Life is worth living...
Archbishop Fulton Sheen's famous kneeler sits in the entranceway to the crypt under the altar at St. Patrick Cathedral in New York City. Archbishop Sheen's tomb is second from the left. (Herald photo by Bill Howard)As NYC began to settle down following the departure of Pope Benedict XVI, I had one final chance yesterday to do some things I didn't get to do earlier... spend some quality time at St. Patrick Cathedral, go to confession and get some papal visit souvenirs. I had originally intended to fly back in the morning, but with heavy fog at LaGuardia moving flights around, my departure was pushed back. The only downside (cue violin) was that I got a terrible head cold from the second leg of my flight from Chicago to Denver, and didn't get back to Colorado Springs until around 2 a.m. But considering the below blessing, it was worth it.
While visiting St. Patrick, where our Herald special section issues were a very hot property (I placed about 500 copies there before the pope's arrival and they were gone that evening... it was neat to see people along 5th Avenue sitting and reading the paper), I had a very special opportunity to have a private tour of the cathedral crypt. My brother has been working on his doctorate, which features the Mariology of Archbishop Fulton Sheen. He asked if I could say a prayer for him in front of Archbishop Sheen's resting place. Because things were very busy still there after the papal visit, I did not expect to get the chance, but I was told to go to the parish office, state my intentions and pray. I was told to come back at 3:30 p.m. and, sure enough, it happened. Assistant sacristan Ian Dowding generously took time from his schedule to allow me a quick visit. While we walked to the crypt, which is under the altar, he talked about his one experience in Colorado Springs (staying at the Broadmoor) and pointed out the rooms Benedict had been in before and after he celebrated Mass two days earlier. On Saturday, he personally met the pope, who thanked him for his service to the church before being whisked away to vest for Mass.
There is nothing fancy to the crypt other than a beautiful set of iron bars at the entrance that features plaques with the names of those archbishops of New York who are buried there. Ian said that they polished up the crypt in case Pope Benedict wanted to make a quick visit, but the Holy Father stuck to the schedule and did not go there. You walk down marble steps into a very short walkway and there is a small room, all in white marble, with 21 tomb spots on one wall (and one very special item that I will mention in a bit). Thirteen of them are taken -- by six cardinals, five archbishops, one bishop, one monsignor and one lay person. The lay person, Pierre Toussaint, was a former slave who became a wealthy hairdresser and noted humanitarian and helped fund the original St. Patrick Cathedral on Mott St. He, his wife and daughter were buried at Old St. Patrick's. His grave was discovered in 1941 and Cardinal John O'Connor, who began a push for Toussaint's canonization, later had his body exhumed and relocated to its current resting place. Pope John Paul II declared him "venerable" in 1996. It was very humbling to be in the presence of so many holy men.
Ian gave a short talk about the crypt and shared a short story about the times he met Archbishop Sheen. I snapped some pictures of the crypt, pressed a bag of holy cards and other items to Archbishop Sheen's tomb and then asked for a couple of minutes of silence to pray to Archbishop Sheen. As if this experience wasn't already amazing enough, Ian points to a kneeler sitting in the hallway near the entrance to the room and says that that is Archbishop Sheen's kneeler that became a staple on his famous television show in the 1950s. It was one of those moments where you wonder, "Lord, what did I do to deserve this incredible moment!?" And so there I was, kneeling on Archbishop Sheen's kneeler, praying to him for his intercession for various intentions.
It's hard to put into further words what those moments were like, as I have long been an admirer of Archbishop Sheen and have several of his books and talks. I've longed for that entire "Life Is Worth Living" television series to be transferred to DVD so I can watch all of it. And I strongly recommend the audio set of talks he gave at a seminarian retreat at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving in 1972. While he is addressing seminarians, clergy and religious there, the talks are really for anyone and cover a wide variety of important faith topics.
