, and back in 2020, he spent the whole time of the Covid lockdown in the prison because if he left, he wouldnâ€t be allowed back in.  I thought that was very inspiring.

That trip to Malta was one of several that the Congregation for the Clergy organized around that time.  So, we went to one in Ars, one in Rome and this one in Malta.  We had such a wonderful group of priests from Boston clergy at that retreat, and it was a very enriching experience.  So, I was very pleased that this friar approached me, and I was able to catch up with him and be reminded of the wonderful retreat.

For much of the rest of the week, weâ€ve been having meetings of the Synod.

This week, we finished up the document for the Synod and have been working on suggestions that we will vote on on Saturday.  Then, on Sunday, the Holy Father will have Mass at St. Peterâ€s to mark the conclusion of the Synod.

I continue to be struck by the internationality of the English language working groups.

The group I was with last week, pictured here, consisted of Cardinal-designate Pablo David from the Philippines, a priest of Malta, a deacon from Syria, Archbishop Ryan Jimenez of Guam, a young woman studying at St. Josephâ€s University in Philadelphia, a Sister from Denmark, a bishop from Nigeria, a Canadian bishop, an Anglican bishop and a German bishop.  So, it was quite a cross-section of humanity!

I was with them for a couple of weeks, and now Iâ€m with a new group, but itâ€s equally diverse.  We have people from Africa, India, Asia and Europe.  In both cases, I was really the only American because the young lady from St. Josephâ€s University was from Poland.

Yesterday, the Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Bishop Luis Manuel Ali Herrera and Adjunct Secretary Teresa Kettelkamp joined me for an audience with the Holy Father, where we presented him with a copy of our annual report.  Next week, we will have a press conference to release it to the public.

Finally, I know we are all eagerly awaiting the installation of the new Archbishop of Boston, Richard Henning.  In light of that, it is my intention to continue this blog but not on a weekly basis.  Instead, beginning in December, I will post updates on the first Friday of every month.

Iâ€m very grateful to all of those who have visited every week over the last 18 years and nearly 1,000 posts and have been faithful readers of my blog.  I look forward to continuing to share my reflections with you and making use of this blog to bring messages about the good things that are happening in our Church.

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán

Of course, the work of the Synod is continuing, but last week, we also held our Plenary Meeting of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

We heard reports from all over the world on safeguarding and also about the plans for our annual report that will be released in two weeks.  The annual report will document the work of the commission, as well as report on the many meetings we have had with different bishops†conferences from throughout the world as they made their ad limina visits, particularly regarding our conversations with them about safeguarding and child protection.

Last Thursday, which was the feast of Blessed Gerard, the founder of the Order of Malta, I attended a reception held at the Embassy of the Order of Malta in Rome.

The Order of Malta has such an important role in the Church because of all the social works they carry out, particularly in healthcare, hospitals and care for refugees, and there was a very interesting article in The Pillar recently about the history of the Order, its status as a sovereign entity and the unique role its diplomatic corps can play in humanitarian work throughout the world.

When I became Bishop in the Virgin Islands, one of the reasons I included a Malta Cross in my coat of arms is because St. Croix once was a territory that belonged to the French Knights of Malta.  In fact, the original name given the island by Christopher Columbus was Santa Cruz, but when the Knights of Malta came, they officially changed it to St. Croix, and that was their headquarters in the Caribbean for a time.

Father Jordi Pujol, a priest of Opus Dei who works with the protection commission on communications, accompanied me to the reception.

On the way, we stopped at his residence.  I was very impressed with their chapel.

Last Friday, the synod participants gathered for an ecumenical prayer vigil in the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs, the spot where St. Peter was martyred.  The square is in between the old sacristy and the basilica itself.

It was a beautiful evening to have an outdoor event.

A number of the fraternal delegates of the different churches had prominent roles in the celebration.  They also had a very beautiful choir and musicians accompanying them.

It was also the feast of St. John XXIII and the anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, which, of course, gave such an impetus to the ecumenical movement.  The reading from the Office of Readings for the day presents the words of Pope John on the ecumenical movement as the council was beginning.

From the addresses of Saint John XXIII, pope
(At the solemn inauguration of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, October 11, 1962)

The Church is the most loving mother of all

Mother Church rejoices that, by a singular gift of Divine Providence, the most longed-for day has now dawned when, under the patronage of the Virgin Mother of God, whose maternal dignity is commemorated on this feast, the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council solemnly begins here at the tomb of blessed Peter.

Truly, the very serious issues and questions that the human race needs to resolve have not changed after almost twenty centuries.  Indeed, Christ Jesus always holds the central place in history and life.  People either adhere to him and his Church, and so enjoy the goods of light, sweetness, right order and peace; or else they live without him or act against him and deliberately remain outside the Church.  And so they cause confusion among themselves, bitterness in human relationships, and the imminent danger of bloody wars.

At the inauguration of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, it is evident, as always, that the truth of the Lord will remain for ever.  Indeed, as one age gives way to another, we see that uncertain human opinions take over one from another; and often errors vanish as soon as they are born, like mist dispersed by the sun.

The Church has never failed to oppose these errors, and has even condemned them often, indeed with the greatest severity.  But at the present time the Spouse of Christ is pleased to apply the medicine of mercy, rather than take up the weapons of severity.  She judges it prudent to meet the needs of today by demonstrating more amply the power of her teaching, rather than by condemning.  It is not that there is any lack of false doctrines, opinions, and dangers to be guarded against and eliminated; but these are all so openly in conflict with the right principles of honesty and have produced such deadly fruits, that today people seem to have begun to condemn them on their own account, even by naming those ways of living which despise God and his laws or place too much confidence in technological progress and a well-being based solely on the comforts of life.  They understand more and more the dignity of the human person and that the need to perfect it is a matter of great importance and very difficult to accomplish.  And what is most important, they have at last learned by experience that force exerted on others, the power of arms and political domination are of no use at all in finding a happy resolution to the grave issues which afflict them.

In these circumstances, the Catholic Church, as she raises the torch of religious truth through this Ecumenical Council, wishes to show herself a most loving mother of all, benign, patient, and moved with mercy and goodness towards the children separated from her.  To the human race, laboring under so many difficulties, she says, as Peter once said to the poor man who had asked him for alms, I do not have silver and gold, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, arise and walk.  That is to say, the Church does not offer to the people of our time riches that perish, nor does she promise them mere earthly happiness, but she imparts the goods of heavenly grace, which, since they raise people to the dignity of the children of God, are powerful safeguards and aids to making their life more human.  She opens the springs of her life-giving doctrine, by which people, illumined by the light of Christ, can understand in the depths of their heart what they really are, how excellent is the dignity they possess, and what end they should pursue.  Finally, through her children, she extends everywhere the bounds of Christian charity: nothing is more suited to eliminating the seeds of discord, nothing is more effective in promoting harmony, a just peace, and the fraternal unity of all.

Last Saturday, I joined a rosary procession in St. Peterâ€s Square.

As I have mentioned before, the new archpriest of the basilica has been organizing many activities at night at St. Peterâ€s, which I applaud because during the day, the basilica is so crowded with tourists.  But at night, these rosaries, holy hours, stations of the cross and other activities are an opportunity for people to come to St. Peterâ€s to have a prayer experience.

As part of this, every Saturday during October there is a rosary procession with reflections on the mysteries.  Thousands of people come to participate in it, and itâ€s always a wonderful event.

Anthony Russo, the associate dean at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College, is leading a group of students for an experience here in Rome around the Synod.  This group is part of a larger delegation called CENTERS (Catholic Education Network to Engage Rome and Synodality), which includes fifteen Catholic colleges and universities from across the U.S., and their goal is to help advance the Churchâ€s mission of synodality in the U.S.

So, on Tuesday, Dean Russo invited all the American participants in the Synod to join the students, campus ministers, and faculty for a dinner.  It was a delightful evening, sponsored by Eustace Wolfington, whom many of you might remember as the Executive Producer of the Cabrini film.

It was very uplifting to meet these young people and educators who are dedicated to promoting synodality in our Church.

A very important element of the Synod is prayer together.  So, yesterday we had a Mass in Spanish in St. Peterâ€s Basilica at the Altar of the Chair celebrated by the Cardinal Archbishop of Mexico City, Carlos Aguiar Retes.

In his homily, he spoke about the “selfish disorder” that affects humanity and how we can overcome it by allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us.  One of the key points he made was about fraternal correction, and that it isnâ€t about judging others but about guiding them with kindness and humility.

He also talked about the importance of trusting in the help of the Holy Spirit to face challenges both within and outside the Church, which is so important for us in our work at the Synod.

During our Synod activities I was very happy to run into Margaret Karram, the President of the Focolare Movement.

It was wonderful to see her.

Finally, this week, I was very happy to see the progress made by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi on his visit to Moscow as part of the peace mission entrusted to him by Pope Francis.  This visit, like his trip last year, focused very much on promoting the reunification of Ukrainian families and the exchange of prisoners.

I was particularly encouraged by the progress he made in addressing the plight of Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia.  Thanks to Cardinal Zuppiâ€s efforts, a number of these children are able to return home, bringing hope and relief to their families.

The Holy Father is anxious to try to promote peace in the world.  And, certainly, in the Synod, much of our attention is focused on the world situation that is so troubled and complex, such as we are now experiencing in Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine.  The important progress made by Cardinal Zuppi is a great sign that we must always continue to work and pray for peace.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Sunday, the Holy Father invited the Synod participants to join him in praying a rosary for peace at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the eve Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, which he had designated as a day of prayer and fasting for world peace.

It was a full Basilica with all the people from the Synod and others joining us.  It was a very beautiful ceremony that included praying the rosary and the Litany of Loretto, after which the Holy Father gave a short meditation.

Of course, also that day, the Holy Father announced a new slate of Cardinals.  The only North American residential archbishop among them is Archbishop Leo of Toronto.  Though, I was also very pleased to see the list included Father Timothy Radcliffe, who, as I mentioned last week, gave the retreat for the opening of the Synod and was the Master General of the Dominican Order.

Monday, I had the Opening Mass for the plenary session of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which brought together commission members from all over the world.

The Mass was celebrated in the Chapel of St. John, which is very near the Pantheon, as well as the commissionâ€s offices in Maffei.

Our sessions of the plenary began on Tuesday morning.  Then, on Wednesday, we had a long meeting with the officials from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the new head of the disciplinary section, newly ordained Bishop John Kennedy, whom I mentioned last week.  We discussed the justice issues involved in their work and how it is complementary to the safeguarding mission of the commission.

Tuesday night, I was very happy to have dinner with some of the leadership of OSV News who are in Rome for the Synod, National News Editor Peter Jesserer Smith, Senior Writer Maria Wiering and Editor-in-Chief Gretchen Crowe.

I was very impressed with their sense of vocation and their desire to use the media as a way of spreading the Gospel.  As one of the members of the OSV team said, their task is to “inform, form and to inspire.”  I thought that was a beautiful way to describe their mission.

Wednesday, the Synod particpants gathered in St. Peterâ€s Basilica for a Mass celebrated by Maronite Bishop Paul Rouhana, who is an auxiliary bishop of Beirut.

Bishop Youhanna Warcha, the procurator of the Maronite Patriarch in Rome, addressed us at the beginning of the Mass.

He said he was so grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the Maronite liturgy with the Synod participants and invited everyone to pray for peace in the world, the Middle East and Lebanon.   Of course, we also remembered Cardinal Bechara Rai, who remains in Lebanon due to the escalating situation there.

In his homily, Bishop Rouhana reminded us that the future of our Churches and countries, especially those in crisis, should not only rely on political strategies.   Instead, we should base our hope and actions on the teachings of Christ and the example of the saints.

He spoke about the saints as paradigms of peace, those who listened to God and brought His peace to others.  He reminded us that true peace starts within us, in harmony with God, and then spreads.  It was a powerful message.

Lebanon is now in such terrible straits, and it was a very beautiful and moving celebration to pray for peace there.

Finally, of course, we continue with the meetings of the Synod, studying the different themes that are outlined in the Instrumentum Laboris.

The local and regional preparation for the Synod was probably the largest survey ever taken in the history of humanity, with the number of people who participated in the preparation and questions and so forth that formed the background for Instrumentum Laboris, which we are now studying in our different small groups that come together in the Synod Hall.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

As many of you will know, the Second Session of the Synod on Synodality has begun, and I am here in Rome to take part in it.

I arrived a couple days early, on Saturday, to attend the episcopal ordination of Bishops John Kennedy and Philippe Curbelié, two priests who work in the Curia at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.  Itâ€s not unusual for the Holy Father to ordain bishops from the Curia, but he was just returning from his trip to Belgium that afternoon.  So, they were ordained by the Prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Fernandez.

Both of them have worked in the DDF for a long time and I have especially gotten to know Bishop Kennedy through our work with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.  He is an Irish priest who is in charge of the discipline department, which is a very important responsibility.   So, we were very pleased to see him ordained a bishop and I think it will enhance his role and his ability to carry out the mission that has been entrusted to him.

Of course, there were many members of their families and friends there.  But it was also impressive to see how many bishops, priests and cardinals from the Curia came to the ordination.  It was a beautiful ceremony — although we were still waiting for them to take down all the scaffolding around the baldacchino and the Chair of St. Peter!  It was very moving to have it there at the Tomb of St. Peter.  What a great place to have an ordination!

Monday, we began the two-day retreat in preparation for the start of the Synod.  Father Timothy Radcliffe, OP, who had been the Master of the Dominican Order, was the preacher, and Mother Maria Ignazia Angelini led the meditations and the Office.

We did not go to a retreat house, as we did last year.  Instead, we gathered in the Synod Hall, which resembles a large lecture hall and is where the synods were ordinarily held in the past.  The retreat conferences were held there during the day, and between conferences, we went back to our residences for our meals and so forth.

On the second night of the retreat, we had a penitential liturgy at which the Holy Father presided.

There were a number of people who gave witness talks.  We heard a witness of sexual abuse from South Africa, of an African immigrant and of a consecrated woman who talked about the war in Syria.

We also offered seven petitions for forgiveness that the Holy Father himself wrote.  I was very honored that he asked me to give one of them.

It was a beautiful service and a wonderful way to end the retreat and prepare in a spirit of penance and humility to face the work of the Synod.

The Synod itself began on Wednesday, with an opening Mass celebrated by the Holy Father in St. Peterâ€s Square.

This time, I think there is greater clarity about the definition of synodality and the concentration on this way to move forward in prayer and discernment.  Many of the individual topics that had held peopleâ€s attention last year have been assigned to different commissions that the Holy Father has set up so they can be dealt with by experts outside Synod itself.

This year Iâ€m in an English-speaking group, though Iâ€m the only American.  With us in our group are participants from Africa, India and Japan as well as a French priest.

In fact, I was surprised by how many English-speaking working groups there are.  So it is quite a change.  There was a time when almost everything would have been in Italian.

Our first step is reacting to the Instrumentum laboris, with each person giving their thoughts on the first part.  After we have listened to everyoneâ€s reflections, we have a time of prayer and silence.  Then, we go back and give a sort of “echo” of that to try to come up with a single statement, or at least to express where there was convergence and where there was disagreement.  Those reports are then given to a central committee that will try to meld those into a new document that will once again be taken back for evaluation.

So, itâ€s a process that invites a lot of participation.  Everyoneâ€s fingerprints get on the final product, so to speak.  Itâ€s not like some synods in the past, where a small committee would write the document, and then people would vote on it.  Now, thereâ€s more actual involvement in the actual ideas.  This is part of what synodality is about.  Itâ€s about listening and participation.  Itâ€s about praying and looking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Assigning the more difficult topics to commissions was so that we could concentrate on this process and this experience.  This is a way of building unity and diversity in the Church rather than having people think that we  are just coming together to iron out particular hot-button topics.

During my time in Rome, I was able to meet up with Bishop Cristiano Barbosa, who was here for the program they have for new bishops.

After the program finished, he stayed a few days afterwards and got to look around Rome.  He had never really had that opportunity before, and I think he really enjoyed it.

Today is, of course, the Feast of St. Francis, which is very important for us as Capuchins.  It is also the Holy Fatherâ€s feast day and the patronal feast of Italy.    So, I was glad I was able to join the friars at our Generalate for the Transitus service, which is celebrated the night before and in which we symbolically reenact the death of our founder.  We pray the Psalms that he prayed as he was dying, we sing the songs that he wanted sung, and read the Gospel about the Last Supper and the washing of the feet that he asked be read.

As you can see from the program, the first hymn is based on the Canticle of Brother Francis, sung to the tune of the song that came from Zeffirelliâ€s movie on St. Francis that came out a few years ago.

Our Father General was not there because the generals of the three Franciscan First Orders and the Third Order all go to Assisi, where they have a celebration at the Portiuncula itself.  But we were very happy that Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa was able to join us.

A member of the general council (what we used to call Definitors), Brother Maurizio Placentino, who had been the superior in San Giovanni Rotondo, gave a very beautiful reflection on St. Francisâ€s death.

It was a very moving service, and I was happy to be with the community on this important feast.

Finally, this week, Pope Francis made a profound call, urging people around the world to join him in observing October 7 as a day of prayer and fasting for peace.  This comes at a time when the world is witnessing escalating conflicts, particularly in the Holy Land, where violence and unrest have deeply affected countless lives.

October 7 is the Feast of the Holy Rosary, and the Holy Father has said he will go with Synod participants to the Basilica of St. Mary Major on the vigil to Our Lady for peace.

That feast was actually established after the Battle of Lepanto, and thatâ€s why October became the month of the rosary, because people were praying for deliverance from conflict.  This is a dangerous time, and so we certainly want to encourage people to join the Holy Father and pray and fast for peace on that day.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Sister Marie-Paul Jaston, who has been living consecrated life for many years, has requested to become a diocesan hermit.  So, she worked with our Delegate for Religious, Sister Germana Santos, to prepare for this.  Her profession was last Friday, becoming the fifth diocesan hermit in the Archdiocese of Boston.

We were so pleased to be able to preside at this important event in her life.

Saturday, we had the ordination of “Seven men of good repute, filled with the Holy Spirit,” as in the Acts of the Apostles, where the Apostles are called “the Twelve,” and the deacons are called “the seven.”

Unfortunately, another of our diaconate candidates, Richard Johnston, was called home to eternity, or he would have been with us.  But we were so pleased to be joined by his family and his wife Cheryl, who proclaimed the second reading in American Sign Language.

Among the ordination class was Nelson Pimentel, who is from the Azores, and a very large contingent of Portuguese accompanied him to the Mass.

Itâ€s always encouraging when we have deacons representing the different linguistic groups, which is how the diaconate started because of the tension between the Greek and Hebrew-speaking Christians in the Early Church.

I have come to have a great appreciation for this ministry and vocation in the Church.  I think one of the best decisions weâ€ve made in the last several years is to expand our diaconate program by accepting new candidates every year.  So, now we have ordinations to the permanent diaconate every year.

It was a great joy to be able to ordain these men, and we are very grateful to Deacon Christopher Connelly and all of those involved in the formation of our deacons.

