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Archbishop's
Column Archbishop
Cronin's Homily In March of 1993, we gathered in this very Cathedral to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Hartford. In 1843 there were few Catholics in Connecticut, relatively speaking. Nonetheless, in order to better care for the pastoral needs of the Catholics of the two southern states of New England, Connecticut and Rhode Island, the territory of these two states was separated from the Diocese of Boston and established as the Diocese of Hartford. The Church grew so much so that, in 1872, the Diocese of Hartford itself was divided and Rhode Island became the new Diocese of Providence. (cf. Hartford's Catholic Legacy--Leadership, Liptak) The period of one hundred and ten years from 1843 to 1953 witnessed the continued growth of the Church in the State of Connecticut. In his pastoral solicitude for the souls entrusted to the care of the Bishop of Hartford, Pope Pius XII decreed on August 6, 1953 that a new ecclesiastical Province was established. The Metropolitan See would be Hartford, thus raising it to the rank of an Archdiocese. The three Suffragan Sees would be Bridgeport, Norwich and Providence. Hence, the new ecclesiastical jurisdiction would comprise exactly the same territory as the original Diocese of Hartford which had been established some one hundred and ten years earlier. Here we are today gathered again in St. Joseph's Cathedral fifty years later to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of our beloved See of Hartford as an Archdiocese. I say, not just as a matter of courtesy, but as a matter of real conviction, that our celebration today is made all the more joyful by the privilege I have to read a letter which His Excellency The Most Reverend Gabriel Montalvo, the Apostolic Nuncio, forwarded to me, having been transmitted from the Vatican, extending the blessings of the Holy Father. It seems such a wonderful continuation of our ties with the successor of St. Peter. In 1953 Pope Pius XII forwarded the documents establishing the Province of Hartford through the then Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani who came to Hartford for the solemn celebration. Today, fifty years later, Pope John Paul II joins us by means of his message forwarded to us by his representative, the Apostolic Nuncio, as indeed Pope Pius XII was present for the establishment of the Archdiocese through his representative, the then Archbishop, later Cardinal Cicognani. I have been asked in these days about significant events in the fifty years of the existence of the Archdiocese. It is quite simple, of course, to think of my predecessors, Archbishop Henry J. O'Brien, the first Archbishop, and his successor, Archbishop John F. Whealon. They were both stalwart and outstanding leaders. Indeed they accomplished much and contributed to the significant events of the last five decades. Much of the history of our Archdiocese is clearly written in the scholarly book written by Sister Dolores Liptak, R.S.M., entitled "Hartford's Catholic Legacy--Leadership." This book gives the reader a wonderful sense of the history and accomplishments not only of the Archdiocese of Hartford in these past fifty years but also in the past one hundred sixty years that the See of Hartford has existed as a separate ecclesiastical jurisdiction. My two predecessors were extraordinary men. Archbishop Henry J. O'Brien was a humble, quiet man. He was, however, from all reports an effective administrator who gathered talented individuals around him who could advise him and carry out his decisions and plans for the Archdiocese. He knew his priests and was very devoted to them since so many had been under his tutelage at St. Thomas Seminary. The apostolate of Catholic education received great impetus from the Archbishop and he took a particular interest in the The Catholic Transcript, the Archdiocesan publication. He was well aware of the importance of a Catholic newspaper as a means of communicating the truths of our faith. Many were his contributions to the Church in the Archdiocese and he has been fondly remembered even to the present day. Archbishop John F. Whealon succeeded Archbishop O'Brien as the second Archbishop of Hartford. He came to Hartford with the reputation of being a brilliant scholar, particularly in biblical studies. He fulfilled all the expectations that that reputation prompted. His homilies, addresses and meditations on the Archdiocesan Radio Station, WJMJ, were informative and inspiring. I personally can attest to my own anticipation of his homilies, many of which I heard him give from this very pulpit. Archbishop Whealon's myriad accomplishments have been duly noted in public journals and historical records and are legendary. On an occasion such as this, the Golden Jubilee of the Archdiocese, it is fair to say that a proper history of our Archdiocese could never be written without an appreciation of the life and work of Archbishop Whealon. Two events occurred during the fifty-year period we are commemorating which, in my opinion, affected greatly our Archdiocese. The first is the tragic fire in 1956 which