Let the celebration begin!

OCTOBER 5, 2007

My dear friends,

Happy anniversary to all!

This weekend we will kick off the yearlong celebration for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the archdiocese. We certainly have come a long way, from a sleepy tourist town to a bustling international metropolis, from mission territory for Irish and Spanish priests to native vocations representative of all the cultures and languages that now make their home in south Florida.

Our pride should be tempered with humility: God has blessed us greatly along the way, with builders and visionaries who foresaw our growth and planned for it while calling us to grow spiritually at the same time.

We are a 50-year-old diocese that became an archdiocese — and metropolitan see for all of Florida — in less than 10 years of existence. We have been visited by a pope — John Paul II — and a saint — Mother Teresa. We have suffered trials and tribulations — racial riots, refugee boatlifts and even a Category 5 hurricane named Andrew. We have learned to get along with one another and even adopt some of each other’s customs.

We have prayed together, in good times and bad.

We have trusted the Lord, in good times and bad.

We have leaned on each other, in good times and bad.

Those are some of the things we will be celebrating this coming year. Rather than planning one big event, our jubilee committee has planned a lot of smaller events aimed at bringing together different members of our archdiocese: youths and young adults, musicians, lectors, lay ministers, extraordinary ministers of holy Communion, deacons, priests and religious, members of lay apostolates and movements.

The committee did not want this celebration to be marked only by those in leadership positions in the church. It has prepared teachings and prayers of the faithful to be published in parish bulletins and read every week in all the Masses, so that all of the faithful will learn together and pray as one throughout the year.

Of course, we will conclude our celebration next October with a grand Mass at the BankAtlantic Center next to Sawgrass Mills mall. A week earlier, we will begin a novena of prayer at the cathedral with a Mass honoring some key people who have made special contributions to the church in south Florida.

Between now and then, I urge you to attend as many jubilee events as possible, especially those that might be hosted by your parish. Every parish will be a pilgrimage site at some point, as every parish will receive a visit from a pilgrim image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, and patroness of our yearlong celebration. A vocations monstrance blessed by Pope John Paul II also will make its way throughout the archdiocese next April.

Elsewhere in this edition of the Florida Catholic is a pastoral letter from me marking the beginning of this jubilee year. It is accompanied by a look back at our rich and exciting history. I ask you to hold on to that history, read it and reflect on it with your families; teach our rich spiritual history to your children.

Coming from everywhere else, Floridians typically know little about the people and events that came before them. But it is important that we learn from the past in order to properly plan for the future.

Pray with me that this year of praise and reflection will bring spiritual rewards to the church in south Florida; that it will bring those alienated back to the church; that broken relationships, especially among families, may be mended; and that God will call many young men and women to follow a vocation to priesthood or religious life, inspired by the church pioneers who planted the seeds 50 years ago here in south Florida.

Let the celebration begin!

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