Sunday morning, we had our annual Respect Life Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.  The Mass. State Council Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Daughters of the Americas and our Pro-Life Office sponsor this Mass each year, and I was happy to celebrate with them.

Of course, we had a number of Knights serving as the color guard.

In my homily, I spoke about discipleship being a costly grace and how, in the Gospel reading, Christ holds up a child, saying that they should receive the children as they receive him.  The Church is telling us today to embrace the child and find room at the table of life for everyone.

Then, that afternoon, I went to the Pastoral Center to celebrate a special Mass for the 100th anniversary of the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master.

The chapel was standing room only, full of friends and collaborators of the Sisters from throughout the archdiocese.

We were delighted to see how many priests came.  I think there were about 60 priests and several bishops present for the Mass.  It was a beautiful tribute to the Sisters.  I teased the Sisters, saying, “I wonder who is celebrating the Masses in the parishes because all the priests are here.  Itâ€s all your fault!”

The great turnout was just an indication of how beloved the Sisters are and what an impact they have made through their ministries.  Their life is one of Eucharistic adoration, promoting the liturgical arts and caring for priests at Regina Cleri.  They have also worked at several offices in the Pastoral Center.

At the conclusion of Mass, we heard lovely remarks from their provincial, Sister Catherine.  She resides in New Zealand but was originally from Ireland.

The Sisters are such a gift to our archdiocese, and we are happy that so many turned out to celebrate their centenary with them.

Immediately after the Mass, I left for Upstate New York to attend the funeral of Bishop Basil Losten on Monday at St. Andrew Church in a town named Campbell Hall.

Bishop Basil was the Eparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Stamford, which encompasses New York and New England.  He was a bishop for over 50 years, so we served a long time together.

He was very active in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and had a larger-than-life personality.  Everyone knew Bishop Basil.  He really helped us Latin Rite bishops be aware and conscious of the presence of the Eastern Rite Catholics in our country.  (Many donâ€t know this, but the Ukrainian Greek Catholics are the largest Eastern Rite branch of the Catholic Church.)  Because of our long association, I thought it was important to be present for his funeral Mass.

Following the funeral, I stayed at the Capuchin Friary in Manhattan.

Thursday, when I was out for a walk, I saw volunteers from the Order of Malta conducting their outreach to the homeless.

They were in front of St. Francis Church, which is just down the street from the Capuchin parish.  There is so much homelessness here in New York.  It really is disturbing to see how many people are on the streets.  So, I was happy to see how many of their volunteers were there serving breakfast to the people in front of the church.

Finally, I have been saddened by reading the many commentaries that have recently come out about the Haitian community in Ohio.

Here in Boston, we have one of the largest Haitian communities in the United States, and we have had many refugees come here because of the deplorable situation on the island.  However, I was very heartened to hear that over 90 percent of the Haitians who have come to Boston are already employed and working.

Our experience with the Haitian immigrants is that they are such a hard-working community and make a wonderful contribution to the larger society.  So, when I saw the statement by the bishops of Ohio, I wanted to share it with all of you here:

September 19, 2024

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ and all people of goodwill,

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is asked by a scholar of the law, “And who is my neighbor?” when faced with upholding the greatest commandment.  Jesus replied with the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Today, our nation is divided by partisanship and ideology, which blind us to the image of God in our neighbor, especially the unborn, the poor, and the stranger.  These negative sentiments are only exacerbated by gossip, which can spread quickly across social media with no concern for the truth or those involved.

From the beginning, the human race was made in the image of God, which distinguishes us from all other created things.  The arrival of Jesus Christ in human history confirms the dignity God has given to each of us, without exception.  It is our belief in the dignity of human life that guides our consciences and rhetoric when engaging in politics or personal conversation.  Each of us, therefore, must turn to God and ask for eyes to see the infinite dignity of every person.  Throughout our nationâ€s history, Catholic immigrants have come to our shores seeking freedom to worship and raise their families.  Over 70 years ago, Pope Pius XII urged the Body of Christ to understand the Christian responsibility to care for migrants and refugees, writing, “Indeed, there never has been a period during which the Church has not been active in behalf of migrants, exiles and refugees.” Today, we witness newcomers to our dioceses who have escaped extreme violence and poverty and are seeking work to support themselves and their families.  Some are Catholic, some are not, but all are welcome in our parishes, and all are individuals loved by God.  What is our duty, as Catholics, to ensure all segments of our society, including our political leaders, view newcomers first as children of God while understanding the need to enforce reasonable limits to legal immigration?  Do we ask ourselves how we would want to be received if forced to flee our homes?

Though national attention has turned to Springfield, we know that throughout Ohio our neighbors include Haitians and others fleeing inhumane conditions in their countries.  Our Haitian brothers and sisters in Springfield have been granted ‘Temporary Protected Status,†a humane federal program that protects foreign nationals from deportation to unsafe home countries.  Like all people, these Haitians should be afforded the respect and dignity that are theirs by right and allowed the ability to contribute to the common good.  The recent influx of so many migrants in a brief time has caused a strain on the cityâ€s resources.  We applaud all those community groups working hard to advance the flourishing of Springfield, given the need to integrate newcomers into the social fabric.  If we remain true to our principles, we can have a dialogue about immigration without scapegoating groups of people for societal issues beyond their control

The Letter of Saint James warns, “Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze.  The tongue is also a fire… With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God” (James 3:5-6, 9).  As the residents of Springfield, Ohio struggle with violent threats and life disruptions fueled by unfettered social media posts, we exhort the Catholic faithful and all people of goodwill not to perpetuate ill will toward anyone involved based on unfounded gossip.  Instead, we ask for prayers and support for all the people of Springfield as they integrate their new Haitian neighbors and build a better future together.

Pope Francis, like Pope Benedict XVI and Pope St. John Paul II before him, reminds us that we are all migrants on this earth headed toward the “true homeland,” the Kingdom of Heaven.  On September 29, the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, we are asked by the Holy Father to reflect upon the need to open our eyes to those brothers and sisters who might live in the shadows of our parishes and communities.  The Catholic Church continues to pray and work in places of violence and economic despair so that individuals and families do not have to flee their homeland.  In the meantime, let us reject a mindset of judging who belongs to our community and put on the mind of Christ to understand that God walks with all his people, especially those in need.

With you in Christ Jesus,

The Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr, Archdiocese of Cincinnati

The Most Rev. Edward M. Lohse, Diocese of Steubenville

The Most Rev. David J. Bonnar, Diocese of Youngstown

The Most Rev. Edward C. Malesic, Diocese of Cleveland

The Most Rev. John Michael Botean, St. George Byzantine Catholic Diocese

The Most Rev. Robert M. Pipta, Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma

The Most Rev. Bohdan J. Danylo, Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma

The Most Rev. Daniel E. Thomas, Diocese of Toledo

The Most Rev. Earl K. Fernandes, Diocese of Columbus

The Most Rev. Michael Woost, Diocese of Cleveland

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

About two years ago, Brazilian astronomer Duília de Mello, who is Vice Provost and a Professor of Physics at The Catholic University of America, contacted me to say that she was interested in bringing an image of Our Lady of Aparecida to the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.  The basilica has about 100 different chapels and images of the Blessed Mother representing devotions of the various countries around the world, but there was no statue of Our Lady of Aparecida, the patroness of Brazil.

Around that time, I had just given a retreat to the Brazilian bishops†conference, and the president of the conference gave me a beautiful statue of Our Lady of Aparecida, which I had at the Cathedral rectory.  So, I told her, “If you can get the permission, I have the statue for you.”  Iâ€m on the Board of Directors, so I was happy to sponsor her proposal.

Then, Bishop Edgar da Cunha became involved in helping with the fundraising for the cost of the altar.  He also came up with the idea of inviting Brazilians from throughout the United States to make a pilgrimage to Washington for the enthronement of the new statue.

Well, last weekend, that plan came to fruition.

So, last Friday, I went to Washington, where there was a dinner at CUA with Bishop da Cunha and other organizers of the pilgrimage, as well as several bishops from Brazil who came for the occasion, including Archbishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa, who was with us at the Pastoral Center for the Mass with Father Hehir last week.

The dinner was right next to CUAâ€s copy of the monument “Angels Unawares” that the Holy Father has placed in St. Peterâ€s Square.  As I have previously mentioned, they actually have the statue in the middle of a fountain.  So, itâ€s a boat thatâ€s actually in the water.

Saturday morning, the pilgrims gathered at Sacred Heart, where I usually hold the Mass for the Bostonians attending the March for Life.  Then, over 1,000 people walked in procession to the basilica with the image.  (For those who are unfamiliar with Washington D.C., itâ€s about an hour-and-half walk away.)   Then they had activities all day long.

The Mass and enthronement itself was at 2 p.m., and it was beyond our wildest dreams.  It was very much like the Masses we hold the night before the March for Life; it was standing room only.

There is a small Brazilian community in Washington, but there were over 6,000 people in the basilica for the Mass.  Everyone was just shocked.  And, of course, we had many Brazilians from the Archdiocese of Boston with us, including Bishop Cristiano Barbosa.  We were also pleased that the nuncio also came to concelebrate with us.

The pilgrimage committee sold about 3,500 t-shirts with images of Our Lady of Aparecida.  So, all day, around the Catholic University campus and environs, you saw people wearing these blue t-shirts!

The statue is located in the large vestibule off the main entrance, right next to the image of Our Lady of Fatima.  Everyone was joking that they could speak Portuguese to each other!

So, it was a great event, and we were so happy it was live-streamed all over Brazil and the United States.

Once a month, the young Capuchin brothers organize what they call the Capuchin Café, where they invite young people from Catholic University and other seminaries to come for worship, praise, benediction and adoration and, afterward, they gather downstairs for goodies and to sing folksongs.

In the photo, you can see that there were several Dominicans among the crowd.

So, I was happy to be able to participate in that Saturday night.

Then, on Sunday morning, I returned to Boston for a Mass and dinner to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of Sisters of Jesus Crucified and the Sorrowful Mother in Brockton.  In fact, the celebrations were on the Feast of the Sorrowful Mother, so that was the Mass we celebrated.

At one time, there were about 100 sisters in the community, but at this time in their history, there are very few sisters remaining.  This is a small group of religious women that was originally founded by a Passionist priest from Lithuania who is working with Lithuanian immigrants in Pennsylvania.  So, a lot of the service of the sisters was to the Lithuanian community.  They served the poor and ran nursing homes and schools.  (In fact, Msgr. Kevin Oâ€Leary, who came with me to the Mass, is a graduate of their school in South Boston.) And, of course, they still have the nursing home in Brockton, St. Joseph Manor.

The sisters are greatly beloved, and many people from the Lithuanian American community were present for the celebration along with others, including Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan and his wife, Maria.

It was a beautiful Mass in their chapel, where they honored all of the sisters.

They have been hosting young Vietnamese sisters who are in Boston studying.  So, at one point, they brought up flowers, one flower for each member of the order in the last hundred years.

Afterwards, there was a lovely dinner.

It was a lovely evening, and we are so grateful for the extraordinary service that the Sisters of Jesus Crucified and the Sorrowful Mother have given.

Wednesday, we had our annual Celebration of the Priesthood Dinner at the Omni Seaport Hotel.

We have certainly bounced back after the pandemic.  I am so pleased we have returned to having the large banquet format because it is an opportunity to gather a lot of the faithful of the archdiocese in one place to celebrate our priests.

This year, we were so grateful to Joe Nolan, who cochaired the dinner with the late Jack Connors, and it was the most successful dinner weâ€ve had so far.

They raised about $3 million for the Clergy Trust, which provides for the welfare of our priests and for their retirement and healthcare needs.

As I mentioned in my remarks, itâ€s only been two months since the Boston community gathered to mourn the passing of Jack Connors.  He made such an impact on the whole community and was dedicated to so many charitable causes.  But for us, particularly, that took the form of his support of Catholic education and the extraordinary work that he did on behalf of the Celebration of the Priesthood banquet.  In fact, it was Jack who set the very high goal that everyone was nervous about, and, of course, we surpassed it.  His legacy of service and generosity certainly lives on.

I also spoke about how grateful I was that the lord has given me the opportunity to serve as Archbishop of Boston for these many years.

Each year, one of the centerpieces of the program is a video featuring the ministry of some of our priests.  This year, it was something of a different format, with a cross-section of our priests sharing their reflections on the challenges and joys of their priesthood.

Itâ€s always a very moving presentation and Iâ€m happy that I can share it with a larger audience on the blog.

I was very gratified that this year, they presented the St. Joseph the Worker Award to Father Robert Kickham, who has been such an invaluable help to me.

As I told the people, I donâ€t know what I would have done without him during these 21 years as archbishop.  He is always a supportive and quiet presence.  So, in many ways, itâ€s very fitting that he receive the St. Joseph Award because, like St. Joseph, he is never seeking the limelight but is always making sure that everything is taken care of.

We are also very grateful to Mark Vachon, Michael Scannell and all of those who worked so hard to promote the celebration.

I was also very happy that Archbishop-designate Richard Henning could join us and see for himself the great love that the Catholic people of Boston have for their priests.

Finally, I would like to note that September 17 was the 800^th anniversary of St. Francis receiving the stigmata.  In the Franciscan Order, there are many celebrations to observe this very important event in the life of St. Francis.  One of the outcomes is this is the beautiful prayer that Pope Francis has composed.

Saint Francis, man wounded by love, Crucified in body and in spirit, we look to you, decorated with the holy stigmata, to learn how to love the Lord Jesus, brothers and sisters in your love of His holy passion.

With you it is easier to contemplate and follow Christ, poor and Crucified.

Give us, Francis, the freshness of your faith, the certainty of your hope, the gentleness of your charity. Intercede for us, so that it may be sweet for us to bear the burdens of life, and in trials we may experience the tenderness of the Father and the balm of the Spirit.

May our wounds be healed by the Heart of Christ, so we may become, like you, witnesses of His mercy, which continues to heal and renew the life of those who seek Him with a sincere heart.

O Francis, made to resemble the Crucified One, let your stigmata be for us and for the world resplendent signs of life and resurrection, to show new ways of peace and reconciliation.

Amen.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

On Friday, I went to St. Patrickâ€s Manor in Framingham to celebrate a Mass for the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, who are marking the 95^th anniversary of the founding of their community by Servant of God Mother Angeline, who founded them in New York.  She was actually an Irish sister who belonged to the Little Sisters of the Poor but founded another order under the auspices of Cardinal Hayes.

They have a beautiful altar that was brought from their very first home in the States.

We have been very blessed to have the sisters here in the archdiocese.  As I told them in my homily, in three of my four dioceses — Fall River, Palm Beach and here in Boston — I have been very fortunate to have homes that are run by Carmelite Sisters of the Aged and Infirm.  They have such a beautiful charism of taking care of the elderly.

We were sorry that they needed to close Marian Manor, but the building was too old and continuing to operate it was just untenable.  But we are so happy that they are with us at St. Patrickâ€s, where they do extraordinary work and have a number of priests and religious living there in their care.

On Sunday, I went to St. Theresaâ€s in North Reading to celebrate a Mass for our religious jubilarians in the archdiocese.  Traditionally, every September, we celebrate a Mass for women religious jubilarians.  This year, however, we decided to celebrate with all the religious jubilarians together — religious women, brothers and religious priests.  It was a wonderful celebration, and we even had one sister who was celebrating 80 years of religious life.

We had a very large group join us, and the Daughters of St. Paul provided wonderful music.

At the end of Mass, Sister Germana gave a lovely reflection.

After the Mass, the parishioners prepared a lovely repast for our religious.

We are so grateful to Sister Germana for all she did to organize it and to Father Brian McHugh and Father Agustín Anda for hosting us.

On Tuesday, I went to Newton Country Day School for a Mass at which we installed their new Head of School, Jessica Hooper.

The Mass was celebrated in the chapel of their former college (which is now part of Boston College Law School) because it is much larger than the school chapel.

There were many special guests with us there for the celebration, including Chair of the Board of Trustees Maura Murphy, former Head of School Sister Barbara Rogers and the Provincial, Sister Suzanne Cooke.  Sister Suzanne had formerly been at Carrollton, the school of the Religious of the Sacred Heart in Miami, where my family was very involved.  My cousin was the principal, and my sister, aunt and cousins all taught there.

Wednesday, I was asked by my cabinet to gather with them in the formal dining room of the Pastoral Center.   I was taken by surprise when they announced their very magnanimous gesture of renaming the formal dining of the Pastoral Center in my honor.

Itâ€s a place where weâ€ve had many joyful celebrations, so I am gratified to be associated with that place.

I am also grateful for the thoughtfulness of the cabinet, who have collaborated with me in the governance of the archdiocese for so many years.

Immediately afterward, we had our daily Mass in Bethany Chapel, where we honored Msgr. Bryan Hehir for recently having been named a monsignor by the Holy Father.

Many members of Msgr. Bryanâ€s family were there, as well as colleagues who have worked with him at Catholic Charities, the Planning Office for Urban Affairs and the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, among others.  We were also happy to be joined by many of our auxiliary bishops and Archbishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa of Brazil, who is visiting the Brazilian communities in the States.

Honoring Father Hehir was a wonderful opportunity to express our gratitude for his many decades of dedicated, selfless service to the Church, and particularly to the Church in Boston.  He came to us at a very difficult time but was ready, at the drop of a hat, to change all of his life plans and come back to help here.  It was a time of great crisis, and he brought a lot of wisdom and healing.

He is a man of great intellectual prowess and has been a presence of the Catholic community in centers of learning.  He has taught at Georgetown University, Harvard University and, of course, for so many years at our own St. Johnâ€s Seminary.  He has always been an advocate for the Social Gospel of the Church.  His work at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is so appreciated, especially the work that he did on the social pastorals and other important teaching documents of the bishops†conference.

At the same time, he is a priest who would never pass up the opportunity to celebrate a parish Mass, hear confessions, give a retreat, give spiritual guidance or visit the sick.  His priestly ministry has always been his top priority.  Both within and outside the Church, people respect his professionalism and dedication and the coherence of his priestly life.

I am so pleased that Pope Francis has seen fit to bestow this honor on him.

Thursday, we had a virtual meeting of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

We discussed some of the issues that came up during the Holy Fatherâ€s recent visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor, as well as taking the opportunity to continue to prepare for our Plenary Session, which will be next month in Rome.

On Thursday, we had one of our regular meetings of the board of St. Johnâ€s Seminary.

The reports were very positive.  There is a great spirit in the seminary, enrollment is good, and the implementation of the new propaedeutic year is going very well.  It was also wonderful to see how much progress is being made with the repairs to the buildings, which are moving ahead very quickly.

We are very grateful to Msgr.  Salocks, who was also recently honored by the Holy Father with the title of monsignor for his many years of service at St. Johnâ€s Seminary, which is celebrating the 140^th anniversary of its founding this year.

Finally, that evening, I went to St. Cecliaâ€s in the Back Bay for the annual Fall Mass and Dinner of the Boston Area Order of Malta.

We were so pleased to have so many members of the Order with us for the Mass.

In my homily, I spoke about the importance of mercy in our lives as Christians and how the Order of Malta, with their support of so many vital works of mercy, exemplifies that.

