America's Newest Minor Basilica

Arlington, Va., Jan 16, 2018 / 03:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- St. Mary Catholic Church in Alexandria, the first permanent Catholic parish in Virginia, has a new name and a new designation for the new year. It was announced Sunday that the Holy See had decreed the building to be a minor basilica, and the church will now be known as “The Basilica of Saint Mary.”

The designation of the building as a basilica means that the parish “has a special relationship with the Holy See,” and (Bishop)Burbidge emphasized that this was a “great honor” for the church. St. Mary’s was chosen due to its importance in the community, its history as a parish, and its significance in the history of the United States.

The Basilica of Saint Mary is the 84th basilica in the United States, and the first in the Diocese of Arlington. Throughout the world there are just under 1,800 minor basilicas, and there are four major basilicas in Rome.

 The parish was founded in 1795, a time when Catholicism was heavily restricted in Virginia, with Catholics barred from voting or holding public office. The first donor to the church was George Washington, who was not Catholic; though his close aide, Col. John Fitzgerald, was. The president gave the parish the equivalent of $1,200 today.

umbraculum

Now that St. Mary’s has been recognized as a minor basilica, it will be outfitted with an umbraculum, a canopy of yellow and red silk; a tintinnabulum, a bell mounted on a pole which is used when the Pope visits a basilica; and the display of the papal symbol of the keys of St. Peter.

tintinnabulum

Cardinal Tobin Walks the Tightrope

The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark 

Newark, N.J., Jun 20, 2017 / 06:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Last month Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark welcomed a pilgrimage of self-identified LGBT pilgrims, with an archdiocesan spokesman saying it should be seen in the context of welcoming everyone, not as archdiocese sponsorship of the event.

Cardinal Tobin

“I think that the central point that is missing from the majority of the media coverage and blog postings about this pilgrimage is that the cardinal was asked whether he might welcome a group of pilgrims who identify as LGBT. He said yes, we welcome all in the name of Christ,” James Goodness, communications director for the Archdiocese of Newark, told CNA.

“This was not an event sponsored by the archdiocese, and we did not promote or advertise it,” Goodness said. “It was a purely private event.

Some news coverage of the pilgrimage depicted it as a shift within the Church.

Mixed Messages

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Thousands of singing and dancing devils took taken over a mountain town in Ecuador for six days of revelry in the streets.

The procession of dancers in elaborate devil masks is the centerpiece of an annual festival in the town of Pillaro in the Ecuadorean Andes.

The article includes a bunch of pictures of people dressing up as devils for six days in a row to bring good luck upon themselves. But the real head-scratcher to me was why they are dressing up like devils in a city that has a church like this:

Basilica of the National Vow

Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens in France

 Wikipedia link here.

Back in the 1990s, there was a cleaning program underway on the exterior. Midway through the project, scientists discovered something pretty intriguing on the western facade: traces of paint. Further tests were done, and they were able to determine how the western facade was painted back in the 13th century! Then they figured out a way to project the light of the colors very precisely onto the building.

And to Think I saw It On Mulberry Street!

 SOHO is short for south of Houston Street, which is pronounced HOW-stun.

SOHO (WABC) --

You might be used to seeing farm animals in New York City, particularly if you head to the Bronx or Central Park zoos. But you might be surprised to find a trio of sheep taking up residence in Nolita.

And they're just as useful as they are cute.

"These are the friendliest sheep in New York," said Frank Alfieri, of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral.

They are the only sheep south of Houston Street, and they are named after the streets that border their temporary home. There's Mulberry, Elizabeth and Mott.

"It's become almost something that's expected when people come here," Alfieri said. "And when they leave, people are upset."

They are temporary residents of the church cemetery, where they have become very much a part of this community. Even the locksmith pitches in.

"He alarmed their pen, put cameras that we monitor all the time," Alfieri said. "We've got a virtual shepard."

Alfierie says this is actually the second set of ewes to pass through, after a similar troupe called the graveyard home last fall.

"The people who tend to the property said, 'Oh what if we retire, what would you do?'" Alfieri said. "Pastor, Monsignor Sakano said, 'Oh, I'll get sheep.'"

And sheep there were, making the lawn mower obsolete. Their arrival coincided with the Feast of San Gennaro and the restoration of the church, and when the trio showed up about two months ago, the grass was about 10 inches high.

They've been busy.

"They love it," Alfieri said. "I think they're not going to be too happy when they leave."

Their departure date is July 10, when they'll head back to the upstate farm they came from. But maybe, just maybe, come September, a new set of lambs will appear.