destroyed the beloved and majestic St. Joseph's Cathedral. Not only did the fire consume an architectural masterpiece but it also took away the Cathedral in which the first Archbishop of Hartford had been ordained a bishop in 1940 and installed as Ordinary first in 1945 and later on in 1953 as Archbishop of the newly created Metropolitan See. The architect, Patrick Keely, had designed many churches and cathedrals. Some say this Cathedral had been his finest work. No wonder the disastrous fire brought tears to Archbishop O'Brien's eyes. Undaunted, he began immediately to plan for a new Cathedral. Today, we are celebrating this Golden Jubilee in a new masterpiece, the noble but simple present-day St. Joseph's Cathedral. There was a lesson in the fire of 1956 which took our Cathedral and the dedication in 1962 that gave us back a new one. The lesson is like the one implicit in the second of the two significant events of this fifty-year period - the Second Vatican Council. The lesson of course is that the Church, our beloved Church, is ever renewing itself. The Church founded by Jesus Christ our Savior received the truths of revelation from Him and, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Christ's apostles spread the Gospel message. It was Christ's will that the world be evangelized. The Church has continued this work of evangelization to the present day. The age-old truths of revelation entrusted to the Church, however, must be presented to all peoples in every time and age. The ancient truths, without any distortion or weakening, must be communicated so that those who hear the Word of God and the teachings of the Church will be brought to the knowledge of the truth. Pope John XXIII had vision in calling the bishops of the world to Rome for the Second Vatican Council so that the Church would be assisted in presenting the Truths of the Deposit of Faith to the men and women of the remaining years of the twentieth century and the approaching twenty-first century in a manner acceptable to them in light of the cultural environment of the times. There came forth from the Council important documents which have affected the Church and the world profoundly. Think of the various areas which were affected: Faith, with the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church; Worship, with the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy; and the far-reaching documents, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World and the Decree on Ecumenism, and the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions. The Second Vatican Council has affected profoundly Christian life and practice but it is essential to appreciate that the Council solely enhanced and made fruitful the application of the age-old truths of the Deposit of Faith to the lives of us all in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The same reflection comes from the realization that in a new Cathedral we are worshipping still with the same Sacrifice of the Mass in our own language and with different rubrics, celebrating the same sacraments in our language but with different rituals. We are celebrating the same Mass and sacraments as were celebrated in the old Cathedral but now more effectively celebrated for our age, as indeed it can be rightly said our new Cathedral represents the architectural and engineering genius of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. How can we reflect on the events of the past five decades without bowing before the Providence of God. The care and guidance of the Lord for the Church in Hartford and in the whole world are so evident. We should not be surprised, therefore, when we listen to the first and second readings of today's Liturgy of the Word. When the Israelites were impatient and grumbled against Moses and Aaron because along the way in the desert they feared they would die of famine, God sent them bread from heaven. God took care of His people. In the reading from the Gospel of John, Jesus recalls that event of the Old Testament and then says, "…it is my Father who gives you the real heavenly bread. God's bread comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."…"Jesus explained to them: I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in me shall thirst." (Jn. 6:32-35) So we believe that the Lord has provided for us in Word and Sacrament, and will continue to provide for us. Our response, as indeed the response of Christians of every age, must be to follow the injunction of St. Paul in today's second reading.
What is that, I ask, other than the universal call to holiness. We beg the Lord to help us fulfill that call in the years ahead. We thank all those who have contributed to the evangelizing effort of the Archdiocese in these fifty years. We particularly thank the priests of the Archdiocese and encourage them. At the same time we beg the Lord for priests in the future. Having the privilege of leading and serving the Archdiocese of Hartford as its third Archbishop at this time of the commemoration of its Golden Jubilee, I also have the honor of commending it to the continued Providence of Almighty God and wishing it "ad multos annos." Amen. |