During the Mass, we gave a blessing to new members of the Order who will be inducted this year.

At the end of the Mass, the President of the American Association of the Order of Malta, Ken Craig, and Area Chair Ed Delaney presented me with a miniature replica of the sculpture “Angels Unawares,” which Pope Francis had installed in St. Peterâ€s Square.

I have always been very moved by the message that sculpture conveys of welcoming the stranger and the immigrant.  So, I thought it was a very thoughtful gift.

We concluded the Mass with Ken leading us in the Daily Prayer of the Order of Malta.

It was a wonderful evening, and always a great joy to be together with my fellow Knights and Dames of the Order of Malta.

Until next week

Cardinal Seán

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 Iâ€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

This past weekend, the Secular Discalced Carmelites held their annual National Congress in Wakefield.  So, Loretta Gallagher, one of the eventâ€s organizers, invited me to come and celebrate Mass with them on Saturday.

We were joined by about 350 people, including, of course, many Secular Carmelites, as well as many Carmelite friars and sisters.  A number of the friars told me that when they were seminarians, they had worked with me at the Centro Católico in Washington, D.C., so that was a nice connection.

Of course, the Carmelites are an important presence here in the Archdiocese of Boston, not only the seculars, but we are very pleased that the Carmelite friars are now studying at St. Johnâ€s Seminary.  Another branch of the Carmelites is at the chapel in the North Shore Mall, and of course, we have the cloistered Carmelites and the Carmelites of the Aged and Infirm.

In my homily, I spoke about my many connections to the Carmelite order.  I told them that Iâ€m an honorary Carmelite because I am the pastor of a Carmelite church in Rome, Santa Maria Della Vittoria.  I also mentioned that the Carmelitas de la Caridad de Verdruna worked with me for many years in Washington and made me an honorary member of the order.

It was very encouraging to see the enthusiasm of the laypeople for the third order Carmelites, and I was very happy to be able to celebrate the Eucharist with them.

As we approach Labor Day, our Catholic schools are beginning their new school years.  So, on Wednesday, I went to St. Columbkille Partnership School in Brighton with our new superintendent, Eileen McLaughlin, to welcome the students back.  St. Columbkilleâ€s has a very interesting and productive partnership with Boston College, and the school is thriving.  They have about 375 students.

Head of School Jen Kowieski and the pastor, Father Richard Fitzgerald, gave us a very nice tour of the school, and we visited the first-grade and third-grade classrooms.  The children are always so adorable at that age.

Eileen has a lot of connections with that school.  She has a sister who teaches there and is a school parent.  So, it was very nice to be with her there and see the great affection that they all have for the school.

Several of the teachers I met were alumni of St. Columbkilleâ€s who had returned to teach.  So, that just showed the great commitment to Catholic education there.

As many people know, Eileenâ€s mother, Mary Ann, worked with us for many years at the archdioceseâ€s Worship and Spiritual Life Office, and Mary Ann made a number of saint dolls that they exhibit in one of the classrooms.

It was a lovely visit, and I was very happy to welcome the children back and give everyone my blessing as they begin the school year.

Just as the school year is beginning at our schools, classes are also resuming at our three seminaries, and itâ€s a tradition to celebrate a Mass of the Holy Spirit to mark the start of the academic year.

So, from St. Columbkilleâ€s, we traveled only about a mile up the road to St. Johnâ€s Seminary for the first of those Masses.

There were many priests who came to concelebrate with us.

This year, we used the Mass as an occasion to express our gratitude that the rector, Father Stephen Salocks, has been named a monsignor by Pope Francis. At the end of the Mass, we presented him with a biretta and the Latin decree naming him a Chaplain of His Holiness with the title of monsignor.

Afterward, there was a nice lunch for seminarians and guests.

While I was at the seminary, I joined Msgr.  Salocks for a tour of the ongoing renovations.

We are so pleased that the much-needed restoration of the St. Johnâ€s buildings is well underway.  We had the opportunity to inspect the work being done up close when Patrick Folan of Folan Construction invited the newly minted monsignor and myself to go up in a cherry picker.

It was quite an experience.  Iâ€ve never been in one of those before!

It has been quite a transformation.  Thereâ€s a lot of work that still needs to be done but theyâ€re working diligently, and itâ€s very important for the future of the seminary.  The building has been there for 150 years, and our intention is that it will be there 150 years from now.

Thursday, I was visited by Father Sean Hurley.

Father Sean has worked as a Franciscan of the Primitive Observance for many years in the archdiocese, particularly at St. Patrickâ€s in Lawrence with the Hispanic and Cape Verdean populations.  Now, he has discerned that he wishes to become a Capuchin and is joining the friars in Cape Verde.

So, in a week or so, he will leave for the island of São Nicolau, where he will live at the Capuchin monastery.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Last Saturday, I went to Pittsburgh for the profession of solemn vows of three of our friars, Brother Connor, Brother Ryan and Brother José Antonio.

It was held at St. Augustineâ€s Church, the old German parish in Pittsburgh, where our province has held all of our ordinations and professions for over a hundred years.

It was a very sizable gathering of friars from all over our province.  Our province extends to Puerto Rico, so we had a number of Puerto Rican friars come to be with us.

Of course, itâ€s a time of great rejoicing when these young men make this final commitment to live the Capuchin vocation.

Sunday, I went to Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Marshfield for the celebration of their 75^th anniversary.

It was a very joyful celebration.  We were, of course, joined by the pastor, Father Paul Aveni, the vicar, Father Will Sexton, as well as several priests who had worked there in the past.

There was a great spirit among the parishioners, and it was a great joy to celebrate this special occasion with them.

Parish anniversaries such as this are always an opportunity to thank God for all those who went before us and made so many sacrifices to establish these communities of faith.  Now, itâ€s our responsibility to transmit the faith to future generations and to ensure that these parishes are thriving faith communities for those who are coming after us.

On Tuesday, I went to visit Barbara Roche, who had just celebrated her 96^th birthday the day before.  Barbara and her family have been great friends of the archdiocese for many years, supporting the missions of Catholic Charities, our Catholic schools, and many more.  In fact, my association with the Roche family goes back to well before my time in Boston.  When I was in the Virgin Islands, her brother-in-law, Father Roche, was a Columban Father who would come to visit us there.

It was wonderful to visit her and wish her a happy birthday.

Wednesday, I went to St. Maryâ€s in Chelmsford for the funeral of Deacon Bob Dzuris.

We were, of course, joined by many members of his family, including his wife Doris, his sister, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  We were also joined by Regional Bishop Robert Hennessey, Father Frank Silva, who was involved very early on with the deacon formation program, and Deacon Chris Connelly, the director of our Permanent Diaconate program.  Deacon Bob was very involved with the Knights of Columbus.  So, there were also many Knights present at the Mass, as well.

Deacon Bob had a very interesting life.  In addition to being a devoted husband, family man and business owner, he was involved in many different works of mercy, such as the House of Hope in Lowell and serving as a chaplain at Lowell General Hospital.

We know he will be greatly missed by all those whose lives he touched.

Then, that evening, I went to St. Brigid Parish in South Boston for a farewell dinner for Brother Jim Peterson, who first came to the archdiocese to work in Canonical Affairs 17 years ago.

Now, he has been named Chancellor of the Diocese of Portland by the new Bishop of Maine, Bishop James Ruggieri, and he will be living with the Capuchin friars in Maine.  After so many years, weâ€re sorry to see him go, but we know that his talents and abilities will be put to good use in his responsibilities as chancellor.  And we are confident that he will be back to visit us in Boston with a certain frequency!

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Last Thursday, we had our annual St. John Vianney Cookout for our priests and seminarians.  As always,

Father Brian Kiely and the whole community of Pope St. John XXIII were so gracious with their hospitality.   We donâ€t hold it exactly on the Feast of St. John Vianney, but near the feast and the date this year was actually the Feast of St. Dominic, as someone pointed out.  But itâ€s a wonderful way for the priests to come together during the summer to see each other.

We had Vespers together and then the cookout (Actually, this year, it was more of a “cook-in,” because rain was expected during the evening.)

We had a very good attendance, and there was quite a cross-section of the priests who attended.  In fact, they had to bring more chairs to accommodate the very large number of men who were able to participate.

Itâ€s always a joy to share this moment of fraternity together each year.

For much of the rest of this week, I have been in Maine, participating in the annual retreat for the bishops of Region I, which encompasses New England.  Itâ€s the Province of Boston, which includes the four dioceses of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and the Province of Hartford, which includes the three dioceses of Connecticut and Rhode Island.  We were, of course, joined by Archbishop-elect Henning and the former Bishop of Providence, Thomas Tobin.

Our host was the new Bishop of Portland, Bishop James Ruggieri, but the main organizer of the retreat was Archbishop Coyne of Hartford.

The retreat was held at the Franciscan Guest House in Kennebunkport, which has a lot of grounds you can walk around.  On one side, you can walk to the ocean, and on the other side is the beautiful town of Kennebunkport.  And fortunately, we were blessed with beautiful weather throughout the week.

And, of course, the Lithuanian Franciscan Friars and the staff who run the guest house are always very gracious to us.

Once again this year, we had a Benedictine retreat master, though this time, we had the Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Order, Abbot Gregory Polan.  (The Abbot Primate is something akin to the General Superior of other orders.) Abbot Gregory is an American who is currently stationed at Santâ€Anselmoâ€s in Rome, but he is finishing up his term as Abbot Primate and will be returning to Conception Abbey in Missouri.

Though he said this was his first time ever preaching a retreat to bishops, he was a wonderful retreat master for us.  One of his main themes was the Paschal Mystery, and he employed a lot of Scriptural examples from St. Paul.

It was a wonderful week and a very nice opportunity for the bishops of the region to be together and pray together.  Usually, when we are gathered, itâ€s because of a meeting.  Thereâ€s always some sort of agenda, and everyone has to keep moving on to the next scheduled item.  So, having the whole week together was very enriching.

Thereâ€s a great deal of enthusiasm at The Catholic University of America about the establishment of a new Endowed Chair for Hispanic Ministry in the School of Theology and Religious Studies.  So, on Thursday, I had a call with some of the people from the university to discuss ideas.

I think this is a wonderful opportunity.  Catholic University trains a great many of the priests, religious and theologians of the country, and Hispanic ministry needs to be a very important emphasis.  So, Iâ€m happy to be a part of this effort.

Finally, yesterday was, of course, the Feast of the Assumption.  So, Father Jonathan Gaspar of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Brookline was gracious enough to invite me to preside at the celebration of their patronal feast.

There was a Mass followed by a candlelight rosary procession.

In my homily, I reflected on the “Misterio de Elche,” which is a medieval Assumption play that has been performed for centuries on the Assumption at the basilica in the town of Elche, Spain.

Itâ€s all sung in the local language, Valenciano.   Throughout the performance, which goes on for quite some time, figures such as angels are very dramatically raised and lowered through a trap door in the dome of the basilica.  It culminates in Mary being taken up to heaven, to the great delight of the people.

As I like to say, some people claim that the doctrine of the Assumption is something that just appeared out of nowhere in the Church in the 1800â€s.  But this play, which has been performed faithfully for hundreds of years, shows that the Assumption has long been in the hearts of our Catholic people, even if it was only officially proclaimed dogma in 1950.

It was a wonderful celebration and a very nice way to celebrate this feast, for which Iâ€ve always had a very special love.  Itâ€s the feast when all the Irish people go to the water!

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

As you all know by now, the announcement was made early Monday morning that the Holy Father has selected Archbishop-elect Richard Henning of Providence to be the next Archbishop of Boston.

We have been waiting a long time for the news, and we are very grateful that the Holy Father has not forgotten about us and is sending a very fine pastor to Boston.

As is customary, Archbishop-elect Henning came to Boston that morning to be introduced to the people of the archdiocese.

He had asked if we could begin the day celebrating the 9:00 Mass together at the Pastoral Center, which I thought was a very good idea.  My concern was how to get the word out in advance so people would know to attend, but Rocco Palmo took care of that!

Many members of the staff were able to join us, along with the auxiliary bishops and leaders of some of our key ministries.  It was an opportunity for us to welcome him, pray for him and invite him to greet some of the people on the staff.

After the Mass, we showed him around the Pastoral Center a little bit, and then, at 10:00, we had the press conference.  I was very happy to see there was such interest on the part of the media, with many different outlets in attendance.

As I mentioned in my comments, I can understand Archbishop-elect Henningâ€s surprise at being moved from Providence after such a short tenure there.  But, obviously, the Holy Father believes that he has the attributes that are needed for ministry here in Boston.

We are very anxious to do whatever we can to help the transition be as smooth as possible, and we look forward to his installation, which will be on Oct. 31.  Iâ€m sure there will be many comments on the fact that the installation is on Halloween, but the bishop has already declared he has his costume prepared!

I am so grateful that the Lord has left me here as long as he has.  It was difficult to come to Boston, but it is also difficult to leave.

The naming of a new archbishop is a moment of joy and renewal in the Church, and I look forward to doing whatever I can to make the new archbishopâ€s transition as easy as possible. I trust that the Lord will bless his ministry here and that he will find all of the love and support that I have experienced over the last 21 years as the archbishop.

For my part, I am very grateful for the many expressions of prayer and support people have sent me.

As I said at the press conference, I wonâ€t exactly be taking up golf.  After the new archbishop comes, Iâ€ll be remaining in residence at the Cathedral Rectory and dividing my time between Boston and the Capuchin community in Washington. Iâ€m sure Iâ€ll also keep busy giving retreats and talks. (For example, Iâ€m already scheduled to give a retreat to the bishops of Barcelona in January.)  And, of course, I continue in my responsibilities with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors for the time being. So, Iâ€m sure Iâ€ll keep busy as long as I have health and strength.

From the press conference, I left directly for the airport to fly to Québec for the Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention.

There is no direct flight to Québec City, so we went through Montréal, where we ran into Cardinal García Rodríguez of Havana and Dr. Antonio Seña.

We were all waiting for hours because flights that day were terribly delayed.  We finally arrived in Québec City at 1:30 a.m. Luckily, the opening Mass wasnâ€t until 9:30, so I got a little sleep!

This is the second time in my years as a Knight that weâ€ve had the Supreme Convention in Québec City.  This is the 350^th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Québec, and thatâ€s why Cardinal Lacroix invited us to return there.

It is such a beautiful city with so much history.  In many ways, the Church was almost the founder of that city — between the Jesuits, the Ursuline Sisters and the first bishop,  St. François de Laval.

Québec City is one of only two walled cities in North America.  The other is St. Augustine, Florida.

The opening Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Lacroix, who gave a beautiful homily.

There were meetings during the day, and then, in the evening, was the States Dinner.

They invited Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the Cardinal Archpriest of St. Peterâ€s Basilica, to speak.

He spoke about what the Knights are doing to help underwrite the cost of the restoration of the Bernini baldacchino in St. Peterâ€s Basilica.

We were also very happy to be joined by Fra†John Dunlap, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta.  It was the first time that a Grand Master had attended the Supreme Convention.

I also gave the keynote in which I spoke about the globalization of indifference.

It was wonderful to be together with thousands of Knights of Columbus gathered for the Supreme Convention, and the membership around the world is now about 2 million.

Of course, most of them are from the U.S., but the numbers around the world continue to grow, especially in countries like the Philippines, Poland and Mexico.  And this year, there was a group from Spain because they are looking to start the Knights of Columbus in that country.  Seeing that growth is very encouraging.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

This week, Iâ€m very happy to bring you another guest post by one of our newly ordained priests, Father Marcelo Ferrari.  However, there were a few important events this week I want to share with you in addition to that.

The first of those was the funeral of Jack Connors at St. Ignatius Church in Chestnut Hill on Tuesday, which was one of the largest Boston funerals I have ever attended.  It brought together so much of the leadership of the community: the governor, the mayor, the former governor, senators, captains of business and many philanthropists.  But also represented among the throngs who attended both the wake and funeral were so many of the young people who were the beneficiaries of Jackâ€s unfailing generosity and service.

As I shared in my remarks to the people, the day of the funeral marked 21 years to the day that I met Jack, because it was the 21^st anniversary of my installation as Archbishop of Boston.  I met him at the installation and it was then that he committed to help our Catholic schools.  Over 20,000 inner-city children have benefited from his work with the Campaign for Catholic Schools.

He was a man who stayed with the Church in our darkest hour and was so committed to helping those in need through Camp Harbor View, his commitment to healthcare, and so many other aspects of life of the local community.

So, his funeral was a great tribute to him, but it was also a tribute to his Catholic faith and the commitment that he had to serving the entire community.

The following day, we gathered at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross for the Funeral Mass of Luis Santiago.

Luis and his wife Neri worked at the cathedral for many years and had been faithful parishioners for decades.  They are originally from Puerto Rico but have been here in local community since before I arrived.

There was a very beautiful celebration of his funeral, and his niece Jessica, who also works at the cathedral, gave a beautiful reflection.

Finally, this week, we sent off a statue of Our Lady of Aparecida that will be placed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  Itâ€s a very beautiful statue that was a gift to me from the Brazilian bishops†conference after I gave them a retreat a couple of years ago.

As many know, the National Shrine has altars dedicated to the various patronal titles of the Blessed Mother for the various ethnic and national groups.  And now, in September, we will be part of the celebration to inaugurate an altar to Our Lady of Aparecida, the Patroness of Brazil.  They expect thousands of Brazilians from all over the country to join us.  (And, of course, in Massachusetts, we have the only two Brazilian bishops in the United States, Bishop Edgar da Cunha and Bishop Cristiano Barbosa.) We are all very much looking forward to that celebration.

And now, I bring you Father Ferrariâ€s reflection:

Thank you, Cardinal Seán, for the invitation to contribute to your blog!

The Ferrari tree of life traces its roots far and wide.  From my fatherâ€s side, our fiery, passionate temper stems from the great Toscana, Italy.  On my motherâ€s branch, we acquired our joie de vivre from southern France and our macho love for Mama from her Mexican father.  Many novels could be written about those who built our crest.  But, in an effort to prevent a genealogical rant of biblical proportions, I will simply say that I have a scattered but deeply treasured family tree.

As for me, life began kicking and screaming my way into what was then a family of 5 but quickly became 6 when my younger brother was born.  Completed, our immediate posse was led by my father, Bruno and my mother, Cecilia, followed by the brotherhood: Bruno (Jr), Marco, myself, and Claudio.

For the first few years, we had a nice home in the suburbs of Monterrey, Mexico.  We then embarked on a series of relocations from Mexico to California, then off to France and finally back to California, all before my 10th birthday.  With each move, our growing family shrub was completely unearthed and replanted into new soil.  These displacements stripped us of the comforts of familiarity but forged amongst us a deep bond.  The enduring companionship we never found amongst friends was filled with what we now endearingly refer to as “Ferrari Power.”  Although this instability was difficult at times, I had nothing short of a blessed childhood.  One story sums it up best.

