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Beautiful Basilica
Well, I had only seen the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception from the outside prior to this pilgrimage ... and let me tell you, it's a wonder to behold! The interior of the shrine is stunning and we arrived around noontime after a wonderful tour of all the DC sites — Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and something called the White House — and enjoyed a quick lunch in the downstairs cafeteria and some time to check out the book store and gift shop before heading to the "upper church" for Mass at 2:00 p.m.
Here's a great shot of the upper church, shared with us by photojournalist Jack Iddon, formerly of The Standard-Times of New Bedford. Be sure to check out Jack's work at his website, www.jack-iddon.com.
Father William F. Petrie (sans hat) delivered the wonderful homily honoring St. Damien and his life's work with lepers and the Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States (essentially, the pope's direct liaison between the Vatican and the U.S.), who also praised the heroic saint for his efforts.
Departing for D.C.
And here is our very own Father William F. Petrie, SSCC, provincial of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, with his signature "Damien" hat, telling the busload of pilgrims all about the busy itinerary for the day which includes a quick tour of Washington sites, Mass at the Basilica at 2:00 p.m., and then a "luau" banquet back at the hotel later that night. Whew! How would we fit it all in?
Remembering St. Damien
As we prepare to celebrate the canonization of St. Damien, the humble and selfless priest who served the poor, diseased people of Molokai, Hawaii, here's a short YouTube video of his life, courtesy of the Catholic News Agency.
Safe and Sound ... in Snow?
This pilgrimage is apparently a rare instance when you travel south and find the climate a bit colder than expected. Yes, after leaving New England — the area that usually gets hit with several inches of snow on a regular basis — and traveling to the "warmer" climes of Virginia/Washington, D.C., we arrived with about four inches of snow on the ground. Perhaps this is St. Damien's way of telling us to expect the unexpected.
At left is the view outside my hotel window as we arrived.
But thanks to the skillful maneuvering of our driver, we arrived in McLean, Virginia safe and sound around 9:00 p.m. I'll also add the weary pilgrims were warmly greeted by none other than Father William Petrie, SSCC, wearing his black Father Damien hat, as they got off the bus and stepped into the snow. The long bus ride melted away after his warm welcome.
Plans are to depart at 9:00 a.m. first-thing tomorrow morning for a quick tour of D.C. sites and then head to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception for noontime to enjoy lunch there and the big Mass in celebration of St. Damien's Canonization at 2:00 p.m. I plan to post more interesting news (and pics) to post after all the festivities tomorrow, including a celebration banquet to take place here at the Hilton Hotel tomorrow night. Stay tuned, God bless and sleep tight ...
A Prayerful Pilgrimage
All packed and ready to go this morning. Heading to St. Joseph's Church for Mass and then we're off, God willing.
Thought I'd begin this with a prayer to St. Damien I found at www.fatherdamien.com ...
Saint Damien Prayer
St. Damien, brother on the journey,
Happy and generous missionary,
who loved the Gospel more than your life,
who for love of Jesus left your family,
your homeland, your security, your dreams,
Teach us to give our lives
with a joy like yours,
to be in solidarity with the outcasts of the world,
to celebrate and contemplate the Eucharist
as the source of our committment.
Help us to love to the very end
and, in the strength of the Spirit,
to persevere in compassion
for the poor and forgotten
so that we might be
good disciples of Jesus and Mary.
Amen.
A Little Light Reading ...
In preparing to embark on the St. Damien Pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. this weekend, I decided to start reading Hilde Eynikel's book, Molokai: The Story of Father Damien. The book was the basis for a feature film about the newly-canonized saint released about 10 years ago that stars David Wenham and one of my all-time favorite actors, Sam Neill (Jurassic Park). I might have to seek out the DVD of that after returning from the trip.
Father William Petrie, SSCC, has asked if I'd be willing to share my reporting with some of the media outlets in Hawaii and I've been in contact with the editors from both The Hawaii Catholic Herald and The Molokai Dispatch and will be sending them my coverage of the weekend in addition to what will be included in next week's issue of The Anchor.
St. Damien Pilgrimage to Washington, D.C.
Anchor staff reporter Kenneth J. Souza will be accompanying pilgrims and members of the Fairhaven-based Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary to Washington, D.C. January 30 - February 1, 2010 to attend and cover a special Mass of Thanksgiving celebrating the recent canonization of St. Damien of Molokai at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. He will be posting periodic updates and photos from the weekend trip to our nation’s capitol on this blog.
The pilgrimage begins with a Mass at 8 a.m. on January 30 at St. Joseph's Parish in Fairhaven. Blog postings will begin that morning ... keep us in your prayers.