All Catholics called heirs to 'precious legacy' of first U.S. diocese (200 bishops at mass)

cns ^ | November 11, 2014 | Mark Pattison

[NYer]

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- The United States' oldest Catholic diocese celebrated its 225th birthday Nov. 10 with a special Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore as part of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' annual fall general assembly.

"We give thanks for the growth of the Catholic Church in America," said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, USCCB president, at the beginning of the Mass.

More than 200 bishops concelebrated the Mass -- nearly one for each year of the existence of the Baltimore Archdiocese, established as a diocese Nov. 6, 1789, and made an archdiocese in 1808.

Cardinal Edwin F. O'Brien, right, grand master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, prays during Mass Nov. 10 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. (CNS/Bob Roller)

The first 12 pews on both sides of the basilica's center aisle were reserved for the concelebrating bishops. The rest of the pews were filled with USCCB employees, guests attending the USCCB's fall meeting, and employees of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, across the street from the basilica.

Among the concelebrants at the altar were Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, the USCCB officers, and Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the apostolic nuncio to the United States.

In his homily, Archbishop Lori noted that the original territory of the nation's first diocese encompassed 25,000 Catholics spread out over an area that now covers 37 states; there were only the original 13 states at the time of the diocese's creation in 1789.

"Bishop John Carroll's resources were small," Archbishop Lori said, but he was industrious, calling together the diocese's 22 priests for a synod covering such areas as religious education, finances, vocations and "mixed marriages."

Just as St. Paul outlined how to make the church grow in his letter to Titus -- the beginning of which was one of the readings at the Mass -- Bishop Carroll wrote a pastoral letter, simply called "The Pastoral Letter," and "in it he maps out the first leg of our journey together," Archbishop Lori said.

"They had faith, albeit the size of a mustard seed, that produced great works of faith, worship and witness."

As it happened, "opportunity soon came knocking," he added, in the form of the superior general of the Sulpicians. In the wake of the French Revolution gripping the European nation, he came to the United States and established the young nation's first two Catholic seminaries.

"We are not the owners, but the stewards of God's mysteries," Archbishop Lori said, echoing St. Paul. "His words stir something deep in us bishops as we ponder our ministry."

Archbishop Lori added, "Let us humbly ask for the grace to build on the foundations that John Carroll set down. ... We are heirs, all of us, to this precious legacy."

When Baltimore became an archdiocese in 1808, four dioceses -- made archdioceses decades later -- were created from its territory: Philadelphia, Boston, New York and Bardstown (now Louisville), Kentucky. Today there are 195 U.S. dioceses with 65 million Catholics.

To get to the Mass from their hotel in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, next to the Little Italy district, the bishops boarded buses. Two convoys of three tour buses left the hotel, each convoy with a police escort to the basilica.

After the recessional hymn at Mass, shouting could be heard from inside the basilica. It was a man holding a sign proclaiming "YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN" and using a headset microphone plugged into a bullhorn to hurl invectives at bishops and others leaving the basilica. Some from Baltimore said the man is a regular presence outside the basilica.

[NYer]

VIDEO HERE

[NYer]

Ping!

[cloudmountain]

WONDERFUL report.
Thanks for posting.

[defconw]

I love when the Knights show up. To cool!

[defconw]

I also noticed that the Bishops took the host themselves instead of receiving. I never would have noticed that without the video. Thanks.

[Salvation]

History is so precious. Beautiful Mass.

[Salvation]

More history:

All Catholics called heirs to 'precious legacy' of first U.S. diocese (200 bishops at mass)
John Carroll: America’s Bishop
Commander-in-Chief spreads Christian Faith in Military
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The Catholic Church in the United States of America [Ecumenical]
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"How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization" ( Book Review )