Iâ€ve always loved Cocoa Puffs.  Those little chocolate pearls of great price filled the bowls of my youth with great joy.   In an effort to curb my growing waist size, my parents would often hide these chocolate delights from the four boys.  So, after a successful outing for groceries, I rushed for the fresh family-sized bag of cereal.  Having acquired the box, I made a mad dash for the safety of my room.  In my haste, I tripped over the carpet and collapsed on the floor, exploding the cereal all over the room.

Recovering from the daze, I looked around for any witnesses.  My Brother Marco was stepping into the room to scope out the scene of the crime.  He calmly suggested that the only reasonable course would be to vacuum up the lost goods.  I insisted that they were all still perfectly edible.  As he left to get the vacuum, I threw myself back on the ground and, furiously extending my arms like a human windshield wiper, began to stuff my face with Coco Puffs.  Handful after handful, I was the full personification of a Hungry Hungry Hippo.  My insatiable desire nearing satisfaction, my younger brother Claudio approached with what I could only assume was the last small handful of chocolate goods.  Little did I know, he had gathered up some of our pet rabbitâ€s leftovers.  I quickly realized that these were not the same sweet pearls.  It was just another day in the Ferrari home.

Twenty years later, I found myself back on the floor prostrate, arms extended, now begging the Lord to satisfy my ever-hungry and restless heart.  This time, the celebration was my ordination to the priesthood — the Eucharistic banquet on the eve of the feast of the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

The lesson was clear: God alone will fulfill all the deepest desires of our hearts.  In place of trivial earthly snacks, he has given us bread from heaven, having all sweetness within it.  My little hands were being trained to hold what all of heaven could not contain.  As C.S. Lewis writes, “It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak.” The posture was appropriate, but the object of my desire was much too small.  Never could I have imagined that God would deign to come into those same hands.

These early days of priesthood have been filled with tremendous grace.  With every Mass celebrated, each confession heard or penitent anointed, time after time, God has fills my hands with more and more graces to dispense.  All these, He insists, should be distributed by the same hands like millions of priceless pearls.

I remember one particular moment I was called to the bedside of a dying patient: a young woman diagnosed with cancer.  I had been fervently praying for her healing, but after each visit, she grew worse.  Finally, just before she passed, she was able to receive the last sacraments.  At the funeral, her mother spoke beautifully about the tremendous hope that had filled the end of her daughterâ€s life and the great peace that had comforted her in her death.  As she left the church to go to the burial, she turned and thanked me: “You saved her!” She kept insisting as she kissed my hands, “You saved her!” It was clear that she was speaking to God himself and thanking the hands of Jesus.  As her daughter was carried to her place of rest, the mother expressed nothing but gratitude to God for the grace poured out by the hands of a priest.  These simple hands, accompanied by a few prayers and quiet gestures, were all she needed to transform the tragedy of death into the assurance of the Resurrection.

Later that day, I knelt before the Lord in complete awe.  In prayer, I demanded, “Who am I that my hands be chosen to carry the Lord?  Who am I that these hands command Godâ€s victory over sin in the confessional?  Who am I?” The answer was abundantly clear: “My servant,” nothing more and nothing less.

Jesus chose us, his ministers, that we might multiply the reach of his hands.  First, he laid hands on the Twelve, and the Twelve laid hands on more and now, thousands of hands of His priests extend the reach of our crucified Lord and share it with all those who ask for a saving word.

On May 25, Cardinal Séan laid his hands on me and anointed mine, not only that they might remain folded in prayer but that they would extend over Godâ€s people.  So now I reach out, not for little chocolate puffs, but for those precious pearls that God thirsts for: the thousands of souls that God wants to gather to himself.

Every day, I wake up and fall back on my knees, thanking God and praying, “Iâ€m hungry for more!”

Pax,

Fr. Marcelo Ferrari

As I concluded last week, we were still in the midst of the first National Eucharistic Congress in many decades, which was a great success.  It brought together many thousands of people from all over the country to celebrate our Catholic faith in the sacrament of the Eucharist.  I was very edified by the enthusiasm and faith that was witnessed to by the many thousands of people who gathered for all the activities of the Congress.

We are very proud of the fact that our own Mother Olga Yaqob was one of the keynote speakers, and I like to share the video of her talk with you here:

There is now a great deal of enthusiasm for the idea of having these Eucharistic Congresses at regular intervals to be able to focus Catholics on the centrality of the Eucharist in our faith life.  That will be something the bishops†conference will be discussing further, but I think itâ€s a wonderful idea, and we certainly got off to a good start with this Eucharistic Congress.

I was at the International Eucharistic Congress that we celebrated in Philadelphia in 1976 as part of the U.S. Bicentennial celebrations.  But the last National Eucharistic Congress in the United States was back in the 1940s.  So, itâ€s been a very long time, and we are so grateful to Bishop Cozzens and all the people who worked so hard to make this Congress such a great success.

I also want to share with you these photos that I was sent recently.

After the Spanish Mass, they were anxious to get us over to the place where EWTN was conducting interviews, so they insisted that we ride on this cart.  I usually prefer to walk, but it was kind of funny to be whisked around the convention hall!

On the way back from Indianapolis, I passed through Pittsburgh to be present for the ceremony where Brothers Charles Cascino, Ben Duphiney and Jack Gianetti, three of our Capuchin novices who have completed their novitiate, made their first vows.

I was very happy to be able to be with them.

From Pittsburgh, I returned to Boston for the installation of Father Marcos Enrique as the new pastor of St. Markâ€s Parish in Dorchester.

The celebration there was very enthusiastic.  The parishioners all know Father Marcos very well, as heâ€s worked there for a long time.

The Sunday readings had the theme of the Good Shepherd, which I thought was so appropriate for the installation of a new pastor.  I also pointed out the fact that they have a Good Shepherd window over the high altar in St. Markâ€s.

Tuesday, we were very saddened to hear of the passing of Jack Connors.  Jack discovered recently that he had a very serious diagnosis that progressed rapidly.  His death was very precipitous, but I was able to visit him in the hospital.

Certainly, he was one of the great larger-than-life figures in the community, a man who supported many different charities and did so much for our Catholic schools.  Literally, thousands of our inner-city youth are receiving good Catholic education because of the efforts of Jack Connors.

Iâ€d like to share with you the statement I issued Wednesday morning after receiving the sad news:

Jack Connors has gone to God and left us all with the legacy of a life lived in the service of others.  To his wife Eileen, to his four children and their spouses, and his thirteen grandchildren, I extend my prayers and consolation.

The tributes to Jackâ€s legacy will undoubtedly come from many sources, commending his leadership in the world of commerce, his vision of what a good society should be, and his seemingly endless generosity to others.  When I first came as Archbishop of Boston, Jack offered his assistance, a gift which has been of enormous value to the Church and to me personally over the past twenty years.

Jack combined a life of civic leadership and Christian generosity.  The generosity was never confined to one area of need or suffering; it was boundless in its content.  Jackâ€s influence could be found across the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in the Church, he served so well.

While his gifts of intelligence and wisdom enhanced the Archdiocese of Boston in multiple ways, it was the education of children which captured his heart and engaged his enormous energy.  The founder and the continuing inspiration of the Campaign for Catholic Schools, Jack drew a broad range of talented women and men together in the service of providing quality education for children of all faiths and from all social strata of our civil society.

He is widely praised for his commitment and leadership involving many important organizations that serve the common good.  Here I feel particularly privileged to be able to acknowledge his impact on Catholic education in an Archdiocese where schools have been the pathway in the past and continuing today for children of citizens and immigrants to become successful members of our society.

Jack brought his widely esteemed business acumen to his life as a citizen and a Catholic.  I use this tribute to particularly emphasize his commitment to build a better American society, one marked by social justice and fairness.  Jackâ€s faith and Jesuit education grounded his conviction to honor the human dignity of every person of every faith and every ethnic or racial community which make up the mosaic of the United States.  His position and role in Boston offered him the opportunity to enhance human dignity, to foster human equality and to provide a model for others who joined him in so many endeavors across several decades.

We have lost a great friend and a great leader of our common life in Greater Boston, but we are a better community of neighbors, friends, and citizens because he lived and worked among us for so long.

May he rest in peace and may his legacy be continued.

That day, I went to Carlisle for the Funeral Mass of Father Tom Donohoe, who had been a priest for 72 years and pastor until he was 92 years old.  He was 97 years old at the time of his death.  It was held at St. Ireneâ€s, a church that he had built and where he had been pastor for so many years.

His sister Virginia and many members of his family were with us.

The homily was preached by Father Romain Rurangirwa, a Rwandan priest who had been in residence with Father Donohoe for 12 years.  He gave a very eloquent homily.

Finally, next week, on the Feast of the Portiuncula, it will be the 40^th anniversary of my ordination as a bishop.  That prompted me to pull out some old photos and recall the community and the people who surrounded me at that moment.

The ordination took place at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

I was ordained by Bishop Edward Harper, the first Bishop of the Virgin Islands.  He was a Redemptorist Father who had been a missionary in Puerto Rico and then became the prelate and, later, the first Bishop of St. Thomas.

In the back row of this photo, singing with the Cathedral Choir, you see Sister Louis Marie, a Sister of Charity of Convent Station.  She was a Virgin Islander trained in social work, who I later made my Chancellor.  She was a wonderful collaborator.

That day brought a very radical change in my life.  It was something that I never expected, but I am grateful for the 40 years that I have been able to serve the Church as a bishop in four extraordinary dioceses where I have been able to enjoy the friendship and the testimony of so many outstanding priests, religious, deacons and laypeople who make up our Catholic community.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

I am sure you enjoyed last weekâ€s guest blog by newly ordained Father Gabriel Hanley.

This week, on Monday, I traveled to St. Joseph Cathedral in Burlington, Vermont, for the ordination of Bishop John Joseph McDermott.

He is replacing Archbishop Chris Coyne, who has been recently named the Archbishop of Hartford, Connecticut. Bishop Coyne was a Boston priest. He was in Rome for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29, to receive the pallium from Pope Francis. He was one of the two co-consecrator bishops along with Bishop Sal Matano who had been the bishop of Burlington before him. It was a beautiful ceremony.

Bishop McDermott is a Burlington priest who has served in various assignments in the diocese since his ordination in 1989. Since 2012, he has been the dioceseâ€s Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia.

You can watch my homily here:

Tuesday, I celebrated the funeral Mass for Father James Rafferty at St. Paulâ€s in Hingham, where he had been the pastor for 18 years and was so beloved.

Many members of his family and parishioners gathered for his funeral Mass.

That night, I had Mass with the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth and their founder, Mother Olga. They had just received the document from the Holy See making them a Public Association of the Faithful, so we had a Mass and dinner at the cathedral to mark that event.

It was the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a very auspicious day. It was also the 15th anniversary of their founding the first House of Discernment, as I asked her to set up the community. She started Nazareth House at BU in 2009 and the foundation of the order took place in 2011. If you want to learn more about them, Mother Olga prepared a history of their origins, which makes for very interesting reading.

The next day, we came to Indianapolis to participate in the Eucharistic Congress. Many people on the plane were also coming to the Eucharistic Congress, including Bishop Robert Reed, who was with us.

On Wednesday night, there was an opening procession and talks by the nuncio and Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who has been so involved in organizing this wonderful event.

Thursday morning, I had the Spanish Mass. I was joined by the nuncio, many priests and bishops, and a huge contingent of Hispanic participants in the Eucharistic Congress.

Deacon Franklin Mejia from Boston assisted me at the Mass

At noon, we had a luncheon sponsored by the Papal Foundation, of which Iâ€m the chairman. The Papal Foundation has helped with some of the expenses of the Eucharistic Congress. It was a way of thanking people and acquainting more people with the work of the Papal Foundation.

Itâ€s been a very successful 10th Eucharistic Congress. Theyâ€re already talking about when this should be done again. Itâ€s been 83 years since we had a Eucharistic Congress in the United States, and the participants’ enthusiasm is palpable. I just hope that the rest of the country, our fellow Catholics, are aware of this event.

Organizers planned four pilgrimages starting in different parts of the country. Father Roger Landry, a priest from the diocese of Fall River, participated in the two-month pilgrimage and recently wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “A 6,500-Mile Walk With Christ.”

I heard that in many of the towns on the different itineraries, processions with the Blessed Sacrament were held. This was a great opportunity to evangelize and witness the centrality of the Eucharist in our Catholic faith.

Until my next post.

In Christ

Cardinal Seán

Each year, around this time when people are away, and very few events are scheduled, I like to invite two or three of our newly ordained priests to share their reflections with you. I think itâ€s a very good way for people to get to know some of our new priests and also an opportunity for them to share their vocation stories and their experiences as they begin their priesthood.

This week, we will hear from Father Gabriel Hanley, parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish in Marlborough. I hope you enjoy reading his story as much as I did!

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Thank you, Cardinal Seán, for this opportunity!

Born and raised in Framingham, Massachusetts, I hail from an all but ordinary family; my father being an Irish Catholic Bostonian and my mother, a Dominican immigrant who came to Boston at the age of 17. It was always my parents†priority to instill in us, their six children, the Catholic faith as the most important element of our lives. With all of their involvement in our local parish — from the choir to teaching confirmation classes — my mother and father began to see that in spite of their efforts to raise us in the faith, it was not enough to keep us from the allurement of the world.

Being the middle boy, I found myself the black sheep in an extremely religious family. I also felt kind of lost in the mix of four brothers and a sister — and I felt neither entirely American nor entirely Hispanic. I often remember feeling eclipsed by my other siblings. Because I was lacking in a sense of identity, I began to create my own based on my hobbies.

Already in elementary school, I would fill sketchbooks with artwork and endlessly compete with my brothers in basketball. In middle school, I began to skateboard for hours on end, and I would carry a deck of cards through the halls of my school, always ready to perform a magic trick to impress my peers.

When I made it to high school, I was diligently playing guitar and singing. Although my hobbies would win me a bit of gratification, I could never hold onto that sense of satisfaction for too long because it would soon be swallowed up by my insecurity. I was continuously brought back to square one, questioning whether I was actually appreciated. At the same time, high school opened up new avenues for me to escape from my sense of inadequacy. Be it parties or spending days with friends, I was always running away from the reality at home and who I really was.

What changed everything was the arrival of a group of missionaries from the Neocatechumenal Way who started a series of talks at my home parish. Although my parents brought me kicking and screaming, what the missionaries were saying intrigued me. They told me that Christianity was ultimately rooted in having an experience with God; it was about receiving the news that God loves me as I am and that the characteristics that I despised in myself were the very place for God to display His grace and reveal His glory. It all sounded so new to me because, up until then, I had thought that Christianity was about piling up as many good deeds as possible to build my way to heaven.

Thankfully, these missionaries told me that none of this was true and, in fact, that through Jesus Christ, I could discover that I have a Father in heaven — that is to say that my identity has nothing to do with what I can do for God. Instead, it is God who has loved me first, and my identity is that I am a child who belongs to Him.

Despite the initial breakthrough, I still wavered between the world and the Church. Nevertheless, God still had His eye on me. I remember that in my junior year of high school, while my heart was straying from God once again, I was at a retreat with my Neocatechumenal community where we watched a video of a recent vocational call where Kiko Arguello, the initiator of The Way (as it is often called), invited all of the young men who felt that the Lord was calling them to give their lives for His priesthood to receive a blessing. I began to feel very anxious and unsettled, and the thought kept turning over in my head, “Why does it feel like he is talking to me personally?” I told no one about the experience, and I wrestled with that initial call for about two years. By the end of high school, I decided not to go immediately to college and instead took a year off, during which I worked for a stationary company named Felix Doolittle, where I was mentored by an artist, Felix Fu, in preparation to go to art school. After that year, I attended Montserrat College of Art for one semester. While I was pursuing everything I had planned for my future, the inner struggle continued.

Providentially, an opportunity opened up for me to travel to the Holy Land. So, in January 2015, I left everything in order to face God in Israel. I spent seven months there, residing and serving at the Domus Galilaeae, a house for pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. There, we lived a nearly monastic life immersed in work and prayer. I spent mornings washing windows, cleaning bathrooms, preparing guestrooms, and evenings serving those pilgrims in the restaurant of the house. It was during those seven months that I discovered that in serving the Lord, I was much happier than doing my own will, and it was throughout that time that the Lord slowly broke me down to finally accept his calling to the seminary. And so, during a pilgrimage to Jordan (at the birthplace of Elijah in Tishbe), I finally decided to pursue the priesthood.

Shortly afterward, I was sent to Porto San Giorgio in Italy for the retreat at which all of the aspiring seminarians of the Redemptoris Mater offer themselves to be sent to any seminary in the world. Although I wished to go somewhere far away and exotic, I ended up being assigned to the seminary of Boston, which was not in my plans. I could not see it then, but what I would soon discover is that God does not make mistakes and that there was no more perfect place that I could be assigned.

During my years in the seminary, I began to grow more and more fond of my hometown. The more I was exposed to the reality of the Church in Boston, the more clearly I could see how my upbringing was geared toward its mission. I discovered that having a Dominican mother and an Irish-American father has given me the opportunity to relate to the cultures that make up much of the faithful of the area.

This has been especially evident to me with my assignment here at Immaculate Conception in Marlborough, first as a deacon and now as a priest. I see God even used my upbringing in Framingham among the large Brazilian community to give me that initial desire and push to start learning Portuguese to also serve the Brazilian community here at our parish. Also, it is clear to me that my vocation is not just for myself but also a sign for those in my family who are far away from the Church. Those who have no relationship with God are now able to see God present through the fact that He has set me apart for His ministry.

This has opened my eyes to see that my vocation is not only a means by which God infuses my life with meaning but also the way in which He has sought to heal me. I think to myself now how great a blessing it has been to be sent to Boston because, perhaps, if I had been sent somewhere else, I would have tried to cut ties with my identity and create a new one by taking up some other culture, without ever accepting who I am and where I came from. Through this calling, God is teaching me to embrace my roots and to be no one other than myself so that by discovering His unique love for me as I am, I can also bring His love to those He has entrusted to me.

One thing that was most striking to me about the ordination was the joy of those who attended. It often seemed that those around me were even happier for me than I was. It dawned on me that their joy was coming from somewhere deeper. I understood that the joy of everyone who attended sprouted from the fact that the ordination of 11 men was a living testimony to Godâ€s continued fidelity and his promise to forgive sins and to give new life to humanity through the Eucharist.

I would like to share one moving event that took place shortly after being ordained. It was when we went to celebrate Mass with the priests of Regina Cleri. At the moment of the consecration, when we said all together, “Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body which will be given up for you,” I was unexpectedly overwhelmed with emotion, but after some reflection it all made sense.

I recalled the years of resistance while at the seminary and how I often distrusted Godâ€s plan for me. But it was through the ordination and in the celebration of the Eucharist that God sealed within me the handing over my own body to His call, and it has been a source of great joy. I see that God is calling me to live a Eucharistic life, where I give of myself so that others may share in Godâ€s divine life, but rather than being depleted from spending myself in ministry, I am instead being filled up.

I hope you all had a safe, enjoyable and restful Independence Day holiday!

Like many of you, I had some free time around the 4th, so I didnâ€t have as many events as I might have in a typical week.  But, last Friday, I was very happy to celebrate a special Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Jamaica Plain for the dedication of the major renovations there.

