Cardinal Seán’s St. Patrick’s Day Greeting for Boston Catholics

Cardinal Seán is in Rome to participate in the Inauguration of Pope Francis on Tuesday morning.

He recorded the following audio message for Boston Catholics for the Feast of St. Patrick, patron saint of the Archdiocese of Boston and of all of Ireland.

Audio message (press play):

Direct link:

http://media.thegoodcatholiclife.com/SOMStPatricks2013.mp3

Transcript:

Saint Patrick’s Day in Boston is a time to celebrate our pride in our heritage, grateful to our ancestors who with great courage came to these shores and made a new life in America.  We are grateful for our Catholic Faith that came to our ancestors through the ministry of the Bishop Saint Patrick, Apostle to Ireland.

Patrick was sent as a missionary to preach the Gospel in Ireland by the Pope in Rome.  This year, I am celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day in Rome as we await the inauguration of our new Holy Father, Pope Francis.  These have indeed been days of great blessing for the Church, and I will never forget these days with my brother Cardinals as we prayed for the gift of the Holy Spirit, to discern who among us should be chosen to serve the Church as Pope.

Pope Francis is a wonderful man, and he will be an excellent Pope.  His love for the poor and his missionary zeal are two of his greatest attributes, and the Church universal will benefit greatly by following his example of humility and simplicity.

Saint Patrick also had great love for the poor and saw evangelization as his number one priority.  When you read about Saint Patrick, you learn what type of man he was.  He was a man who remained strong in his faith, even in the midst of hard times and adversity.  As a slave, he never lost hope – and as a Bishop, when he was rejected because of his preaching of the Gospel, he never gave up.  He kept his eyes fixed on Jesus, and he teaches us all to do the same!

I wish I could be with you all for the annual celebration of the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Boston and of all of Ireland.  I pray that your celebrations of this great saint might be for you all an opportunity to grow in the faith of Saint Patrick, a faith that gave him extraordinary strength in the midst of life’s difficulties.

Also, I wish to invite you all to join me next week, which is Holy Week, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.  We will begin with Mass on Palm Sunday, and the great story of God’s love for the world will be told anew as we celebrate the beautiful liturgies of the Sacred Triduum.  I hope to see you there, and I look forward to the beautiful liturgies that we always have at the Cathedral.

Through the miracle of modern technology, I am able to speak to you as your Bishop and to let you know how happy I am to call Boston my hometown.  And so to all of you back at home, I extend my affection and I impart my blessing, in the worlds of an old Irish prayer:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you
in the palm of His hand.

God bless you, and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

A Reminder: St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross at 11:30am

Bishop Deeley to Celebrate Mass for the Fifth Sunday of Lent and Commemoration of St. Patrick, Patron Saint of the Archdiocese of Boston

Braintree, MA (March 15, 2013) – On Sunday, March 17th, the Most Reverend Robert P. Deeley, Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar General Moderator of the Curia for the Archdiocese of Boston will commemorate the annual celebration of St. Patrick’s Day within the liturgical context of the Fifth Sunday of Lent and in celebration of the election of Pope Francis. The Mass will take place at Cathedral of the Holy Cross at 11:30am and will include the blessing and distribution of shamrocks.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley remains in Rome with his fellow Cardinals following the election of Pope Francis.  The installation Mass for the Holy Father is Tuesday, March 19th.

Bishop Deeley said, “We enjoy a special relationship with St. Patrick, patron saint of the Archdiocese of Boston.  The joy and spirit of the day shared with all people on this wonderful day allows us to express pride in the heritage of the Irish people who have been great gifts to the Church.  Many Irish, such as Patrick Keely, were instrumental in the construction of many beautiful Churches in the northeast including the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.  They have contributed in so many ways to the Church, to society and for the common good that it is appropriate we celebrate and bless our Irish family and friends on this wonderful day.”

He added, “I know that Cardinal Sean very much wanted to be with us on St. Patrick’s Day, an event he looks forward to each year.  But he is in Rome as the Universal Church celebrates the inauguration of Pope Francis. Please pray for the Holy Father as the successor to Peter and shepherd to more than 1 billion Catholics worldwide including 1.8 million here in the Archdiocese of Boston.”

Following the Mass on March 17, a reception will be held in the downstairs church with great food and music for all to enjoy.