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Cardinal Dolan celebrated Mass to begin the 125th anniversary year of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie Sept. 16.
“We acknowledge as we commence this jubilee year, we acknowledge that this is indeed His work. For 125 years, this has been a house where His Holy Spirit reigns, where His sons have been formed to confess, ‘Mihi vivere Christus est (For me, to live is Christ),’ ” Cardinal Dolan said.
The cardinal, in his homily, shared some history about the seminary property known as Valentine Hill, which once served as a Revolutionary War headquarters for George Washington more than a century before the seminary was built and opened with 96 seminarians in 1896.
In 2011, Cardinal Dolan signed a joint operating agreement with Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn, and Bishop William Murphy of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, in which the three dioceses would have one program of graduate-level priestly formation at the seminary.
Bishop DiMarzio and Auxiliary Bishop John Barres, the current bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, served as concelebrants of the anniversary Mass. They were joined by Auxiliary Bishop Edmund Whalen, Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Colacicco, Auxiliary Bishop Peter Byrne, retired Auxiliary Bishop John O’Hara, retired Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Walsh and Auxiliary Bishop James Massa of Brooklyn, rector of the seminary. Many priests and seminarians also attended.
Cardinal Dolan closed his homily by talking about St. Joseph, the patron saint of workers and the foster father of Jesus. Pope Francis declared 2021 as the year of St. Joseph.
“St. Joseph, of course, had two driving passions, one to obey God’s designs and two to love Jesus and Mary as the passion of his life,” the cardinal said. “Like St. Joseph, here have come young men, believers, Christians, disciples, committed Catholics, here they’ve come to discern God’s design for their own earthly pilgrimage, daring to trust that it might even be the priesthood.
“Like St. Joseph, these men we recall with gratitude today discover that whatever God’s intentions might be, an abiding love of Jesus and His mother Mary is all that really counts in the end and then all else falls into place. All other distractions then fade.”
“Valentine Hill then gives us two hearts, the sacred heart of Jesus, and the immaculate heart of his mother. Those two hearts beat at the very core of all reality. Those two hearts beat in loving rhythm here at this 125-year-old seminary dedicated to the chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster father of the savior of the world. It’s no wonder we have so much to celebrate this jubilee year.”
Following Mass, there was a barbecue, and a softball game with seminary students opposing seminary alumni.
The anniversary Mass was the first of several events to mark the jubilee year. A public lecture by Dr. Scott Hahn, “St. Joseph and the Eucharist,” will take place Friday, Oct. 1; an Advent and Christmas concert Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 4 and 5; and a public lecture by Msgr. John Meier, “The Historical Jesus: An Overview,” on Feb. 3, 2022.
Bishop Massa became rector of the seminary in 2020. He was a member of the seminary faculty for three years before being called home to the Diocese of Brooklyn in 2015 to serve as auxiliary bishop.
“When Cardinal Dolan made that call on that fateful day, I was beside myself with joy,” Bishop Massa told CNY. “I love the seminary. I always loved the environment, the opportunity to teach theology and open up that world to students is a great joy.
“This year gives me an opportunity to look at the legacy. The history prior to the founding of the seminary and the history of the seminary is just tremendous.”
Carlos Germosen, a third-year theology student and seminarian from Yonkers, said he is grateful to continue the legacy of the seminary. He recalled attending retreats and Mass at the seminary before entering St. Joseph’s.
“I remember one particular moment I was here for Mass,” he said. “It just felt like home. I continue to feel that feeling even now just being at Mass in the early morning, to pray late at night when I can’t sleep, just walking around the halls, just being with the guys, my brothers.
“It still feels like home and it always will be for guys who have walked through these halls. It’s honestly just the bond we have in Jesus Christ, the supernatural bond that makes us a family, and makes us in every sense of the word brothers.”
Information: www.dunwoodie.edu/125thanniversary