There were many priests with us, including Bishop Cristiano Barbosa, who accompanied me.  And, of course, we were also joined by the pastor, Father Carlos Flor, and the parochial vicar, Father Andrea Povero.

The Church was packed, and it was a very beautiful ceremony that included the consecration of the new altar.

A relic of St. Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian martyr of the Second World War, was placed inside the altar.

They have also installed a beautiful baptistery and a dove tabernacle hanging over the sanctuary, which I understand was acquired in Ukraine.

A key feature of the new renovations was the installation of a new altarpiece that goes practically up to the ceiling of the Church.  At the start of the Mass, the artist, David Lopez from Spain, gave us a talk explaining the significance of some of the icons and the importance of art as a means of evangelization.

In my homily, I also talked about how, in the Churchâ€s tradition, the great cathedrals were like Bibles in stone and glass, places where people could see images of the history of salvation.  This is very much like what we have in the beautiful icon at St. Thomas: the Pantocrator, Christ, at the center, surrounded by the different saints and mysteries of the history of salvation.

It was a very joyous occasion to celebrate the transformation of this Church.  We are grateful to Father Carlos and Father Andrea for all their hard work and dedication in bringing this project about.  I know there were great difficulties, but it certainly paid off!

On Sunday, I went to St. Josephâ€s in Lynn for a Mass to celebrate the parishâ€s 150^th anniversary.

A number of priests who had worked there in the past came back for the Mass, and it was very good to have them with us.

We were also joined by local officials, including the chief of police and fire chief of Lynn, and Mayor Jared Nicholson read a proclamation honoring the parish on that historic date.  And Father Pablo Gomis gave me a symbolic key to the church.

As I have mentioned, Iâ€m so impressed with the renovations they did to that Church.  They did an extraordinary job, particularly with the pews, because they were able to restore the original ones, which are very elaborately carved.  The church looks just stunning.

On Monday, Bishop Hennessey organized a very nice gathering of clergy at St. Paul’s in Hamilton, including many priests from his area and others who have participated in the annual priest retreats in Florida.  There were probably close to a hundred priests with us.

It was very enjoyable.  They had Irish musicians playing, and they even had a birthday cake for me.

We are so grateful to Father David Brogan for hosting us and to the many parishioners who helped make this a wonderful day for our priests.

Monday morning, I was visited by Professor Gabriella Gambino of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life and her son Francesco.

She had meetings here in Boston and was visiting her son, who is studying at Harvard.  It was very nice to see them.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

As I concluded my post last week, I was still in Rome, and while I was there, I had the opportunity to go up to the cupola of St. Peterâ€s Basilica.

The view is just fantastic.

I also took some photos of the novena for the Feast of St. Peter I talked about last week.

As I have said previously, of late, they are trying to use the basilica for prayer experiences and devotional practices in the evenings.  During the day, it is so packed with people who are just coming in to see the basilica, but at night, theyâ€re doing things that allow people to come and pray, such as eucharistic adoration, holy hours and this novena.

It was organized like the Stations of St. Peter, where they take scenes from the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, and they have artwork expressing those different scenes.  They also had a choir, prayers and a candlelight procession. It was very moving.

A group of friars from my province is in Italy on a pilgrimage to visit important Franciscan sites.  So, on Sunday, I accompanied them for a brief meeting with the Holy Father.

We sang him a song which is very important for my province, “The Ultima,” in Latin and German. Then, the Holy Father greeted each of the friars.  A couple of them have been working in Papua New Guinea, where the Holy Father will be traveling in September, so he was very interested in hearing about that.

He concluded our visit by giving us all his blessing.

Saturday, I celebrated the ordination for priests and deacons of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo, which is part of the Communion and Liberation movement.

It was held at St. Paul Outside the Walls, and Cardinal Jim Harvey, the archpriest of the basilica, came to greet me before the Mass.

There were six priests and three deacons being ordained.  One was Portuguese all the rest were Italian.

They had a huge choir that came from Milan, and there were about 2,000 people in the basilica. It was quite impressive.

There were also two bishops concelebrating with me.  One was Don Massimo Camisasca, the founder of the Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo.  He was one of the early companions of Father Giussani and Cardinal Scola.

Of course, afterward, they had a big reception and dinner with all the guests, and apparently, itâ€s their custom to throw the new priests up in the air during this celebration.

Our Risk Management Department in the Archdiocese of Boston would certainly never allow us to do this with our newly ordained priests!

Monday, I returned to Boston to attend two very important funerals.

The first was for Bishop Emeritus of Worcester Daniel Reilly on Wednesday.   Bishop McManus was our principal celebrant and homilist, and I presided.

Bishop Reilly was a priest of Providence and had been Bishop of Norwich before coming to Worcester.  Bishop McManus is also from Providence, and so had known Bishop Reilly his whole life.  He gave a wonderful homily.

Many, many priests attended the funeral.  We were also joined by many bishops of our province, including the recently ordained Bishop of Portland, Maine, Bishop James Ruggieri, and Bishop-elect John McDermott, who will be ordained Bishop of Burlington, Vermont, in just a couple of weeks.

Bishop Reilly had a very long and fruitful ministry that touched the lives of many.  He had been a very important member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and was the head of Catholic Relief Services for several years.  He was a joy-filled man with a larger-than-life personality, and he will be greatly missed.

Then, on Thursday, we gathered at St. Francis de Sales Church in Charlestown to bid farewell to Father Dan Mahoney.  As I mentioned last week, Father Dan was a priest for nearly 70 years and, for many decades, was a very dedicated chaplain of the Boston Fire Department.   He was chief chaplain for the last 30 years.

He, of course, had a firefighterâ€s funeral with all the honors and ceremony.

Father John Unni gave a very inspiring homily in which he talked about Father Danâ€s great love for and devotion to the firefighters of Boston.  He particularly pointed out the dozens of times Father Dan had to inform families of a loved one’s death and how he accompanied people in difficult times.

Being a chaplain for first responders is a very challenging ministry, and Father Dan did it so well for so many years.  In fact, St. Francis de Sales Church is often referred to as the Firefighterâ€s Church because of Father Danâ€s impactful ministry.

Finally, I was very pleased this week to hear that our archdiocesan newspaper, The Pilot, won several awards this year from the Catholic Media Association, including the award for the best Catholic newspaper website in the country.  They also won awards for their Catholic Schools Week special issue, media kit and feature writing.

We congratulate the staff of The Pilot on these well-deserved honors!

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

I want to begin this week by saying how saddened we were by the passing of Father Dan Mahoney.

Father Mahoney was beloved by his parishioners and the wider community, where he served the people of the archdiocese for nearly 70 years as a priest.  For over 60 of those years, he was a trusted friend and chaplain to the brave men and women of the Boston Fire Department, including 31 years as Chief Chaplain.

He was a steady and reassuring presence in the lives of countless numbers of people who sought refuge with him during times of tragedy, uncertainty, and suffering.  Father Dan loved being a priest and Fire Department Chaplain.  He will be greatly missed.

I have spent much of this past week in Rome, but on the way, I stopped in Denver to visit my family and ordain two Capuchin friars, Fathers Luke Jordan and Vincent Carrasco, at Annunciation Parish on Saturday.

Itâ€s always a great joy to have an ordination, especially for our own brothers in the community,   and it was a chance to see a lot of the friars I donâ€t get to see very often.

Brother Anthony Monahan, who is studying at Pope St. John XXIII Seminary, is also in that province and was with us.

I was also able to visit with my classmate Father Simeon Gallagher, whom many people in the archdiocese will know from his extensive preaching ministry and the parish missions he has been engaged in for many years.

And, of course, it was wonderful to be able to see my nephews and other family members.

Following the ordination, I left for Rome for our meetings of the C-9 Council of Cardinals, which were held on Monday and Tuesday.  Once again, the theme of this meeting very much focused on the role of women in the Church.

On Monday, after an introduction by Sister Linda Pocher, we heard talks by two very accomplished experts: Valentina Rotondi, a professor of the social sciences and Donata Horak, a canon law professor.  Professor Rotondi gave a presentation on the economy as a form of care, particularly with regard to intergenerational relationships, and Professor Horak gave a very interesting talk on various contrasts in Canon Law, such as between justice and mercy.

We continued our meeting on Tuesday, and I offered reports on several of the safeguarding programs we have initiated at the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.  Cardinal Gracias also spoke on the work of bishops†conferences.  And, as we often do, we offered our reflections on the situations in our home regions, particularly around current conflicts.

Father Bob Casey from Gate of Heaven and St. Brigidâ€s in South Boston was in Rome with Father Liam Bergin, so I had dinner with Father Casey one night.

As I have mentioned before, St. Peterâ€s Basilica is getting exceptionally crowded during the day with tourists.  As Iâ€ve often said, the danger is that people can come to see St. Peterâ€s Basilica as a tourist attraction, where you go to see the artwork rather than as a place to pray and visit the tomb of St. Peter and the other saints.

So, they are now having a lot of events in the evening for people to come to the basilica and pray — novenas, holy hours and rosaries — that are announced on big screens in the square.  For example, yesterday, they began the novena in preparation for the Feast of St. Peter.

These types of events are relatively new, and I think this is a very positive pastoral development.

I was very pleased to hear that Lorna DesRoses of our Evangelization Secretariat was honored with the Blind Employee of the Year Award from the Carroll Center for the Blind and the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind.

It was a great joy to see that Lornaâ€s extraordinary talent and commitment to service of the community have been recognized by such a prestigious group.  We are so grateful for the many years that she has dedicated to the archdiocese, and we congratulate her on this recognition of her faith and dedication.

Finally, I wanted to share this photo that I received from Antonio and Reyes Enrique this week.

I was thrilled to see that the Enrique family was able to visit their son Esteban, who is now Brother Vincent Mary, a novice at the Carthusian monastery in Vermont.  He doesnâ€t have the opportunity to see his family very often, so it was a very joyful reunion.  It was wonderful to see this picture with the whole family there.

There are not many contemplative communities for men in our country, but they are a very important part of the life of our Church.  Their life is one of witness to the primacy of God and the essential nature of prayer, and we are all the beneficiaries of their life of prayer and penance.  Brother Vincent is certainly in our thoughts, and we pray for him and for blessings in his vocation.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Last Saturday, I had the ordination of one of the friars of my province, Father Michael Herlihey.

This is one of four Capuchin ordinations I have this year. It was held at St. Augustine Church in Pittsburgh, where I was ordained 54 years ago and where we have many of our professions and ordinations. So, it was a great joy to be there with so many friars from our province.

Tuesday, we hosted an organ recital at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross by Dr. Bridgette Wargovich, Director of Sacred Music at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, Maine.

Bridgette is the sister of Father Paul Wargovich, and we were so pleased that her sisters, her parents and Father Paul could join us for the concert.

She is exceptionally talented, and we were delighted to host her at the cathedral, where we have our historic Hook & Hastings organ, which is one of the finest in the country.

Sunday, I went to our Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Brookline for the institution of acolytes and lectors. It was so encouraging to have such a large group of seminarians making their way towards priestly ordination.

Lectors

Acolytes

For me, this has been such a wonderful time of celebrating ordinations and ministries, which are such a sign of hope in the Church.

On Monday, I was visited by Mother Noeline Namusoke, the Mother General of the Daughters of Mary, Uganda, who was accompanied by Sister Maria Goretti Nassali, who is a teacher and the Director of Campus Ministry at Austin Prep.

Mother Noeline was visiting the local community of her sisters and came to greet me. Her visit also coincided with the big celebration of the Feast of the Ugandan Martyrs at St. Maryâ€s Parish in Waltham. So, I was happy to hear she was able to participate in that.

That afternoon, I met with Sylvia Fernandez del Castillo of our Pro-Life Office and Mike and Sharon Morley, a couple who are very involved with the St. Alfio Society in Lawrence.

It was a chance for me to thank Sylvia for her wonderful work on the Hispanic Pro-life Congress, which was such a success thanks to her hard work. The St. Alfio Society was a great help to Sylvia in organizing the eucharistic procession and other activities of the congress.

During our meeting, Sharon presented me with a portrait she had painted of me. Apparently, when I was at the Three Saints Festival several years ago, they took a photograph, and from that photograph, she painted the portrait. It was obviously created with great talent and affection, and I was so grateful to receive it.

On Tuesday morning, I went back to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary to celebrate the groundbreaking of their new expansion project.

A large rendering of the project served as the backdrop for the event

When itâ€s complete, the project will tie together the seminaryâ€s two existing buildings and provide them with a beautiful Chapel, as well as new dining and meeting space. It really will be transformative.

It was very well attended, and there was great enthusiasm among the people. We were very happy to be joined by many parishioners, members of the Neocatechumenal Way, those involved with the project and, of course, the local pastor, Father Jonathan Gaspar.

During the event, we heard from the rector, Father Tony Medeiros, who spoke on the history and scope of the project.

I also offered remarks in which I thanked all those who have supported the project and also expressed what a great blessing the seminary has been for us as an archdiocese, particularly forming men who are prepared to minister to newly arrived immigrants, which is our fastest growing demographic.

This is the week that we are holding our annual Spring Plenary Assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and I participated in meetings of three committees of which Iâ€m a member: the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America, the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa, and the Committee on Migration.

The Latin American and African subcommittees distribute monies from the special collections to fund different pastoral projects in those regions.
Those funds are vital for the mission of the Church in those parts of the world. I was recently quite taken by an article by John Allen in which he says that, on a typical Sunday, there are more Catholics at Mass in Nigeria than in all of Western Europe. This just highlights how fast the Church is growing in the developing world and why itâ€s so crucial that we help to develop the infrastructure and formation of pastoral agents required to accommodate this spectacular growth.

The Migration Committee, of course, is very much focused on the situation of immigrants, particularly the refugees who are coming to our shores and the inadequacies of our laws to deal with them in a just and humane way. We are also very much involved in the resettlement efforts of people from Ukraine and other war-torn parts of the world.

These committees fulfill very important functions of the USCCB, and so I was very happy to be able to contribute to their work.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Last Thursday, we were very happy to celebrate a Mass for our 25th Jubilarian priests at the Pastoral Center.

Sister Germana is always very good about including those in consecrated life from throughout the archdiocese in our different events.  So, we were very happy to have a religious brother who was celebrating 60 years of religious life join ranks with our priests who were celebrating significant anniversaries.

Itâ€s always important for us to recognize and celebrate our priests on important ordination anniversaries and our religious on the anniversary of their profession.  So, we are very grateful to all those who helped organize this Mass and luncheon.

Last Friday, we began our Hispanic Pro-life Congress, which was held in Lawrence.  This is something weâ€ve been planning and looking forward to for a long time, and it came to fruition because of the hard work of Sylvia Fernandez Del Castillo and her team at our Pro-Life Office.

The opening session was held at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish.  The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso and concelebrated by a number of bishops and local clergy, including Bishop Hennessey and Bishop Ruggieri of Maine.

Afterward, Bishop Seitz led the people in a eucharistic procession through the streets.

On Saturday, the congress continued at the Holy Rosary Shrine.  The day included a series of talks, prayer, and eucharistic adoration and concluded with a Vigil Mass for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.  It was a very full day that also featured vendors, music, talks for youth, and opportunities for confession.

Ester Munt-Brooks opened the series of talks with a discussion titled “The Fundamentals of Pro-Life,” and Bishop Barbosa addressed the topic of discussing sexuality with children, emphasizing a welcoming, loving, and truthful dialogue.

Luisa de Poo, director of Life, Marriage, and Family for the Diocese of Austin, spoke on “The Churchâ€s Response of Love towards Needy Mothers,” highlighting the challenges of motherhood in todayâ€s society and the Churchâ€s role in supporting mothers.  Finally, Adolfo Castaneda, director of education for Human Life International, presented a session on “Theology of the Body,” focusing on the sacrament of marriage and the concepts of love and fecundity.

We are so grateful to Sylvia and her staff, Bishop Seitz and all the speakers, many of whom came from great distances to make the conference a great success.

Father Nicanor and his team are always coming up with innovative activities and community-building events for the Hispanic community at the Cathedral Parish.  And so, this Sunday, in addition to the liturgical celebrations for Corpus Christi, they held a wonderful Latin American food fair in the parking lot of the cathedral that brought in a lot of parishioners and people from the neighborhood.

On Tuesday, we had our annual meeting of the Board of Directors of The Catholic University of America.  This is the major meeting at which new members have to be confirmed in their posts.

I was unable to travel to Washington for the occasion, but thanks to Zoom, I was able to participate with the other cardinals and bishops in this important meeting.

Also, that day, we had a meeting of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference.  Typically, we gather at Pope St. John XXIII Seminary, but occasionally, we meet virtually because people are joining us from all over the state.

We gather as the dioceses of Massachusetts — Fall River, Worchester, Springfield and Boston — a couple of times a year to discuss issues that affect the Catholic community, particularly around the areas of social services, legislation, healthcare and education.  This was the first meeting for our new Superintendent of Schools, Eileen McLaughlin.

We heard reports from the various committees on immigration, physician-assisted suicide and many other issues that are important for the Catholic Church in Massachusetts.

Finally, yesterday, I went to Regina Cleri for a Mass and luncheon for our priests who are celebrating their 50^th anniversary of ordination.

There were 11 men celebrating this year.  All were priests of the archdiocese except two.

One was Father Fidalgo, who is a Capuchin from Cape Verde.  I mentioned the fact that Cardinal Medeiros was the one who brought the Cape Verdean Capuchins to New England to work among the immigrants here.  They have made a wonderful contribution, beginning with the Famous Padre Pio, who founded the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.

I think this is the first time we had one of the Cape Verdean Capuchins as a jubilarian, so it was very nice to have him there.

We were also joined by a Jesuit Father.  Of course, the Jesuits have been present in the archdiocese for 200 years in great numbers.  So, we were very happy that he was also there, representing our religious priests among the jubilarians.

I also mentioned in my homily that this year is the 60^th anniversary of the establishment of Regina Cleri.  I said how grateful we are to Cardinal Cushing for founding this extraordinary institution that has become a home for over 300 of our priests throughout its history.  It now also serves as a venue for rehab and recuperation for our priests after surgery.

Following the Mass, I visited with some of the priests who are confined to their rooms, and we had a festive meal to celebrate the anniversaries.

We are very blessed by the exemplary work of Executive Director Stephen Gust and the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master.  Of course, we are also very grateful to the Clergy Trust team with its very active board under the leadership of Mark Vachon and with Michael Scannell as its Executive Director.  We are so grateful to all those who devote much time and energy to the health and welfare of our priests.

It is always a great joy to have an opportunity like this to celebrate 50 years of ministry and service to the Church of these men.  There is a wonderful spirit of priestly fraternity and welcome at Regina Cleri, which is a great blessing for our clergy.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day holiday!  Of course, this is the time of year when we celebrate many significant milestones in our families, and we had some important events in our archdiocesan family this week, as well.

Last Thursday, we had our Mass and commencement for graduates of the Theological Institute at St. Johnâ€s Seminary.  The Theological Institute is a program for theological and pastoral formation for laypeople, deacons and religious.  When the program began, it offered a Master of Arts in Ministry degree, but in recent years, it has also begun offering a Master of Theological Studies degree.