While visiting St. Patrick, where our Herald special section issues were a very hot property (I placed about 500 copies there before the pope's arrival and they were gone that evening... it was neat to see people along 5th Avenue sitting and reading the paper), I had a very special opportunity to have a private tour of the cathedral crypt. My brother has been working on his doctorate, which features the Mariology of Archbishop Fulton Sheen. He asked if I could say a prayer for him in front of Archbishop Sheen's resting place. Because things were very busy still there after the papal visit, I did not expect to get the chance, but I was told to go to the parish office, state my intentions and pray. I was told to come back at 3:30 p.m. and, sure enough, it happened. Assistant sacristan Ian Dowding generously took time from his schedule to allow me a quick visit. While we walked to the crypt, which is under the altar, he talked about his one experience in Colorado Springs (staying at the Broadmoor) and pointed out the rooms Benedict had been in before and after he celebrated Mass two days earlier. On Saturday, he personally met the pope, who thanked him for his service to the church before being whisked away to vest for Mass.
There is nothing fancy to the crypt other than a beautiful set of iron bars at the entrance that features plaques with the names of those archbishops of New York who are buried there. Ian said that they polished up the crypt in case Pope Benedict wanted to make a quick visit, but the Holy Father stuck to the schedule and did not go there. You walk down marble steps into a very short walkway and there is a small room, all in white marble, with 21 tomb spots on one wall (and one very special item that I will mention in a bit). Thirteen of them are taken -- by six cardinals, five archbishops, one bishop, one monsignor and one lay person. The lay person, Pierre Toussaint, was a former slave who became a wealthy hairdresser and noted humanitarian and helped fund the original St. Patrick Cathedral on Mott St. He, his wife and daughter were buried at Old St. Patrick's. His grave was discovered in 1941 and Cardinal John O'Connor, who began a push for Toussaint's canonization, later had his body exhumed and relocated to its current resting place. Pope John Paul II declared him "venerable" in 1996. It was very humbling to be in the presence of so many holy men.
Ian gave a short talk about the crypt and shared a short story about the times he met Archbishop Sheen. I snapped some pictures of the crypt, pressed a bag of holy cards and other items to Archbishop Sheen's tomb and then asked for a couple of minutes of silence to pray to Archbishop Sheen. As if this experience wasn't already amazing enough, Ian points to a kneeler sitting in the hallway near the entrance to the room and says that that is Archbishop Sheen's kneeler that became a staple on his famous television show in the 1950s. It was one of those moments where you wonder, "Lord, what did I do to deserve this incredible moment!?" And so there I was, kneeling on Archbishop Sheen's kneeler, praying to him for his intercession for various intentions.
It's hard to put into further words what those moments were like, as I have long been an admirer of Archbishop Sheen and have several of his books and talks. I've longed for that entire "Life Is Worth Living" television series to be transferred to DVD so I can watch all of it. And I strongly recommend the audio set of talks he gave at a seminarian retreat at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving in 1972. While he is addressing seminarians, clergy and religious there, the talks are really for anyone and cover a wide variety of important faith topics.
Anyhow, it was a fantastic ending to my visit to New York, and I am grateful to Mr. Dowding for his time, as well as for the receptionist at the parish office who connected me with him. As I hopped on the N train to go back toward LaGuardia Airport, I thought a lot about the pope's simple message of hope, as well as of Archbishop Sheen's message that "life is worth living." Benedict is certainly an academic man, but the message I gathered during the NYC visit was very simple: to keep our gazes fixed on Christ, to trust Him and to defend Him and His Church.
I look forward to taking some time later this week to really read through all of the speech texts and homilies. If anyone has been reading them and would like to offer some reflections, please go for it!
I look forward to taking some time later this week to really read through all of the speech texts and homilies. If anyone has been reading them and would like to offer some reflections, please go for it!
Labels: archbishop fulton sheen, nyc, papal visit
posted by Bill Howard @ 2:13 PM
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