Restored Cathedral, and Priests, Religious and Laity, Get Pope’s Blessing

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The setting, the newly restored St. Patrick’s Cathedral, was resplendent. The congregation of priests and deacons, religious sisters and brothers, and lay people, was faith- and energy-filled. The psalmody, led musically by the cathedral choir and orchestra, was soaring and prayerful. And the principal celebrant, well, he had the capacity congregation up on it’s feet and cheering even before his arrival.

Thanks to the large, high-definition video monitors on the cathedral’s interior columns, Pope Francis could be spied coming down Fifth Avenue in a specially outfitted open white Jeep that allowed him to wave without obstruction to the crowds gathered on the city sidewalks to watch the motorcade. Cardinal Dolan was seated behind Pope Francis, who stood for the short, slow ride.

As the procession came to a halt outside, Msgr. Robert Ritchie, the cathedral’s rector, and the auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese walked back to the huge bronze doors where Pope Francis entered after briefly greeting elected officials and others outside, including Sen. Charles Schumer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Once inside, the pontiff processed to the front of the cathedral and placed a bouquet at the foot of the Pieta statue just outside the sanctuary before stopping to pray in the Lady Chapel.

Pope Francis, in his homily at the Sept. 24 celebration of evening prayer (vespers), specifically noted two saints familiar to New Yorkers, “St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who founded the first free Catholic school for girls in America” and in 1975 was canonized as the first American-born saint, and “St. John Neumann, the founder of the first system of Catholic education in the United States.”

The pope, who spoke in Spanish, later expressed his esteem and gratitude to the religious women of the United States, a large contingent of whom was gathered in the cathedral. “What would the Church be without you?” he said. “Women of strength, fighters with that spirit of courage which puts you in the front lines in the proclamation of the Gospel. To you, religious, sisters and mothers of this people, I wish to say ‘thank you,’ a big thank you, and to tell you that I love you very much.’”

Addressing the many priests and religious men and women present, the pope said he had come to pray with them “that our vocation will continue to build up the great edifice of God’s Kingdom in this country.”

The Holy Father, referring to the scandal of clergy sex abuse, noted that the members of the priesthood had “suffered greatly…by having to bear the shame of some of your brothers who harmed and scandalized the Church in the most vulnerable of her members.” He said he accompanied them “at this moment of pain and difficulty, and I thank God for your faithful service to his people.”

Pope Francis offered a reflection on the spirit of gratitude and the spirit of hard work. Regarding gratitude, the pope said priests and religious “are called to find and radiate lasting satisfaction in their vocation.”

“Joy springs from a grateful heart,” he said. “Truly, we have received much, so many graces, so many blessings, and we rejoice in this.”

Embracing a spirit of hard work goes well with a grateful heart, the pontiff said. “Once you come to realize how much God has given, a life of self-sacrifice—of working for him and for others—becomes a privileged way of responding to his great love,” he said.

The Holy Father began his homily with prayerful condolences for “my Muslim brothers and sisters” who mourned more than 700 pilgrims killed in a crushing stampede in Mecca earlier that day.

Near the end of the service, Cardinal Dolan offered words of welcome and gratitude, telling Pope Francis that once he entered the cathedral’s grand doors, he had become “an official New Yorker.” Noting that the repair and restoration of the Neo-Gothic edifice has taken more than three years, he asked the Holy Father to blessed the cathedral, which the pontiff promptly did.

Afterward, Father Sean Magaldi, a recently ordained priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre who graduated this spring from St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, told CNY that he found it “extraordinarily exciting” to see the Holy Father in person and to hear him preach. “He always challenges us to be better,” Father Magaldi said.