This year, we had 11 graduates, including two of our permanent deacons and Lorna DesRoses, who works with us at the Pastoral Center.

In my closing remarks, I congratulated the graduates on their achievement and also thanked the families for making the sacrifices for, in some cases, several years to allow the students to earn their degrees and be better prepared to serve the Church in Boston.

At the end of the Mass, the instituteâ€s director, Dr. Anthony Coleman, gave a special recognition to Father Paul Ritt, who was instrumental in helping establish the program.

That evening, I was very happy to attend the Cardinal Cushing Centers†annual Springtime Gala.

Cardinal Cushing founded what was originally called St. Coletta by the Sea in 1947 to primarily serve children with Down syndrome.  However, over the years, it has expanded to offer a variety of programs to both children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Earlier this year, several of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi from Wisconsin and Michelle Markowitz, President and CEO of the Centers, visited me to share their plans for ensuring the long-term continuance and expansion of their work to provide people of all ages and abilities a place to find opportunity and hope.   The archdiocese and all those who are part of the Centers†community are blessed by the Sisters†vision and commitment to their mission.

The gala program included a lot of involvement by young men and women from the Centers, including their participation in the fashion show.  Also, during the evening, Jim Dunphy and Meg Kelleher were honored for their many years of volunteerism and professional support for the Centers.

As I mentioned last week, the Centers†property includes a replica of the Portiuncula Chapel in Assisi, which Cardinal Cushing commissioned.  His closeness to the community at the Centers, particularly the children cared for by the Sisters and their colleagues, led him to designate that chapel as his final resting place.

Saturday morning, we had the joy of ordaining 11 men to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

It was so encouraging to see the large number of people who came out to support our new priests.  There had to be more than 2,000 people with us at the cathedral, which was just packed.  It was standing-room-only, with people lining the side aisles, standing for the whole Mass, which went more than three hours.

Hundreds of priests and eight bishops also joined us.  (I joked that we could practically hold an ecumenical council!)

This was a very diverse ordination class, and there was great representation from the Hispanic, Vietnamese and Cameroonian communities.

Wednesday, I attended Catholic Charities of Bostonâ€s annual Spring Celebration.   It was a wonderful event that raised nearly $1.5 million to support Catholic Charities†important work aiding the most vulnerable in our communities.

Our emcees for the evening were Jack Connors and Father John Unni, who did a wonderful job.

During the evening, we heard remarks by Governor Maura Healey, Catholic Charities President and CEO Kelley Tuthill, and Board Chair Mark Kerwin, who highlighted the many needs the agency is working to address.

Each day, Catholic Charities works with state and local governments to address the pressing needs in the communities we serve.  In particular, the Commonwealth has been a great support for our efforts to respond to the extraordinary circumstances of the current refugee crisis.  By way of ongoing partnerships with local governments, Catholic Charities strives each day to meet the critical need to increase the availability of safe, affordable housing, address the increasing experience of food insecurity, provide quality child care, especially for single parents, and offer English language instruction for newly arrived immigrants and refugees.

I was also deeply honored and humbled to receive this yearâ€s John and Virginia Kaneb Justice and Compassion Award.

We are so grateful to the leadership and staff of Catholic Charities, who worked so hard to make the gala a success, and also to all the benefactors and supporters who are making such an important difference in the lives of those we are committed to serving.

Finally, I want to conclude this week by saying how saddened we were to learn of the passing of Bishop George Coleman, who succeeded me as the Bishop of the Diocese of Fall River.

From 2003 to 2014, Bishop Coleman served as a compassionate, caring, and dedicated shepherd for all the people of the Fall River Diocese.  He was often noted for his peaceful demeanor and always present kindness.

When I was bishop in Fall River, Bishop Coleman provided me important support by serving as my Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for eight years, and he generously accepted the role of Diocesan Administrator following my transfer to the Diocese of Palm Beach.

In 2003, Pope St. John Paul II named him bishop of the diocese, an appointment that was received with great joy by priests and people of Fall River. In addition to his having carefully guided the diocese through challenging times in the life of the Church, Bishop Coleman is well remembered for his humility and genuine concern for all the people, regardless of their circumstances.

We thank God for Bishop Colemanâ€s life and ministry and call upon his prayers and intercession, with confidence in his place among the saints and angels in the presence of the Lord.  May he rest in peace.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent several days last week in Rome and Assisi.  I was visiting Assisi because the bishop there, Bishop Domenico Sorrentino, has been inviting me for some time to participate in their local social justice conference and to celebrate a Pentecost Mass at the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which is a Capuchin parish and the place where Blessed Carlo Acutis is buried.

I arrived in Rome on Thursday afternoon and met with the new officials of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors: Secretary Bishop Luis Manuel Ali Herrera and Adjunct Secretary Mrs. Teresa Kettelkamp.  We are delighted to have them on board.

They have been in the process of meeting with representatives from the different dicasteries of the Roman Curia, and they reported that it has gone very well.

It was interesting to see that they are getting ready for the Jubilee Year in Rome. The papal altar is all shrouded in scaffolding and tarps, and the Holy Door is sealed.

Friday morning, a Capuchin brother from Assisi, Brother Boniface, drove us there.

This church in the central square of Assisi church was the Temple of Minerva, which is now a church of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis.

We stayed at the Capuchin monastery there, which is just across the street from the Sacro Convento.

The Sacro Convento is connected to the Basilica of St. Francis and is the original monastery of the first followers of St. Francis and the papal palaces that were built there.  The popes used to spend a lot of time in that palace until Napoleon.  Apparently, there were so many problems, difficulties and insecurities in Rome that the pope had palaces all over the Papal States, and one of them was in Assisi at the Sacro Convento.

When you look at this view of the basilica, you see the basilica to the right, and to the left are the colonnades, which are the Sacro Convento and the papal apartments.

We had a beautiful view from the room I was staying in.

We had Mass at the tomb of St. Francis.

The early followers of Francis are buried around where he is buried.  They are all in the lower basilica there at the four corners next to the tomb of St. Francis.

Afterward, the superior of the Sacro Convento invited us for breakfast. Following breakfast, they gave us a tour of the old convent and palace.

This long white refectory is the papal refectory where the Holy Father, the cardinals and the curia would eat.

One of the most interesting parts of the tour was finding out there was an underground passage leading from the papal apartments up to the fortress on top of the mountain.  Itâ€s a real Dan Brown type of setting!

We also visited the Church of San Damiano.  This is the convent where St. Clare and the first Poor Clares lived.

We said Mass in a small chapel there, which is the site where St. Agnes died.  St. Agnes was a younger sister of St. Clare and one of her first followers.

They have a replica of the Santo Cáliz (Holy Chalice) of Valencia, which many consider to be the famed Holy Grail.

It reminded me of when I was in Valencia in 2006 for the visit of Pope Benedict.  I was concelebrating the Mass, and they were using the Santo Cáliz.  I was all excited because I thought I was going to be able to receive Communion from it, but boy, did that disappear in a hurry!

In the refectory at San Damiano, they place flowers at the place where St. Clare used to sit.

We also visited the original chapel in San Damiano.  This is the place where St. Francis heard the crucifix tell him, “Rebuild my Church.”

The cross there now, however, is a replica, not the original.  The townspeople built the Basilica of St. Clare to bring the nuns inside the walls of the city because being outside the town was too dangerous.  (Some will remember the story of the Saracens attacking the convent and St. Clare going out with the monstrance and driving them off.) But, of course, when they moved into the city, the nuns were not about to leave the crucifix behind!

Saturday, we had the social justice conference.  Every year, they give a grant to some organization that is involved in social justice ministry.  This year, the money went to the Capuchin Friars†mission in the Amazon.  There was one friar from the mission who happened to be there, so he received the award in the name of the mission.

Sunday, we celebrated the Pentecost Mass in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore.

There were a number of government and military officials present for the Mass.  We were also very happy to be joined by Msgr. Tony Figueiredo, who had been very helpful in arranging the trip.

Several years ago, Bishop Sorrentino entrusted this church to the care of the Capuchins.  Itâ€s a historic church, but it was never one of the places people would visit when they went to Assisi.  It was the original cathedral, and it is very probable that St. Francis was baptized there.  However, they took the baptismal font and put it in the new cathedral, San Rufino.

Being the original cathedral, it is right next to the bishopâ€s palace, where St. Francis took off his clothes during the trial and gave them back to his father in a very dramatic gesture, saying, “From now on, I will no longer say, My Father Pietro Bernadone, but Our Father who art in heaven.”  So, it is called il Santuario della Spogliazione (the Sanctuary of the Spoliation).

Then, in 2019, the church became the burial site of Blessed Carlo Acutis, and it has become one of the most popular sites in Assisi.  Itâ€s really very moving to see hundreds and hundreds of teenagers lined up to go visit the tomb.  Normally, you would expect to see college students and retired people going to Assisi, but now itâ€s full of all these teens visiting Assisi because of Carlo Acutis.  Itâ€s quite impressive.

But, of course, the attraction is understandable.  When you read his story, to me, it just shows the power of grace in a personâ€s life because he didnâ€t come out of a particularly religious family, and yet, right from his earliest childhood, he was so faith-filled and drawn to the sacraments and the Church.  Of course, we were so pleased to learn that just days after our visit, the second miracle was approved to pave the way for his canonization.

We also had an opportunity to visit the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli, which contains the Portiuncula, the place where St. Francis died.  However, like the papal altar in St. Peterâ€s Basilica, itâ€s all under wraps, getting ready for the Jubilee in 2025.

And, of course, many of you know that we have an exact replica of the Portiuncula on the grounds of the Cushing Centers in Hanover, which Cardinal Cushing had built to serve as his final resting place.

And it really is an exact replica.  They went so far as to import the building materials from Assisi and ensured the color of every stone laid matched the corresponding one in the original Portiuncula!

Outside the Portiuncula, there is a peace garden, which is the site of a meeting with Pope Francis and economists from all over the world on building a more just economy.

Sunday night, we returned to Rome, and on Monday morning, we had a Mass in the Irish Chapel on the lower level of St. Peterâ€s Basilica.

I also visited some of the other altars there and had an opportunity to pray at the tomb of Pope Benedict XVI.

The lower basilica is very interesting because, in certain places, you can see the original basilica built by Emperor Constantine.  Of course, the present St. Peterâ€s Basilica was built during the Renaissance because the old one was in disrepair and too small.  But there are still places in the lower basilica where you can see the original pillars and stones from Constantineâ€s time.

So, as you can see, it was a very short trip, but being in Assisi for those few days was a very uplifting experience, and I want to thank all the Friars — the Conventuals, the Capuchins and the OFMs — who were all so gracious to us.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Last Friday evening, we concluded a week of prayer vigils for Haiti in different communities across the archdiocese with a special Mass celebrated at The Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

Several hundred people were in attendance, and about ten priests from the Haitian community joined us.  It was very moving to see many people bring Haitian flags to the Mass.

For my homily, I chose the theme “Being with Mary at the foot of the cross,” and the Gospel reading was from John 19, where Christ tells the Apostle, “Behold thy mother.”

I think everyone is aware of how dire the situation is in Haiti, so people were very happy to have this opportunity to pray for their country.

The Archdiocese of Boston has the third largest Haitian community in the United States, after Brooklyn and Miami.  So, our people are very much affected by the violence and anarchy that reigns in Haiti.  We are hopeful that the peacekeeping forces that are supposed to be sent by the United Nations will help alleviate the situation in Haiti and help restore order and a functioning government.

Saturday, I went to St. Markâ€s Parish in Dorchester for a day of celebrations with the Asian Catholic communities of the archdiocese to mark Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

As I was entering the church, I took note of this mosaic outside that has many Christian symbols.

There were several events during the day, including a procession led by Bishop Cristiano Barbosa.

After the procession, I celebrated Mass.

There was a Filipino choir and many people from the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese communities.

There was also a Marian theme to the day, so the Mass we celebrated was for The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.  This is the new feast day that Pope Francis has given us for the Monday after Pentecost, but we thought it would be very appropriate for this occasion.

Monday, I went to St. Anthony of Padua in Cohasset to celebrate the funeral Mass of Father John Mulvehill, who had been pastor there for 24 years, serving until he was 86 years old.  He was a beloved figure in the community, and there was a large turnout of parishioners, along with many of his nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews who were there representing the family.

Father Tom Nestor was our homilist.  As a young boy, he would serve Mass for Father Mulvehill when he was stationed at St. Theresaâ€s in West Roxbury and was inspired by Father Jackâ€s priestly example.  It was a very beautiful homily.

Tuesday, we had our meeting of the bishops of the Boston Province, which includes the four dioceses of Massachusetts and the dioceses of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire.  We were pleased to have the two newly named bishops of our province present with us: Bishop James Ruggieri, the newly ordained Bishop of Portland, Maine, and Bishop-elect John McDermott, who will be ordained and installed as Bishop of Burlington, Vermont, in July.

We meet as a province about twice a year to share information about our dioceses and make pastoral plans and decisions together.  Itâ€s good to see the bishops of the region and hear about their pastoral challenges and accomplishments.  These meetings are always a very fraternal experience, and we all look forward to them.

Among the reports we received was a fascinating one about the situation in the Middle East, given by Father Bryan Hehir.  We also heard from Fathers Paul Soper and Bob Connors, two priests of the archdiocese who had attended the gathering of pastors in Rome in preparation for the Synod.  They gave us a very interesting report on their experience there.

Finally, as I prepare this post, I have just arrived in Rome.  Among my activities during this time will be a special Mass at Santa Maria Maggiore in Assisi, the Capuchin church where Blessed Carlo Acutis is buried.  I look forward to sharing more about that with you next week.

Until then,

Cardinal Seán

Saturday, we had the joy of ordaining six of our seminarians as transitional deacons for the Archdiocese of Boston.  These are the men who, God willing, will be ordained to the priesthood next year.

In my homily, I remarked on the great diversity of this yearâ€s diaconate class.  There were four languages among the six ordinands: Italian, Portuguese, English and Vietnamese.  This is a great blessing for us.

I also reminded them that, even though they are called transitional deacons, they are actually permanent deacons, but they will also be priests.

There was great enthusiasm among the people and beautiful music reflecting the different communities represented in the ordination class.

May 6 is Easter Sunday in the Julian calendar, which is followed by the Eastern Churches.  So, on Saturday evening, I went to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral to participate in their celebration of the Easter Vigil.

Metropolitan Methodios is always so gracious in inviting me each year.  They usually ask me to read a Gospel, greet the people and share an Easter message with them.

Both the Metropolitan and I are anticipating that next year, which is the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, perhaps the Holy Father and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople will come up with a formula for a common celebration of Easter.  I always say that the advantage of having both the Julian and Gregorian calendars has been to allow us to have two Easters each year.  However, I think the symbolism of having a common date of Easter would be very powerful.

Of course, they gave me a beautiful Easter basket and an extra candle.

As I was leaving, I saw a number of people carrying lit candles to their cars.  It is not uncommon for people to take the flames home after the flame and candles are blessed.  The custom is that when you get home, you light an oil lamp in front of the icon with that flame and keep it burning all year.  I think thatâ€s a very beautiful custom.

At the cathedral, we have an Ethiopian–Eritrean community that are Eastern Catholics of the Geâ€ez Rite who also follow the Julian calendar.  So, every year, as I return from the Orthodox celebration, I like to stop in to greet them and wish them a happy Easter.

They have a very long and beautiful Vigil that begins with a procession behind the Easter candle.

Sunday, I went to St. Anthony Parish in Cambridge to celebrate a Mass for their Santo Cristo Feast.

St. Anthonyâ€s was originally an Azorean parish, though it now has a large Brazilian presence.  But they still celebrate as their major feast Santo Cristo, which is an image of Christ after being scourged and crowned with thorns.

In my homily, I reflected on how St. Teresa of Avila attributed her conversion to the moment that she saw the same Ecce Homo image in her convent.  I noted how that was an occasion of great grace.  And I told the people that we should try to look upon this image with that same faith and ask the Lord to convert our hearts so that we can be more faithful disciples of the Lord and realize how much he loves us and how he has suffered for us.

Itâ€s always wonderful to see such beautiful and strong popular religiosity among the people.  So, I was happy to be part of the celebration.

That afternoon, I met with the newly elected leadership team of the Ugandan Catholic Community at St. Mary Parish in Waltham, who came accompanied by their pastor, Father Michael Nolan.

It was good to be with them, hear about their different activities and be able to give them a blessing.

On Monday, I attended the wake service of Father William Pearsall at Regina Cleri.  Unfortunately, I was unable to be at his funeral Mass because I had the episcopal ordination in Maine the following day.

Father William Pearsall had been a priest for 70 years, and he spent over 40 years in Peru as a member of the St. James Society.  He was part of one of the very first groups of Boston priests sent by Cardinal Cushing to South America.  Father George Emerson, I believe, was in that same group, and he was with us at the service, and Father Frank Daly gave a beautiful reflection.

As I mentioned, on Tuesday, I went to Maine to celebrate the episcopal ordination of Bishop James Ruggieri of Portland.

Msgr. John McDermott, who has been named Bishop of Burlington, Vermont, was with us, and before the Mass he joked, “Can I get in line and just do it now?” When we all laughed, he said, “When itâ€s 120 degrees in July, youâ€ll wish you had done it now in May!”

Bishop Ruggieri was a pastor in Providence.  So, in my homily, I noted that the new bishop came not only from Providence but also from Godâ€s divine providence, a sign of his loving care for the people of Maine.  And we assured the new bishop of everyoneâ€s support.

I also thanked Bishop Robert Deeley for his many years of service in the Archdiocese of Boston and for the decade he spent as Bishop of Portland.  I said how obvious it was that he loved being the Bishop of Portland.  He loved his priests and his people and was very dedicated to that ministry.

On Wednesday, I was visited by Consuelo Isaacson and Micho Spring of Friends of Caritas Cubana.   They had been in Cuba recently, and the situation there is getting very dire.  They wanted to share with me some of their experiences and ways that we might be able to help.

The work that they do is so important, supporting the different food and medicine programs that Caritas Cubana is sponsoring all over Cuba at a time when there is great scarcity.

Also, on Wednesday, we were very happy to announce the appointment of our new superintendent of schools, Eileen McLaughlin.

Eileen has long experience teaching and in the administration of Catholic schools in the archdiocese.  She brings a lot of gifts to her new position and is a woman of deep faith and commitment to Catholic education.  (And, of course, many people know her mother, MaryAnn McLaughlin, who worked for so many years in spiritual formation, Cursillo, and many other different activities of the archdiocese.)

Catholic education is one of the primary ministries of the archdiocese.  Not only is it a way to transmit the faith, but it is a powerful way we prepare people for life: to be good people, to be virtuous people and to have the kind of education that will allow them to realize their gifts and make a positive contribution to society.

I know that Eileen will bring many of her gifts to this new responsibility that she is taking on.   But I also want to say that I was very impressed with the quality of all the candidates who made it to the final round.  Unlike some of our past superintendent searches, we concentrated on identifying local candidates and found we had the talent right here in the archdiocese.  That was very, very encouraging, and we thank all the candidates who came forward for this very important position.

