‘A wonderful, wonderful experience’
150th Anniversary Convocation was time to reflect, kick-start the Paulist future
VIEW A PHOTO ALBUM OF THE COLOR OF THE 150th ANNIVERSARY
by Christopher Gaul
special to paulist.org
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It was a time of joyous celebration, of connections and re-connections, of nostalgia for the past and hope for the future. It was a time for reflection and learning and, most of all, a time for solidarity and a determination to reenergize the missionary spirit of the Paulist Fathers and their growing number of lay associates and supporters as they face the challenges of the 21st century.
The 150th Anniversary Convocation which began on the evening of June 19 and ended on the night of June 21was as Paulist Associate Gary Clark of Grand Rapids, Mich., put it, “a wonderful, wonderful experience.”
Perhaps, as Father John F. Duffy, C.S.P., president of the Paulist Fathers, observed, the fact that the Paulist anniversary occurred in the year designated by Pope Benedict XVI as the time dedicated to the Paulists’ patron, St. Paul the Apostle, may have been less a coincidence than it was the “prompting of the Spirit.”
The celebration began at St. Paul’s College where new arrivals were not only treated to a welcoming barbecue dinner in the patio but by a sound that brought laughter and not a few tears as five remaining members of the 1960s era Paulist folk singers, “The Roamin’ Collars,” entertained the guests. The nostalgic strains of Simon and Garfunkel and old Irish ballads lent poignancy to an event in which Paulist Fathers, scattered in mission throughout the country, met and reminisced once again.
All in all some 106 Paulist Fathers traveled to D.C. for the convocation and an impressive 225 Paulist associates and friends of the Paulists; the Paulist laity flexing a little mission muscle in their numbers.
Friday, as was the case Saturday, began with Morning Prayer in the Pryzbyla Center of the Catholic University of America, where the major convocation events were held and most participants were lodged. Father John Kenney, C.S.P., celebrating his 50th year as a Paulist Father, quipped during his homily that “every Paulist foundation I worked in is gone, except this one (Washington).” Then he grinned and declared that, “It’s a great life, I heartily recommend it.”
The more serious business of the convocation took place each day following Morning Prayer as celebrated speakers took on such issues as Paulist history, faith and culture, spirituality and the Catholic church of tomorrow. The talks and panel discussions were followed up by breakout sessions, providing Paulist Associates the opportunity not only to connect or reconnect with one another but to freely discuss issues of their lay ministry and their relationship with the Paulist Fathers, especially since the priests’ ranks are thinning while theirs are growing. (There are now 250 associates in the U.S. and Canada)
With candles circling a Pryzbyla Center room converted into a chapel, and photographs of deceased Paulists on the walls, a Memorial Mass was offered Friday afternoon with Father Duffy presiding. A powerfully moving visual reflection of Paulists stretching back over 150 years, produced by Paulist seminarian Thomas Gibbons, C.S.P., helped the Paulist congregation reflect on its brave and far reaching missionary legacy.
As the Paulist Fathers dined at nearby St. Paul’s College Friday evening, the rest of the Paulists hopped on their waiting buses for a trip to the banks of the Potomac and dinner at Washington’s famous waterfront Phillip’s Seafood Restaurant. Stuffed with shrimp and other seafood delights, the group was then treated to a nighttime tour of Washington’s impressive monuments, which seemed to dramatically underscore Father Isaac Thomas Hecker’s vision of a union of Catholic faith and American civilization.
The highlight liturgy, the 150th Anniversary Mass, was celebrated in the Crypt Church of the magnificent National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. As a lifetime friend and supporter of the Paulists, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Washington, presided over the liturgy, his homily peppered with his characteristic wit and humor. At the gala dinner that followed the liturgy, the cardinal and five others was to receive the first “Hecker Award” at the gala dinner following Mass.
Judy and Paul Schmidt, who came to the convocation from Knoxville, Tenn., “because we love our Paulists,” thought the dinner served in the elegantly transformed Pryzbyla Center Great Room, was even better than Phillips’. And there was music, provided in lively fashion by the Gospel Choir of St. Augustine Church in Memphis, Tenn.
As had been the case from the very beginning of the convocation, an almost tangible sense of joy permeated the last night’s festivities.
“Don’t you dare quote me,” said a Paulist associate, sotto voce, “but it’s not so much a matter of charism with the Paulist Fathers, but charisma.”
Perhaps it was a charism of charisma, but the Paulist laity are drawn profoundly to the Paulist Fathers they so admire.
The Schmidts love them; Susie Faigao, an associate from Chicago, loves them too.
“They’re so friendly, so open, so welcoming, so warm,” said Ms. Faigao, who comes from the Chicago Paulist parish of Old St. Mary’s.
For Mary Sullivan, one of 10 Paulist members of Boston’s Paulist Center, it was a matter of admiration. “I just like what they do and how they do it,” she said.
It was a refrain repeated throughout the convocation, which ended not only on a note of joy but of reconciliation.
As Paulists know, their founder, Father Hecker, began his priestly ministry as a Redemptorist but was expelled from the order because he promoted the opening of an English-speaking Redemptorist house in America.
Stepping up to the podium to join Father Duffy at the end of the gala program were two Redemptorists – Father Patrick Woods C.Ss.R., superior of the Baltimore Province, and his counterpart from the Western Province in Denver, Father Thomas D. Picton, C.Ss.R.
Father Duffy and the two Redemptorists greeted each other warmly, exchanged gifts, and Father Woods declared to his Paulist host: “We used to call you cousin, now we call you brother.” |
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