Editor’s note: The following homily by Pope Francis’ highest ranking ambassador to the United States Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano was given in Anchorage on Dec. 12 during the elevation of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church to the status of co-cathedral for the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church was elevated to co-cathedral status Dec. 12 in a Mass featuring many ethnic cultural celebrations and attended by Alaska’s four bishops and Vatican ambassador, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano. More than 700 people packed the largest Catholic church in Alaska and one of the state’s most ethnically diverse parishes. Several attended in traditional cultural costumes, Peruvian, Filipino, Mexican, Columbian, Samoan and Alaska Native peoples and several took part in the liturgy.
Bishop-elect Chad Zielinski will become the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks on Dec. 15. Eight Archbishops and bishops will participate in the ordination Mass scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. The Mass, celebrated by Anchorage Archbishop Roger L. Schwietz, will both ordain Bishop-elect Zielinski as a bishop and install him as the head of the Fairbanks diocese. More than one thousand people are expected to attend.
The Holy See’s chief ambassador to the United States, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, visited Anchorage’s Lumen Christi High School and Holy Rosary Academy on Dec. 12, saying that such visits are part of his preferred activities when traveling the country on official duty.
Not all marriages start on equal footing. Many husbands and wives begin their union after having grown up in broken homes or with one or both parents largely absent from their childhood. Failure to grow up in a home where family meals, prayer and recreation are staples of life makes it that much harder to establish these practices in one’s own family. Never seeing your mom and dad work out differences means you have less to draw from when your own conflicts arise. Never experiencing consistent, loving discipline leaves one at a disadvantage when attempting to teach children to lead virtuous and disciplined lives.
Here is a sampling of news and upcoming events from around the Anchorage Archdiocese.
Simbang Gabi is a series of special Masses leading up to Christmas. The celebration of the nine-day novena of Masses is one of the longest-running and most popular Catholic Filipino religious traditions. At the Masses, the faithful especially focus on the Blessed Virgin Mary in the preparation for the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ. In Anchorage, Simbang Gabi Masses will take place as scheduled:
Here are several holiday events planned in the Anchorage Archdiocese, including the Christmas Eve Mass with Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz at the Brother Francis Shelter for homeless Anchorage residents.
Catholic Social Services in Anchorage is calling for volunteers to help carry out its holiday outreach effort. In particular the agency is looking for participants in its Helping Holidays program which benefits those being served by Refugee Assistance & Immigration Services, Family Disability Services, and Homeless Family Services. Volunteers who assist with these outreaches have the opportunity to help others in a “personalized way for our community” by giving “to a family that could use some help this holiday season,” the agency noted in a recent statement.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Anchorage will take on an important new role when it is elevated to a co-cathedral on Dec. 12, the feast day of its patroness. It has been a long road for the diverse faith community, from its early days as a parish without a building, founded in a much-smaller Anchorage in 1970. Mass was held then at Turnagain Methodist Church. Later, the parish constructed a building which was intended to serve as both worship area and multi-purpose room until a church could be built. It took 30 years to bring that dream to fruition. Today parishioners worship in an expansive Spanish mission style church, with two bell towers, dedicated in 2005.