Finally, on Thursday, we had a virtual rosary with members of The Papal Foundation, at which Father Eric Cadin spoke briefly about vocation promotion in Boston and throughout the country.

It was very good to be able to be with them, pray with them, and hear a talk on this very important theme.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Last Friday, I visited New Horizons Assisted Living in Marlborough.

The site was originally a home for troubled girls run by the Good Shepherd Sisters.  However, several years ago, it was converted into a long-term care facility, and many of our religious orders are sending their retired sisters there, particularly the Sisters of St. Anne, who are there in large numbers.  They are very happy to have community amongst themselves, share their charisms and spirituality with each other, and be present to the other residents.

I had Mass for them in their beautiful Chapel.  Then, afterward, we had a roundtable discussion with the sisters.

That evening, I had a dinner with groups assisting us in campus ministry.

Since there are about 75 colleges and universities within the archdiocese, campus ministry is very important to us.  We have been blessed with wonderful chaplains at the different campuses, as well as groups like the Brotherhood of Hope,  FOCUS, and St. Paulâ€s Outreach, which collaborate with our chaplains and have been successful in involving so many young people on our campuses in the life of the Church.

I try to gather with them about once a year, and it is an opportunity to hear their witness talks about their ministries on the various campuses.  We are truly blessed by their presence and the enthusiasm of these young people who are intent upon sharing the faith with their peers on college and university campuses.

Sunday morning, I went to St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Lawrence to celebrate the installation of their pastor, Father Israel Rodriguez.

It was a very impressive celebration that really showed the vibrancy of the parish.  There were probably about 1,500 people in the church, and afterwards, there was a luncheon that so many of the people participated in.

At the end of the Mass, they gave me a lovely gift of a basket of fruit that was just immense.

Father Israel has done an extraordinary job in whatever parish he has been assigned to, and that is certainly the case at St. Maryâ€s, which is one of the largest parishes in the archdiocese.  Even though heâ€s been in that assignment for a while, it was nice to have a formal recognition of his role there as pastor with the formal installation ceremony.

That evening, I was very happy to attend the Redemptoris Mater Seminaryâ€s Gala Dinner at the Quincy Marriott.  As always, a very large and enthusiastic crowd came out to support the seminary.

The honoree of the evening was our newly minted auxiliary, Bishop Cristiano Barbosa.

They also showed a wonderful film about the life and vocation story of one of our seminarians who will be ordained to the priesthood this later month, Deacon Giovanni Argote.

It was a joyous evening, and, of course, I always enjoy the singing of the seminarians.

It was also a chance for me to publicly acknowledge the fine work of the rector, Father Tony Medeiros.

I was happy to be a part of this great expression of support for the seminary and its mission of forming priests.

On Monday, I recorded a video for the 175^th anniversary celebration of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

I am scheduled to celebrate a special Mass for their anniversary.  However, I will be at the Synod on Synodality in October, when they hold their main celebration.  So, we made a video with Sister Maria Delaney, who is a wonderful historian.  She was full of fascinating information, and it was very interesting to learn more about their history.

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur have been such an important presence in the archdiocese, not just because of Emmanuel College but because such a large percentage of schools were staffed by the sisters going back almost 200 years.  We are blessed by their presence in the archdiocese.

On Tuesday, we had our monthly meeting of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors via Zoom, and our new Secretary and Adjunct Secretary were with us.

We had reports on the continuing effort to conduct outreach in Africa and Latin America regarding safeguarding training and establishing safeguarding offices.  We are very encouraged by the work the commission is doing.

That afternoon, I went to dedicate a new Oratory and the Stations of The Cross Pathway at St. Sebastianâ€s School in Needham.

It was very good to see outgoing headmaster Bill Burke as well as Brendan Sullivan, the incoming headmaster.

Of course, we were also joined by Father John Arens, who has been part of that institution for so long.

There has always been a very strong commitment to the spiritual and religious formation of the young men at St. Sebastianâ€s and to instilling in them a strong Catholic identity and commitment to the values of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church.  For that, Iâ€m very grateful to Bill Burke, the faculty, and Father Arens.

Wednesday, I celebrated the funeral Mass of Father Charles Salamone at St. Patrickâ€s in Watertown, the parish he had been helping out at after his retirement.  Bishop Reed is, of course, the pastor at St. Patrickâ€s, and he concelebrated the Mass with us.

Father Salamone was chaplain at St. Elizabethâ€s Hospital for 25 years and had an extraordinary ministry there, caring for the sick and ministering to doctors, nurses, and the families of patients.

His dear friend, Father Al Butler, preached the homily and had many wonderful anecdotes and stories of how thoughtful Father Salamone was.

He also mentioned how good he was with all the different religious communities of women and was so attentive to their needs.  He reported how, once, Father Salamone was visiting the Trappistines, and they mentioned that they had lost their llama.  Father Salamone said, “Order another one, and Iâ€ll pay for it.” As they were leaving, Father Al said, “Do you know what llama is?” and Father Salamone replied, “I have no idea.”

Two months later, Father Salamone got a bill for $1,700 for the new llama!

I said that I had seen that llama during my visits to the Trappistines, but never knew that he was the benefactor who provided it.

I also commented that we have a painting of the patroness of the Capuchin missions, the Mother of the Divine Shepherd, in the lower Church of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross that I brought back from Peru.  In this painting from Peru, Our Lady is surrounded not only by sheep but also by llamas because they say that a llama is better than a sheepdog in caring for the sheep.  The llamas scare away predators and make sure the sheep are safe, come in at night and have enough to eat.

I said that is the kind of shepherd that Father Salamone had been to people for so long.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Last week, I spoke about my trip to Spain to receive an honorary degree from the Pontifical University of Salamanca.  Well, the actual ceremony was last Friday.

Everyone at the university was very welcoming and gracious.  The Grand Chancellor is Bishop of Salamanca José Luis Retana Gozalo and now there is a priest as the Rector Magnifico, Father Santiago García-Jalón de la Lama.

The conferral ceremony is very ancient, so everything was in Latin, as was typical of medieval universities.  There were many heads of other universities there, along with a number of cardinals, bishops and civil and military officials.

At the end, the choir sang “Gaudeamus igitur,” the song traditionally played at European graduations.

As is typical at these types of ceremonies, I was asked to make an address.  I spoke on the theme of immigration, and particularly the Magisterium of Pope Francis around immigration.  I also shared with them some of my own experiences.

After the ceremony, there was a nice lunch.  Then we drove back to Madrid, which is about a two hour drive away.  I was staying with the Capuchin friars at the Basilica of Jesús de Medinaceli, which is in the center of Madrid.  The church was built by the Duke of Medinaceli, who brought the statue from Morocco.  Itâ€s probably one of the larger shrines in Madrid, and the Capuchins have been there for many centuries.

It very much struck me when I arrived and saw the lines of people winding around the block waiting to go into the church to venerate the statue on Fridays.

They had 11 masses and hours of confessions, and literally thousands of people lined up from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. to venerate the statue.  They asked me to give the last blessing at 10 p.m. as it was ending.

The friars were telling me that they have a fraternity of 2,000 men who are there every Friday to receive pilgrims and they are also the ones who carry the statue on Good Friday.  It takes 200 men at a time to carry the statue because it weighs so much.

We have this image of Spain being so secularized, but to see the devotion of the people was very encouraging.

I saw another example of that as we walked over to The Almudena Cathedral.

On the way, we went by a parish that was organizing a procession for Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza, and there were thousands of people gathered for the procession.  It was just amazing.

On Saturday, I celebrated the ordination of Capuchin Father Ignacio Moreno at the Church of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de El Pardo.

Father Nacho with his brother Javier, who was ordained last year

It was wonderful staying with the friars there and getting to know them.  That province has had missionaries in Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile and the Philippines.  So, many of the priests living at Jesús Medinaceli had been missionaries in those places.

Six of the Capuchins who were martyred during the Spanish Civil War are buried in the crypt.

I also visited Los Jerónimos, which was a block away.  Los Jerónimos is a very important church in the history of Spain, and for many years served as the chapel of the royal court.

On Monday, the nuncio organized a dinner in my honor, with many bishops in attendance.  We were also very happy to be joined by Mario Paredes and Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and his wife Vanessa, who were in Spain.

I returned to Boston on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, I was very happy to join about 400 people attending the Living the Dream Dinner to support the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston.

It was a lovely evening during which they honored the Brett family.

Thursday, we had our Spring Presbyteral Convocation, at which we gather with the priests of the archdiocese for a day of fraternity and reflection.

Our speaker this year was Dan Cellucci, CEO of the Catholic Leadership Institute.  Dan and CLI have worked very closely with the archdiocese on several important initiatives over the years.

He spoke to us about millennials†views on the parish and Church and facilitated table discussions on leadership in the archdiocese.

Since this is likely the last large gathering of the Boston presbyterate before my 80th birthday in June, the priests, represented by Father Michael Nolan and Msgr. John McLaughlin, surprised me with an early birthday gift.

They collected over $215,000 amongst themselves to create a scholarship fund in my name that will support men attending seminary for the Archdiocese of Boston, and they announced the amount had been matched by an anonymous donor.

I had no idea it was coming, and I was just blown away.

In my remarks afterward, I told the priests how grateful I was for this moving gesture and how proud I was to have served as their archbishop for these past 20 years.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

I want to begin this week by sharing with you an opinion piece I authored that appeared in The Boston Globe on Monday.  It addresses physician-assisted suicide, a very important moral issue, which is not a Catholic issue but a matter of the sacredness of life and defense of the weak.

It has been said that at the heart of the physician-assisted suicide debate is the moral-medical distinction between curing and caring for patients.  The United States has an unmatched capacity for curing illness.  But even here, there comes a moment when caring is the imperative because curing is no longer possible.  Our collective responsibility is to address a personâ€s psychological, physical, and spiritual needs as they face the end of life or debilitating illness.  To instead instigate death with physician-assisted suicide presents a moral and ethical threat to society, the medical profession, the disability community, and the common good.

Physician-assisted suicide is just that: suicide.  And it is always tragic whether administered under a doctorâ€s care or self-inflicted.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that suicide rates increased 36 percent between 2000 and 2021.  In 2021, 1.7 million people attempted suicide in the United States.  The CDC states that risk factors include a history of depression and other mental illnesses, impulsive behavior, isolation, and access to lethal means of suicide among people at risk.

The Massachusetts Legislature is considering a physician-assisted suicide bill, and they should reject it.  Physician-assisted suicide could lead to a slippery slope of possibilities, like those already being witnessed in countries like the Netherlands, where 400 people suffering from mental illness were “euthanized” without their consent, as reported in 2017 by the Bioethics Observatory at the Catholic University of Valencia.  Also consider the 28-year-old Dutch woman Zoraya ter Beek, from the Netherlands, who has decided to end her life next month because she has struggled with depression, autism, and borderline personality disorder.  When we normalize physician-assisted suicide, we devalue life and remove any sense of hope.

Particularly vulnerable are people with disabilities.  Debate in Canada has been intense.  Dr. Mark S. Komrad of Johns Hopkins Hospital wrote in 2021 of a new assisted-suicide law in Canada, “This is a profound change in the trajectory of the euthanasia law, and the practice of psychiatry for Canada, which is now the largest nation that will soon allow MAID [medical aid-in-dying] for psychiatric conditions.  It has rocked the professional mental health community in Canada, which fought to forestall the inclusion of psychiatric disorders for euthanasia.”

For 2,500 years, physicians throughout the world began their service with the Hippocratic Oath, promising not to harm and to “give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked nor suggest any such counsel.” This stands in direct opposition to physician-assisted suicide.

In my more than 54 years as a Catholic priest, I have anointed, prayed with, comforted, and stayed with many people during their last hours and minutes of life.  Losing a loved one or watching someone suffer is always difficult, a process the hospice care and palliative care communities are dedicated to mitigating.  Fear of tremendous pain and the loss of control are advanced as reasons to support physician-assisted suicide.  In almost every instance, palliative care can suppress pain and provide a crucial level of support for patients and families.

In fact, the National Institute on Aging notes that “palliative care can be helpful at any stage of illness and is best provided soon after a person is diagnosed.”

Hospice was one of the first programs to use modern pain management techniques to care compassionately for the dying.  In 2021, there were more than 5,000 hospice programs in the United States with an organized team approach to professional caregiving, and 1.5 million people are enrolled in hospice care each year.  Furthermore, people already have the right to refuse burdensome, life-extending treatments.  They also have the option of leaving advance directives to determine their care when they are no longer able to express their wishes.  The death that results from withholding or withdrawing of life-sustaining treatment has always been separated by a bright line from active measures to cause death.  Assisted suicide proponents seek to blur this line.

The assisted suicide bill in the Legislature has flaws, including:

— A diagnosis of death within six months, a requirement under the bill, is often wrong
As the late Dr. Barbara Rockett, a former president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, wrote, “One of the most difficult and often inadequate determinations that a physician has to make is the attempt to predict when a patient might die.” There are numerous examples of individuals across the country who have outlived that diagnosis and have lived for many years.  They get to share the comfort, love, and companionship of family and friends and that wouldnâ€t have happened if they had opted for physician-assisted suicide.  These individuals or their family members testify year after year before the Legislature about their personal journey and implore legislators to refrain from legalizing physician-assisted suicide.

— The bill lacks sufficient safeguards to protect the most vulnerable
Individuals who are ill are often at the most vulnerable stage of their lives.  In short, an individual who is physically disabled, depressed, or who fears being a burden to their family may be subject to undue influence or coercion by others to consume the deadly drug mixture.  This is particularly troubling if there are financial benefits to be gained as a result.

Physician-assisted suicide does not just contradict deeply held religious convictions but also violates principles held by many in the health care community, as evidenced by the stated positions of national health organizations as well as the disability community.

In June 2021, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization stated, “In light of the underuse of hospice and palliative care to alleviate suffering, lack of comprehensive health care with persons with serious illness, … concerns of disability rights advocates regarding protections from coercion, longstanding racial bias in medicine, disparities in health and medical care, and lack of protections to ensure voluntary participation, NHPCO opposes legally accelerated death.”

In January 2023, the Alzheimerâ€s Association severed its ties with Compassion and Choices, the chief proponents of physician-assisted suicide, stating, “Their values are inconsistent with those of the Association.”

Rather than legislating the acceleration of death, the Catholic Church encourages legislators to focus on providing quality palliative care to the sick and dying.  Patients are best served when medical professionals, families, and loved ones provide support and care with dignity and respect.

As I mentioned in my previous post, last week, we were in the midst of our annual pilgrimage and meeting of The Papal Foundation in Rome.  This is the largest pilgrimage weâ€ve had so far, with over 150 people joining us.

On Friday, we had our audience with the Holy Father, who was in great form — he was giving candies to all the little children!

He was very animated and gave a lovely talk, which Iâ€d like to share with you here:

Your Eminences,
Your Excellencies,
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning to everyone!

I am pleased to greet all of you, the Members, Trustees, and Stewards of The Papal Foundation on the occasion of your annual pilgrimage to Rome.  During this Easter season, we celebrate the Lordâ€s resurrection and his triumph over sin and death.  Indeed, the stone in front of the tomb has been rolled back, and we are invited to look up at Jesus and welcome him into our lives, and once again say “yes” to him (cf. Homily for the Easter Vigil 30 March 2024).  In this way, the abiding presence of the Risen Christ will always be a source of joy that no one can take from us (cf. Jn 16:22).

Since its inception, the Foundation has been a vessel of this Easter joy by bringing the closeness, compassion and tender love of Jesus to countless brothers and sisters throughout the world.  Your support of various educational, charitable, and apostolic projects enhances the integral development of so many, including the poor, refugees, migrants, and nowadays the increasingly large numbers of those affected by war and violence.  At the same time, the scholarships provided to laity, consecrated religious, seminarians and priests from developing nations enable them to pursue studies at Pontifical universities in Rome, at the heart of the Church, and equip their recipients to bear witness to the Gospel more effectively both in their home countries and beyond.

Through these various worthy initiatives, you continue to help the Successors of Peter to build up many local churches and care for large numbers of the less fortunate, thus fulfilling the mandates entrusted to the Apostle by our Lord (cf. Lk 22:32, Jn 21:17).  For all of your generosity, thank you very much.

As you well know, your work finds its ultimate source and inspiration in our Catholic faith, which must be continually nourished by participation in the life of the Church, the reception of the sacraments, and time spent quietly before the Lord in prayer and adoration.  Let us not forget to adore the Lord.  We have neglected this form of prayer and we need to take it up again: adoring the Lord in silence.  In this regard, your visit occurs in the midst of the Year of Prayer as the Church is preparing to celebrate the Jubilee of 2025.  Through our perseverance in prayer, we gradually become “a single ‘heart and soul†(cf. Acts 4:32)” with both Jesus and others, “which then translates into solidarity and the sharing of our daily bread” (cf. Letter to Archbishop Rino Fisichella for the Jubilee 2025, 11 February 2022).  This fruit of our spiritual lives is important for your noble efforts, for although you may never meet them personally, the programs of The Papal Foundation foster a spiritual and fraternal bond with people from many different cultures, languages, and regions who receive assistance.  Your service is all the more necessary in our time, marked as it is by a growing culture of indifference and individualism.

I offer my cordial best wishes as you visit the See of Peter, and I ask you to please pray for me.  In entrusting you and your families to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, I impart my Blessing as a pledge of joy and strength in the Risen Lord.  Thank you!

Since its inception, The Papal Foundation has given about $350 million for causes to help the Holy Fatherâ€s charities around the world and provided 2,000 scholarships for priests and religious from developing countries to study in Rome.  Of course, they also help in places like Ukraine and areas where there have been natural disasters.

The Papal Foundation is a significant source of economic support for the charitable works of the Holy See, and Iâ€m honored to serve as its chairman.

On Friday evening, I celebrated Mass for the members of the Foundation at the Basilica of St. John Lateran.  Afterward, there was a banquet in what was the palace, which is now a museum.

St. John Lateran is the cathedral church of Rome, and popes used to live in that palace until the Middle Ages.  In fact, thatâ€s where St. Francis of Assisi came to get the approbation for his rule and his way of life.

On Monday and Tuesday, we had our meetings of the C9 Council of Cardinals advising the Holy Father.  As in our previous meetings, we had discussions on the role of women in the Church.  This time, we were joined by Sister Regina da Costa Pedro and Professor Stella Morra, who shared their perspectives with us.

We also received a report on the Synod on Synodality from Cardinal Mario Grech and Msgr. Piero Coda and had a time for reflection and prayer for the troubling scenarios of war and conflict, particularly in the Middle East and Ukraine.

I was out walking on Monday, and since I knew they had done some renovations in the Church of Santa Maria Sopre Minerva, I stopped by to see it.

While in Rome, I was very happy to see Fathers Kevin Leaver and John MacInnis.  They had planned to go on a pilgrimage with a group to Rome and the Holy Land, but when everything fell through, they decided to come to Rome anyway.  So, I was happy to be able to see them and spend some time with them.

