Polishing St. Patrick's

Preparations Well Under Way for First Papal Mass at Cathedral

By Claudia McDonnell

Pope Benedict XVI will make history in New York April 19 when he becomes the first pope to celebrate Mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Known internationally for its beauty, and located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, the cathedral is magnificent enough to draw more than 5.5 million visitors a year. But it is being made even more beautiful for the papal Mass. Msgr. Robert T. Ritchie, the cathedral rector, heads the team that is accomplishing the work.

"We want to make sure that the place is in tip—top, spiffy order," he told CNY. On the to—do list were such items as installing new television monitors, renovating a side altar and polishing floors and brass fixtures.

A key logistical project is to arrange the seating for a capacity congregation—more than 2,000 persons.

The pope will celebrate Mass for priests, deacons and religious men and women—nuns and brothers—from the Archdiocese of New York and dioceses across the United States. Concelebrating on the altar will be as many as 14 cardinals and 160 bishops. More than 900 priests will concelebrate from their places in the pews.

Msgr. Ritchie noted that Cardinal Egan has given an invitation to the Mass to the bishop of every diocese in the country for himself and two other persons—priests, deacons or religious.

In a departure from tradition, concelebrating priests will be in pews at the periphery of the nave, rather than in pews near the sanctuary. The reason, Msgr. Ritchie explained, is so that when the priests stand during the consecration, they will not impede the participation of those seated behind them by blocking the view.

The pope will be seated in the cathedra—the archbishop's chair—and will deliver his homily from a chair in front of the main altar.

Virtually all of those in the cathedral will have a clear view of what is going on in the sanctuary no matter where they are seated, thanks to the new closed—circuit television monitors that were recently installed. Msgr. Ritchie said that the former monitors dated from the 1980s and were "like dinosaurs"—chunky, clumsy and coated with dust. Some had failed, and all had lost at least some of the sharp reception they once had.

He said he had wanted to replace them, and the papal visit provided an excellent reason. A donor made a contribution and gave permission to use it for the new monitors. They are large, rectangular, high—definition flat—screen televisions, and "the reception is beautiful," the rector said. They were tried out on Palm Sunday and any needed adjustments were made.

The cathedral's side altar of St. Jude is being renovated—another project that Msgr. Ritchie had intended to do, and was able to undertake now with support from a donor.

The cathedral's marble floors have been specially cleaned, treated and polished so that they shine brilliantly.

Cathedral artifacts will be used during the Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict. According to custom, the pope celebrates Mass with a crucifix facing him on the altar, and the crucifix to be used is from the cathedral's St. John the Evangelist altar.

Msgr. Ritchie said that Cardinal Egan has chosen a special chalice for the Mass, and a ceremonial cross will be used in the procession.

When a bishop celebrates Mass, six candles are lighted on the altar. There are seven candles when the celebrant is a pope, or a metropolitan—an archbishop, like Cardinal Egan, who heads the chief archdiocese of an ecclesiastical region. The seven candles on the altar for Pope Benedict are being donated by Patrick Baker and Sons, an ecclesiastical goods company in Southington, Conn. They are cream—colored and bear a commemorative inscription in gold with the pope's name and the date.

Florence D'Urso, a philanthropist and benefactor of the archdiocese, will supply flowers.

The team that is preparing the cathedral for the Mass—the team headed by Msgr. Ritchie—includes three members who also are on the archdiocesan task force that is preparing for the papal visit: Msgr. Ritchie, and parochial vicars Father Michael Sullivan, master of ceremonies at the cathedral, and Father Michael O'Leary, assistant master of ceremonies.

Other team members are heads of cathedral departments, including Kevin Donohue, director of security, who is working on security with outside agencies, and Dr. Jennifer Pascual, director of music. Dr. Pascual is overseeing all of the music for papal events in the archdiocese.

At the Mass in the cathedral, she will conduct the cathedral choir and its 25—piece orchestra. At the Mass at Yankee Stadium, she will conduct a 58—piece orchestra and a 200—voice choir composed of the Choir of St. Patrick's Cathedral, the New York Archdiocesan Festival Chorale, and the Ulster County Vicariate Choir.

"It is the highlight of my career and of my faith," Dr. Pascual told CNY. "This really is a wonderful opportunity of a lifetime, and I'm very honored that His Eminence has entrusted me with the task of providing the music for the papal visit here in New York."

Cardinal Egan and Dr. Pascual chose the musical selections to be used, from composers including Mozart, Palestrina, Beethoven, Brahms, Rheinberger and Victoria.

The choirs have been rehearsing "for months," Dr. Pascual said. She explained that rehearsals began in October for the Bicentennial Concert that took place in January, and when the papal visit was announced, it was decided that the choirs also would sing for the pope.

There is an added personal touch for the music director.

"The fact that His Holiness, His Eminence and I are all classically trained pianists makes this musically exciting for me," Dr. Pascual said.

St. Patrick's Cathedral has been the site of three previous papal visits: by Pope Paul VI in 1965, and by Pope John Paul II in 1979 and 1995. Pope Paul, who was in New York for just one day, was welcomed at a formal liturgical reception in the cathedral. Pope John Paul was welcomed and took part in a prayer service in 1979 and led the recitation of the Rosary in 1995.

Msgr. Ritchie said that being the cathedral rector and preparing to welcome the pope is "exhilarating." "It's a tremendous honor for me," he said. "Just being the rector is a tremendous honor, and I'm very grateful to Cardinal Egan for showing his confidence in me to do this. I have not only the great honor, but also the luck, to be here in the right place at the right time."

Return to CNY Homepage