Editor's Report

Shrine’s Prayerful Setting to Bless New York Pilgrims

Posted

Next month, Cardinal Dolan will lead Catholic New Yorkers on a pilgrimage to two national shrines in Washington, D.C.—the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in the United States and North America, and the St. John Paul II National Shrine, named for the pope who was canonized April 27.

Earlier this month, I went to Washington for a meeting at Catholic News Service, in the headquarters of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, just about half a block away from the basilica. It was the perfect opportunity to tour the magnificent edifice located right next door to The Catholic University of America.

Like many New Yorkers, I have visited on a few occasions, including for the Vigil Mass offered the night before the annual March for Life, when the basilica’s giant nave is filled to overflowing with pro-life Catholics from across the nation.

During my recent visit, the shrine’s able public relations director, Jacquelyn Hayes, gave me a guided tour starting from her office on the Crypt Level.

A popular section on that level is the Papal Exhibit featuring St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII, both of whom were canonized during the same Vatican ceremony this year. The exhibit includes the chair used by John Paul during his visit to World Youth Day in Denver in 1993. Of special note for New Yorkers is the gold metallic embroidered stole given by Cardinal Francis Spellman to John XXIII for his 80th birthday in 1961. The pope wore it when he convoked the Second Vatican Council the next year and ordered it returned to the New York Archbishop upon his death as a token of his “esteem and affection” for the hierarchy, clergy, religious and lay faithful of the United States. First-class relics of both saints are present in the shrine’s Memorial Hall.

A very popular photo opp that’s hard for visitors to resist is the life-size cardboard cutout of Pope Francis.

A highlight of any visit to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception are the more than 70 chapels and oratories, the vast majority dedicated to the Blessed Mother as she is known by her various titles throughout the world. (Both chapels and oratories are places of prayer, as Ms. Hayes noted, with chapels distinguished by their altars.)

A couple of my personal favorite chapels of those pointed out by Ms. Hayes on the Crypt Level are two of the more recently dedicated: Our Mother of Africa, a gift of the National Black Catholic Congress under the leadership of the African-American Bishops of the United States, and Our Lady of La Vang, which features a mosaic showing the 114 martyrs of Vietnam canonized by Pope Paul VI.

The enormous Upper Church also has many distinguishing features, perhaps the most memorable of which is Christ in Majesty, possibly the largest mosaic of Jesus in the world. A total of 15 Rosary chapels, covering the Joyful, Glorious and Sorrowful Mysteries, are also very evident. A 16th chapel, highlighting the five Luminous Mysteries, is dedicated to Our Lady of Pompei.

In a short column like this one, it would be impossible to note all the sights you’d want to see at the shrine. It would be better if you made the pilgrimage yourself on Nov. 15. Information: Daniel.Frascella@archny.org or www.NYCatholicFaith.org.

During my visit, I also met with Msgr. Vito Buonanno, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn who is serving as the shrine’s director of pilgrimages. (Msgr. Walter Rossi, a priest of the Diocese of Scranton, Pa., is rector of the shrine.)

Msgr. Buonanno said he was looking forward to welcoming Cardinal Dolan and pilgrims from the Archdiocese of New York. While there are many moments to remember from such a pilgrimage, the Mass bringing together the cardinal with the priests, deacons and people of the archdiocese in such a grand setting will be one that the pilgrims won’t soon forget.

“That’s the highlight of the day,” Msgr. Buonanno said. “They have traveled with them, and they are one with their shepherd. That is a great moment of Church.”