It was also very good to see the Casco family from Honduras.  The whole family was there on a sort of pilgrimage.  They were going to Rome and then on to San Giovanni Rotondo to visit the tomb of Padre Pio.

This was the family that I worked with to change the abortion laws in Honduras.  Later, they were part of the Pontifical Council on the Family.

Leonardo and Marta Lorena Casco were parishioners of mine in Washington and would always go to the March for Life with me.  Eventually, they went back to their country, and years later, when laws were passed allowing abortion in Honduras, they called me.  I took Dr. Bernard Nathanson there to speak with the medical establishment and legislators, and we presented the film Silent Scream on television.

The laws were changed, in great part due to this family.

From Rome, I went to Salamanca to receive an honorary doctorate from the Pontifical University here.

I arrived Thursday and spent the night with the Capuchins.  They gave me a tour of the city, which is one of the more ancient and historic cities in Spain.

They have two cathedrals – a newer Gothic one and an older Romanesque one.

Part of the Capuchin monastery where I am staying dates back to the time of St. Francis.  One of his first followers came to Salamanca, and the Franciscans established a monastery and were involved in the university here.

We also visited the Dominican Convent of St. Stephen where Christopher Columbus met with the friars before he came to the New World.  The friars were very active in defending the rights of the indigenous people.

During her time in Salamanca, St. Teresa of Avil would visit the monastery to pray and seek guidance from her Dominican confessors.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Last Friday, I was pleased to attend a luncheon at the Harvard Club celebrating the 40^th anniversary of Ray Flynnâ€s election as Mayor of Boston.

I was invited to give a blessing and make some remarks.   When I became Bishop of Fall River 31 years ago, Ray Flynn was already in office.  I had met him a number of times, and at one point, he wrote a fanciful novel in which the Irish Bishop of Fall River was elected pope.  I accused him of writing science fiction!  I told him that, in revenge, I was going to write a book about a basketball-playing Mayor of Boston who became the President of the United States — but Iâ€m still working on it!

Mayor Flynnâ€s service to the City of Boston is much appreciated, and I also mentioned his service as Ambassador to the Holy See.  We are very proud that his Catholic faith has informed his public service and desire for social justice.

Each year after Easter, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and the Board of the Knights of Columbus make a visit to an area of the country where the Knights have a significant presence, and this year, they chose Boston.

As part of their visit, I celebrated a Mass for them at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.  Also with us were Mass. State Deputy Tom Butler and prior State Deputy Paul Oâ€Sullivan.

It was the first time that a number of them had been in the cathedral since it was renovated, and they were enthusiastic about the improvements.

Following the Mass, we had dinner at the Hampshire House in Boston, where they presented me with a decree in my honor.

Saturday, we celebrated our annual confirmation Mass at the cathedral for college students Itâ€s always a wonderful celebration with our college students coming from the various campus ministries in the area.  The largest group this year was from Northeastern University with the Brotherhood of Hope.

Father Eric Cadin introduced the confirmands.

Itâ€s always a very joyful celebration, and I was happy to see many of their relatives and friends come to accompany the young people.  It was also an opportunity to thank all the chaplains, campus ministers, catechists and sponsors for their support in preparing these young adults for confirmation.

Sunday was, of course, Divine Mercy Sunday, and I went to our Pope St. John Paul II Divine Mercy Shrine in Salem to celebrate Mass with them.

They have a wonderful community at the shrine, which includes many young Polish families as well as other people from the area.  Of course, many had gone there just for Mercy Sunday to go to confession and participate in the events they had around the feast day.

At the Mass, they gave me a lovely basket of Polish food.

Afterward, there was a luncheon in the parish hall.

They had a full day of activities around Divine Mercy Sunday, including many, many hours of confessions, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, adoration and a Stations of the Cross procession.

Monday, I departed for Rome for the annual pilgrimage and meeting of The Papal Foundation.

Of course, that was the day of the solar eclipse, and I didnâ€t expect to have an opportunity to see it.  But, as I was getting in the car to go to the airport, Sister Marie Paul came running up with eclipse glasses and said, “Put these on!”  And I did, and it was amazing!

Of course, I harkened back to the day that I was named a bishop.  I have a bit of a history with eclipses.

We have 150 or so Stewards of The Papal Foundation here in Rome for our meetings, and I celebrated Mass for them at my titular church, Santa Maria Della Vittoria, on Wednesday evening.

Afterwards, there was a reception at which they singled out some of the Saeman Scholars, who are sponsored by the St. John Paul II Scholarship Fund of The Papal Foundation that allows priests and religious to study at the pontifical universities of Rome.  They have awarded more than 2,000 of the scholarships since their inception.

Our meetings of the Foundation continued on Thursday, and that evening was the 30^th annual Rectorâ€s Dinner at the Pontifical North American College.  Fathers Michael Drea, Joe Ferme and Wayne Belschner were all there with us.

This year, the dinner honorees were Cardinal Wilton Gregory and Lory Mondaini.

Finally, earlier today, the Papal Foundation had an audience with the Holy Father, but weâ€ll share more details about that with you next week.

Until then,

Cardinal Seán

On Holy Thursday, I was visited by Jessica Hooper, the incoming head of the Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart.  She will begin her new role on July 1, as Mother Rogers completes her term after 35 years leading the school.

Jessica studied at the University of San Diego and has spent her whole career in various aspects of Catholic education.  Most recently, she served as President of Nativity Prep in San Diego.  She is very happy to be able to begin this responsibility at Newton Country Day, which is one of the premier Catholic schools in the archdiocese.

That evening, we began our celebrations of the Sacred Triduum at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross with the Mass of the Last Supper.  It was the only celebration we had at the cathedral that day, so we celebrated it bilingually with the Hispanic community and the English-speaking community together.

Two very important elements of the celebration are the Washing of the Feet, commemorating the way that Jesus washed the feet of the disciples of the Last Supper, and the Eucharistic procession taking the Blessed Sacrament to the repository in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.

Following the Mass, we have adoration in the chapel until midnight.

At 11:30, we had Night Prayer with about 200 university students in attendance, and I gave them a reflection on the Agony in the Garden.

It was very edifying to see those young people who walked in the rain to visit various churches and concluded their pilgrimage with us at the cathedral.

On Good Friday, we had three Stations of the Cross at the cathedral.  The first, in the morning, was the Way of the Cross for Life.

Then, in the afternoon, we had the Stations acted out by the Hispanic community of the cathedral.

And finally, we were visited by those doing the Stations of the Cross with Communion and Liberation. They do the Stations through the city and end with the last Station at the cathedral.

I gave them a reflection on the Passion and they presented me with a copy of their annual Easter poster.

At 3 p.m., we had the full Good Friday service in English, with Father Michael Zimmerman as our homilist.

Then, in the evening, we had the service in Spanish, and I preached.

There were many hundreds of people passing through the cathedral on Good Friday with those five different activities that were held there during the day.

As has been my tradition for many years, on Holy Saturday morning, I went to have lunch with the Memores Domini of Communion and Liberation in Cambridge.  Communion and Liberation is an apostolic movement in the Church that was founded by Father Luigi Giussani in Italy, but it has since spread all over the world.  Out of that movement has come different entities, including the Priestly Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo for priests and the Memores Domini, groups of consecrated lay people who live in community according to the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience while carrying on their secular professions at the same time.

This year, several women Memores were with us because they are planning on opening a house in the archdiocese for women, and I am very pleased about that.

On the night of Holy Saturday, we had our Easter vigil, during which we received 17 people into the Church.

The Easter Vigil is the high point of the liturgical year in which we have the Blessing of the Fire, the chanting of the Exsultet, and the renewal of baptismal promises.

Because the Vigil is such an important moment in the life of the Church, Iâ€m always very happy when we have a good crowd at the cathedral for it.  Iâ€m also very grateful that many people were able to participate virtually through CatholicTV, as well.

Then, on Easter Sunday, I celebrated the 11:30 a.m. Mass at the cathedral.  There mustâ€ve been about 2,000 people in attendance, and the cathedral was standing-room-only.

Once again, we had the renewal of baptismal promises and the sprinkling rite as part of the celebration of Easter.

That evening, I went to the Capuchin friary in Jamaica Plain to join them for a Holy Hour and Vespers followed by a lovely Easter dinner.

On Tuesday, I had dinner with a group of our seminarians.  Father Michael Zimmerman from our Vocations Office also accompanied us.  These men are in their propaedeutic year, and as always, we had Vespers together followed by dinner and a time of conversation.

We are very blessed to have these young men discerning a priestly vocation in our seminary programs.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

As I do each year for Holy Week, I am posting my blog a day earlier than usual so as to be able to better prepare for and observe the liturgies of the Paschal Triduum.

Saturday, I was visited by a group of parishioners from St. Leonardâ€s in the North End, who came accompanied by their pastor, Father Michael Della Penna. They wanted to talk to me about proposed changes in their prayer garden.

It was very good to see them, and they very graciously brought a lot of pastries from Modern Pastry in the North End.

Also that day, I went to St. Maryâ€s in Brookline for the celebration of Father Jonathan Gasparâ€s birthday.

Sunday was, of course, Palm Sunday, and we had a wonderful celebration at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

Each year, the youth group from St. Maryâ€s in Waltham comes to visit us at the cathedral on Palm Sunday.  There was a very large group this year, and we were glad to be able to welcome them again.

I gave them a short talk on Holy Week, and then they had a time of prayer and veneration of the relic of the True Cross.  Afterwards, they had a tour of the cathedral.

Monday, I met via Zoom with Father David Grenier, Commissary for the U.S. of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.  The Custody of the Holy Land is the first province St. Francis founded in the 13^th century, and the friars have been caring for the holy places since then.

The friars run about 30 schools, clinics and other ministries around the shrines and the holy places.  Many of their works of charity and their education apostolate are supported by the special collection for the Holy Land taken up on Good Friday.

With the situation of war, things are very dire in the Holy Land.  Most Christians there work in occupations related to welcoming pilgrims, and with the present conflict, the number of visitors to the holy places has dropped drastically.  So, this has brought great hardship to the people.

Father David was very anxious to contact me to thank me for the generosity of the people of Boston every year with the Good Friday collection, and we certainly want to encourage everyone to be very generous to help the people in that part of the world who are suffering so much at this time.

Tuesday, we had our annual celebration of the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

During this Mass, we bless the oils that will be used in parishes, chapels, and other ministries throughout the year for baptisms, confirmations, ordinations, and the anointing of the sick.  Itâ€s also a day to celebrate the gift of the priesthood and renew our priestly vows.

For me, itâ€s such an important Mass to underscore the unity of the Church and the recommitment of our priests to their vocation.  Itâ€s always a wonderful celebration.

We were very pleased to be joined once again this year by Metropolitan Methodios.  He is always very kind to join us for this celebration, and he invites me to their Easter Vigil where they bless the Easter fire.

We also have an exchange of visits for the feasts of St. Peter and St. Andrew, who were brothers, and Andrew is considered the founder of the Church in Constantinople and Peter, of course, was the Bishop of Rome.

In my homily, I mentioned that next year is the 1700^th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, a very significant council that took place when we were all one Church.

To mark the anniversary, Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew are in conversations about how we can use this anniversary to further unity between our Churches.  One idea being considered is trying to come up with a common date for Easter.

We had a great attendance at the Chrism Mass this year.  In addition to many of our priests and deacons, we had a large number of people join us, including young people from two of our Catholic schools.

There were also several members of the local Shalom Community in attendance, and they came to greet me after the Mass.

Wednesday morning, we had a memorial service at the cathedral for JoAnn McGrath, who passed away in February in California.  She had a long and beautiful life, and many of her family and friends gathered with us for the service.

JoAnn was an extraordinary Catholic laywoman who was very much involved in supporting Catholic schools, healthcare, social services and many other works of mercy.  She and her husband started the Highland Street Foundation, which has done so much to help many nonprofits and service organizations in Boston.

She was a dear friend and just the kindest, most thoughtful person.

Father Jack Ahern was at the Mass, and he mentioned to me how, if there was a tragedy in the parish, JoAnn would call and ask if there was anything she could do for the family.  She was just that kind of person — always looking for ways to help others.

Then, on Wednesday evening, we had our service of Tenebrae at the cathedral.  The Tenebrae service is one way that we can fulfill the liturgical directives that some hours of the Divine Office be celebrated publicly during Holy Week.

We asked the seminary to assign one of the transitional deacons to preach at the service, and we were happy to have Deacon Marcelo Ferrari as our homilist.

Of course, the musical accompaniment is extraordinary.  There is quite a tradition of music for Tenebrae and Holy Week, and Richard Clark and the choir do a fantastic job with it.

I wish you all a blessed Triduum and happy Easter!

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán

Last Thursday afternoon, I went to Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School in Methuen for a celebration of the schoolâ€s 20^th anniversary.

Notre Dame Cristo Rey, along with Cristo Rey Boston, is one of two Cristo Rey model high schools we have in the archdiocese.  Under this model, students go to school four days a week and work at a local business one day a week.  This not only gives them experience in the professional world, but their wages offset the cost of their education.

I was there at their founding, and when the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur started this school, it was in Lawrence at the convent of St. Mary of the Assumption.  I was worried about their prospects, because Lawrence is not a city that has many employment opportunities.  But the sisters have done very well with it.

In the meantime, they have moved to a beautiful campus that was the venue of the Sisters of the Presentation of Maryâ€s school in Methuen.  The pandemic, of course, was another challenge for the Cristo Rey format.  But they came through it very well, and the school is thriving.  They have about a 75 percent college graduation rate, which is extraordinary.

The school is very heavily Hispanic, and the Mass was done bilingually.  The youngsters participated and sang beautifully.  It really was a very joyful celebration.

Friday, I went to Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston to celebrate the institution of new acolytes.  Pope John is a unique seminary in that it forms men from all over the country who come to the priesthood later in life.

At Pope John, they have the custom of celebrating the Friday liturgies in Spanish.  This is something I applaud because I think itâ€s good for the seminarians to be exposed to liturgy in Spanish.  That way, if they end up in a parish with a Hispanic community, they wonâ€t be afraid to celebrate the Mass in Spanish, even if they are unable to preach in Spanish.

Those being instituted as acolytes were Joseph Bao Quoc Nguyen, Diocese of Venice; Brother Anthony Monahan, OFM, CAP, Capuchin Province of Mid-America; Maximilian Muenke, Archdiocese of Boston; Leonardo Espinosa-Lopez, Diocese of Raleigh; and Joseph Frank Kolcun, Diocese of Syracuse.

We were very happy that several seminary board members and Mother Olga and the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth were able to join us for the ceremony.

That day, the seminary was also holding a come-and-see retreat for those who might be considering a vocation.  So, I had lunch with them, and then we had a question-and-answer session.  There were 17 men there, which was a very hopeful sign of interest in the seminary.

Saturday, we had a meeting of our Survivors Advisory Board, which assists us in education, outreach and formation of leadership in the Church around issues of safeguarding.

They gave reports on the meetings that theyâ€ve been having with priests, deacons and seminarians on safeguarding.  They say the meetings have gone very well, and Iâ€m very grateful for all the help they give us.

Sunday was, of course, St. Patrickâ€s Day, and we had a very festive Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

This year, St. Patrickâ€s Day was on a Sunday, so we celebrated the Mass of the Fifth Sunday of Lent.  You cannot substitute another Mass for a Sunday Mass, but we made the celebration also in honor of St. Patrick because we knew many people would be coming to the cathedral precisely to celebrate our patronal feast.

The choir sang many beautiful Irish hymns, and we were so pleased to be joined once again by Irish tenor Ciarán Nagle, who led several of the songs, particularly Our Lady of Knock, which I look forward to every year.

We were also very happy to have the students from the Catholic Memorial Irish Language Program deliver the petitions in Irish and English.

As always, we had the blessing of the shamrocks that are distributed to the people after Mass.

And Msgr. Oâ€Leary had a reception in the lower hall for the people afterwards.

I took advantage of the feast day to talk about the history of the Irish people, particularly the way that so many Irish came to the States at the time of the famine.  Over 1 million people starved to death, and others came on the famous coffin ships that would be followed by sharks because they were constantly throwing overboard the bodies of people who died of starvation.

I said that my family came to Montréal and that many of the ships that came to Montréal were full of orphans because the parents had starved along the way from giving all their food to the children.  I also noted that one year after the start of the famine, one-third of the population of Boston was made up of Irish Catholics who had come here fleeing starvation and the sufferings in Ireland.  Many are buried in unmarked graves on Deer Island, at a site marked by a large Celtic cross.  I also pointed out the fact that the first generation of Irish built our beautiful cathedral at a time when they were still sending money back to their starving relatives.

I raised all this to emphasize that the Irish people should be very sensitive to the situation in our world whenever there is hunger and starvation, and people are forced to leave their homes because of dreadful situations of oppression, poverty and discrimination.

Of course, thereâ€s always a lot of kitsch that accompanies St. Patrickâ€s Day, and I received several very interesting gifts this year.

After the St. Patrickâ€s Day Mass, a woman came with her family to the rectory and said that I was her Spanish 101 teacher at Catholic University.  That had to be over 50 years ago because she said her class is having their 50^th reunion this year.

Monday, I went to Catholic University in Washington for a board meeting and for the dedication of the new nursing building on campus, which is just beautiful.

It was a wonderful time to be in Washington because the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

Then, on Wednesday, I went to Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton for a celebration of their 65^th anniversary.  The school was founded by Cardinal Cushing, who named it in honor of Cardinal Spellman, who had been an auxiliary Bishop of Boston.

We were very happy to be joined by Father Paul Ring, who is an alumnus, School Chaplain Deacon Joe Nickley, Director of Campus Ministry Jason Deramo and, of course, School President Daniel Hodes.

I was also pleased to meet the students involved in campus ministry, which they call the God Squad.

They have a nice picture of the God Squad with Bishop Dooher from several years ago hanging on the wall.

The Mass was celebrated in honor of St. Joseph because the school was originally run by the Sisters of St. Joseph.  The chapel is also dedicated to St. Joseph and has a number of stained-glass windows dedicated to him.

That evening, I had one of my regular dinners with a group of seminarians. 

This time, I met with the men in their second year of pre-theology studies.

Yesterday, we had a meeting of our Presbyteral Council and, at the lunch afterwards, we bestowed the Cheverus Medal on Deacon Chris Conley, who was unavailable when we had the ceremony at the cathedral.

Joining us were Deacon Chrisâ€s wife, Jen, and his father, Jim.

All the deacons who work in the Pastoral Center also came to show their support, as well.

Finally, some of you may have read the news that the Holy Father has appointed a new secretary and Adjunct Secretary for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Our new secretary is Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, an auxiliary Bishop of Bogotá who has served as Secretary General of the Colombian bishops†conference.

And our new adjunct secretary is Teresa Kettlekamp, a former colonel in the Illinois State Police who had been the director of the safeguarding office for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Both of them have been commission members, so I see this as a vote of confidence from the Holy Father in the commissionâ€s work.  We are very grateful for Oblate Father Andrew Smallâ€s contributions to the commission and his willingness to work with the new secretary during this time of transition.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán