May 2, 2009

by Friar Joseph Lorenzo

NEW YORK - The rumors were circulating for months that Cardinal Edward Egan, the Archbishop of New York, would be officially retiring and his successor would be appointed.   Cardinal Egan had already submitted his retirement letter when he reached 75, as is mandatory for bishops, and many felt that immediately following the Pope's visit last year, the retirement would go through.

When January hit, the rumor mill was running strong, with several names being mentioned prominently. The one most mentioned however, was Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee.   He came with great credentials, having pastoral experience as a priest and a bishop, worked in the Apostolic Nuncio's office, and had seminary experience as the Rector of the North American College in Rome.   On the weekend of February 14, the blogs that deal with church news were reporting that the appointment was imminent.   Word had come from "insiders" in Rome that it would be Archbishop Dolan, and the announcement would be made any day now.

It had been traditional that the announcement of new bishops occurred on a Tuesday, and that Tuesday, February 17, I had been invited to attend a reception at the Cardinal's Residence on Madison Avenue, right behind St. Patrick's, for the kickoff of the Cardinal's Appeal.   I was sure that I would be going to the residence smack in the middle of the announcement, but the reception came and went without any word of the appointment.

While at the reception, I had a chat with Cardinal Egan. Since we are both musicians, we were discussing our musical tastes and our ability to play the organ. I asked him about the rumor that his piano had been moved out of the residence. He joked with me that the piano was still there, and invited me to look for myself.   Sure enough, the piano was still in the residence.   But I am sure Cardinal Egan was already making plans for moving that piano.

Sure enough, a few days later, on Monday, February 23 (not even one week after my visit to the Cardinal's residence), the announcement of the appointment was made.

I think anyone who had never seen Archbishop Timothy Dolan- and I admit I hadn't before that day- had to be totally impressed. Here was this jovial, kind bishop who could be anyone's favorite parish priest or pastor, or even best friend, laughing, smiling, joking, but also in a firm, but gentle way, getting his point across.   A lot of people were very thrilled, and Archbishop Dolan's first impression was a great one.

I sent off some emails to friends who I thought might know him.   A priest friend who went to seminary with Archbishop Dolan said "you've struck gold in New York." Some friars who knew him from his days in Rome spoke of his popularity and likeability. It was all so exciting.

Soon after the announcement, I wrote Archbishop Dolan a letter and sent it to Milwaukee.   I congratulated him on his appointment, expressed how happy we all were for his coming to our archdiocese, and, apologizing for possibly being presumptuous, invited him to come to our Feastday of Saint Anthony on June 13 as the main celebrant of our Mass.   What the heck, I figured, get the invitation out early before his calendar filled up.

On Tuesday, March 31, I realized how much we had struck gold.   During the 8 AM Mass, the parish office phone rang.   I was celebrating the Mass, but when I got back to my office, I saw the red light blinking on my extension, indicating a voicemail waiting for me. I was shocked when I heard the message. It said, "Padre Giuseppe, this is your new archbishop, Timothy Dolan. " He thanked me for my letter and said he was thrilled that the Franciscans were in his new archdiocese.   He also said he appreciated the invitation to celebrate the feast of St. Anthony, but couldn't make a commitment until he arrived in New York and worked out his schedule. Wow.   I couldn't imagine Archbishop Dolan finding the time to call his priests personally, but found out later that he made a habit of doing this.   Needless to say, I was very impressed.

In the interim between his appointment and his installation Mass today (Wednesday, April 15), stories circulated among the clergy about his popularity, how loved he is in Milwaukee, and this was reinforced by interviews he had given, as well as members of his family.    I think I was most impressed with his mother, Shirley Dolan.   She stood for every priest's mother, and reminded me of my own dear mom, beaming with pride at every Mass she attend that I celebrated.    I think sometimes people don't understand how much mothers have to do with the vocations of their children, especially of priests, and I know that my own mother played a very important role in my own vocation to the Franciscan life and the priesthood.

As the time for the installation grew closer, I knew I wouldn't be able to attend the Vesper Service the evening before, even though that would certainly be more intimate, but I was happy to attend the Installation Mass on April 15.

That day, Fr. Patrick Boyle, Vicar Provincial and former Pastor of St. Anthony's, Fr. Matthew Morreale from Padua Friary and I headed to the Spring Street train station to go to the Cathedral for the Installation.   I always get a special thrill out of wearing my Franciscan robes on the subway- there's something about travelling with the masses of commuters that fits in with our Franciscan vocation.   But in Manhattan, where we can see anything and any time, even a friar in a brown robe bound by a white rope wouldn't evoke a second glance...and it didn't.    When we arrived at the St. Patrick's, we were instructed to go across the street to the Palace Hotel for vesting.   The room where we put on our priestly vestments was already packed with priests, and, being a bit claustrophobic, I quickly changed and went outside.   We waited in three giant lines for about 45 minutes or so, and most of us stood around chatting.   I saw several priests that I knew, went over to say hello.   Finally, the procession started moving toward the main entrance of St. Patrick's.

While making our way up to the entrance, there, on the side steps, was Archbishop Dolan, waving, greeting, calling out to his priests, and thanking us for coming.   He was the picture of warmth, welcoming all of us, and we waved back, yelling our congratulations.

As the procession turned onto Fifth Avenue, we became aware of the many people watching behind police lines. We were also aware of the police contingent, some even on the top of buildings and the cathedral.   It was a reality check of the dangerous times we live in.

I think anyone in such a procession has to feel some kind of exhilaration and awe on entering the cathedral, packed to the rafters with people, guests, dignitaries, priests, bishops, cardinals.   As the giant pipe organ sounded and the choir sang, it reminded me of a year ago, entering the Cathedral under similar circumstances for the Mass with Pope Benedict.   Walking down the main aisle in two long rows, the cathedral seemed warm and inviting, and it seemed that every eye in the cathedral was on us. Toward the front of the Cathedral, forming an honor guard on either side, were the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, with their special regalia, swords, and plumed hats.   Since I am a Fourth Degree Knight myself, it was nice to see their special role in all of this.

The front pews on the left were filled with dignitaries. I noticed such people as former Mayors Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani, and in the front row, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor David Paterson, and Senators Schumer and Gillibrand. I had met the Mayor a few times, and gave a nod to him, to which he reciprocated with a nod and a smile. I was going to flash my metro card to him (as a joke in protest for the fare increase), but decided against it. In the front right section was Archbishop Dolan's family. Sitting in the front pew, inches from me where I turned to enter the side of the sanctuary, was the Archbishop's mom, Shirley. I patted her hand and said, "Congratulations, you should be very proud."   She said "thank you so much, Father." I was conscious of tears welling up in my eyes (as they are even now as I write this), thinking how wonderful for the Archbishop to have his mother present, and how proud she must be to see her son becoming the Archbishop of New York. As I said before, she represented all our mothers.   I took special note of the family as I passed them- beaming with pride- those who must be the Archbishop's brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews. We were ushered to the right of the altar, where we had seats just outside the wooden rood that surrounds the sanctuary. We really were very close to the altar, but our view was obviously obstructed by those sitting on the elevated portion.   Fortunately, there were televisions set up all around the area, and I had one right in front of me. I took my place in the front row of our section.

Most of what I could see afterwards was best captured on television. It was heart warming to see Archbishop Dolan greet his mother in the front row, and hold up a small child (which must have been a nephew). He continued waving his arms and hands, greeting everyone. He seemed so filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

The Mass began with the reading of the Pope's Letter of Appointment by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States (the Vatican Ambassador), which was shown to the entire assembly, and notarized and signed.   Then, the Archbishop was led to his seat, called a "cathedra", thereby officially taking his place as the Archbishop of New York.   There was appreciation given to Cardinal Egan. I felt a bit of sadness for him, knowing how hard he tried to manage this vast Archdiocese, and wondered what he was feeling.   I had the impression that he was both relieved and regretful at the end of his time as Archbishop, and I hope he felt the appreciation of those gathered.

As the Mass went on, it was significant that the Gospel was the narration of Jesus appearing to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Yes, our hearts were burning as we witnessed our new leader and pastor who will guide us for some years to come.   Archbishop Dolan started off his homily by joking how he was worried that his mother wouldn't be there- she heard there was a sale at Macy's.   His little playful jab to his mom was seen as the loving teasing of a devoted son.

The Archbishop's homily was really great, speaking of the resurrection and the new life which we are called to bring to others.   In a very inspiring moment, he called the priests the "apple of my eye."   The relationship of priests to their bishop is something very special and intimate.   Later on in his homily there was an exhilarating and somewhat embarrassing moment.   Archbishop Dolan reiterated the church's traditional stand concerning human life by quoting Cardinal Terrance Cooke, who said: "Human life is no less sacred or worthy of respect because it is tiny, pre-born, poor, sick, fragile, or handicapped."

Archbishop Dolan went on to say, "Yes, the Church is a loving mother who has a zest for life and serves life everywhere, but she can become a protective "mamma bear" when the life of her innocent, helpless cubs is threatened." The congregation erupted, first in applause and cheers, and then standing.   I think every eye in the Cathedral was on the pro-abortion politicians in the front pew, who, at first, sat there, kind of stunned, and then eventually stood up without applauding.   It was truly something everyone will remember for a long time.

Archbishop Dolan reminded us that the streets and roads of our city- and every place in the world, must be places where we encounter Christ, just as the road to Emmaus was for the disciples. He quoted a Franciscan Friar who took him on a tour of the Holy Land, saying, "For three weeks in July, 1992, I was on pilgrimage in Israel. I had a wonderful Franciscan guide who made sure I saw all the sacred places in the Holy Land. The day before I departed, he asked, "Is there anything left you want to see?"
"Yes," I replied, "I would like to walk the road to Emmaus."
"That we cannot do," he told me, "You see, no one really knows where that village of Emmaus actually was, so there is no more road to Emmaus."
Sensing my disappointment, he remarked, "Maybe that's part of God's providence, because we can now make every journey we undertake a walk down the Road to Emmaus."

The Prayer of the Faithful was done in many languages, including Italian, Polish, French, Croatian, and an African dialect, and Ronan Tynan (The Irish Tenor), who sings "God Bless America" so often at Yankee games, sang "Ave Maria."

Communion was distributed in a very orderly fashion for the hundreds of priests and 3,000 people at the Mass. Mr. Tynan sang "Panis Angelicus" at communion time, and there were many other hymns. At the conclusion of the Mass, there was a singing of "Salve Regina," a Gregorian chant very familiar to most priests and religious, followed by some hymns, and then Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" from "The Messiah."

Archbishop Dolan again greeted people outside of the Cathedral, and stopped to talk to people on the street before heading back to the residence.   Also going to the residence were the Cardinals and dignitaries.   While we were exiting the Cathedral, all of the Cardinals came right by where I was standing. I got to shake hands with Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Cardinal Roger Mahoney, and Cardinal Justin Regali . Unfortunately, the one Cardinal I wanted to see, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Texas, took another path to the residence, and didn't pass by. I knew him as a young priest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at my first assignment.   He was assigned to the parish right next to mine. I wanted to say hello to him, but didn't have the opportunity to do so.

The Cathedral was magnificently decorated, both for Easter and the installation. The flowers were simply fantastic (it was like the Flower Show) and the music program added to the beauty of the celebration.   And that's exactly what it was- the celebration of a family- a spiritual family- with their new Archbishop.   It is something that I will never forget.