Nearly two years after renovations began, the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington opened its doors, welcoming more than 1,000 parish representatives, donors, diocesan priests, deacons and women religious to a Mass celebrating the dedication of the cathedral’s new altar Sept. 5.
Some 29 U.S. bishops – including Bishop Barry C. Knestout – and three cardinals attended the celebration.
Mass began with a hymn commissioned for the Diocesan Golden Jubilee, “Sing Praise to the Lord with Thanksgiving.” The choir sang the verses in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Korean and Vietnamese.
Christophe Cardinal Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., delivered opening remarks on behalf of Pope Francis.
“His Holiness, Pope Francis, sends greetings of good wishes to … the Diocese of Arlington, as they celebrate the 50th anniversary,” Cardinal Pierre said. “The Holy Father prays that this jubilee of the local church will be an occasion for its people to open their hearts to spiritual renewal, to go in zeal, proclaiming the Gospel, and promote fraternal solidarity among their brothers and sisters.”
In his homily, Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge said as the jubilee comes to a close – including its three-year themes of Remember, Rejoice and Renew, “After today, however, I will need to find some new homily material, but not before I squeak out one more homily with those themes,” drawing laughs from the faithful.
Bishop Burbidge described the many ways in which the diocese has reflected the three jubilee themes, including increasing Eucharistic adoration with the Forty Hours devotion, continuing devotion to Mary and following her joyful example, and renewing evangelization efforts.
“I believe the ceremony we are about to celebrate provides some helpful images for additional ways to evangelize effectively,” Bishop Burbidge said.
Each element of the Rite of Dedication of the new altar is significant, Bishop Burbidge said. Depositing saints’ relics into the altar is a reminder that “we do not travel alone on our earthly journey to heaven.”
“The saints are the ‘clouds of witnesses surrounding us.’ They accompany us. Their example inspires us. Their prayers support us,” he said.
Anointing the altar with chrism is a reminder of Christ as “God’s Anointed One,” Bishop Burbidge said. “To evangelize is to share this reality with others and to convey how Our Lord longs to embrace us in his love and mercy and never tires of waiting for us.”
Lastly, lighting the altar with candles is a reminder that Christ conquered darkness and sin, he said. “In these challenging times when we see evil, division, and restlessness, we must strive by our words and charitable deeds to radiate the Light of Christ to whomever and wherever the Lord sends us each day,” he said.
Above all, Bishop Burbidge said, we must be open to the Holy Spirit in order for us to be instruments of evangelization. “Yes, we have a diocesan strategic plan, parish mission statements, and countless pastoral initiatives – but they are all in vain if there is not an openness to the Spirit of the Lord and a willingness to listen, to put out into the deep; to change if necessary; and ultimately to trust in the promise he spoke to us in today’s Gospel: ‘Behold, I will be with us always.’”
Smiling at his family seated in the first pew, Bishop Burbidge said, “Knowing my family, who is present here today, I can hear them saying, ‘We have another theme to suggest that begins with the letter ‘r’: Refrain.’”
Those in the pews laughed, as he continued, “And so I will simply say, dear friends in Christ, all in the Diocese of Arlington, this is a joyful and blessed moment, as we celebrate our golden jubilee, build upon our rich history and strong foundations, and go forth with the grace of God and the help of Mary and all the saints to a brighter and promising future full of hope.”
Following the homily, all knelt as the choir sang the Litany of Saints. Bishop Burbidge placed relics of St. Thomas More, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Teresa of Kolkata and Pope St. John Paul II into the altar.
He prayed the prayer of dedication over the altar before pouring chrism on the four corners and in the center of the altar. He anointed and then blessed the altar with incense, as a brazier burned incense upon the altar. Parish volunteers and seminarians then cleaned and dressed the altar with linens and candles.
Before the final blessing, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori addressed the clergy and faithful. He first congratulated Bishop Burbidge: “Today happens to be the 22nd anniversary of the episcopal ordination of your bishop,” he said, drawing applause.
Archbishop Lori reminisced on how, as “the greenest of seminarians,” he attended the installation Mass of Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, the first bishop of Arlington.
“Since then, I have watched with great admiration as this Diocese of Arlington has grown, not only in numbers, but also with its vitality and strength,” he said. “Today’s dedication of the altar in this wonderfully transformed Cathedral of St. Thomas More epitomizes not only the strength of this diocese, but also its beauty and, God-willing, a very bright future.”
Anna Harvey is a staff writer for the Arlington Catholic Herald. This story was first published in the Arlington Catholic Herald and is republished with permission.
Bishop Knestout: ‘diocesan histories’ connected
Bishop Barry C. Knestout was one of 29 U.S. bishops to attend the dedication Mass at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More, in Arlington, Sept. 5, noting the two dioceses have “long, historic roots together.”
Bishop Knestout said he was grateful to have been part of the celebration, calling it a “beautiful day and an occasion of joy for all of us.”
He said he has dedicated “quite a few new altars within our own diocese. Each of those occasions is an opportunity for renewal and deepening devotion for a parish community.”
“In this case, it was not just an occasion for a single parish,” he continued, “but for all the people of Arlington, as well as all Catholics in Virginia.”
“Both dioceses work closely together on matters that affect the Catholic community of the Commonwealth,” Bishop Knestout noted.
“The connection between the Diocese of Richmond and the Diocese of Arlington is an important part of our diocesan histories,” the bishop added.
— Lily Nguyen Dunkle
50 years ago in Virginia
The Diocese of Richmond formerly encompassed all of Virginia, as well as part of West Virginia. In 1974, three changes were made to the territory of the diocese. The Vatican announced the creation of the Diocese of Arlington, separating Northern Virginia from the Diocese of Richmond. Then, the dioceses of Richmond and Wheeling were realigned with the state lines, and the latter was renamed the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. Lastly, the Diocese of Wilmington ceded the Eastern Shore of Virginia to the Diocese of Richmond.
— Lily Nguyen Dunkle