My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This week Bishop McManus has, once again, appointed me as Rector of Saint Paul's Cathedral here in Worcester. I am thrilled to be back home in our Cathedral Church and my prayer is that God might make me worthy of of the great example of faith and love which makes this Cathedral parish such a rich and vibrant place to be.
I know you share with me a deep sense of gratitude for all that Monsignor Johnson has done to build up the Cathedral Parish in the past seven years. It is my hope that we will have the opportunity to express our gratitude in a more concrete way in the coming weeks, following his return from a well-deserved sabbatical. Monsignor Johnson will be returning as Director of the Office for Divine Worship and Master of Ceremonies on Easter Monday.
As many of you know, this is my second time as Rector of our beloved Cathedral, having served for two years before beginning my seven years as Rector of Saint John’s Seminary in Boston. I return sharing with you a deep love of this Cathedral, which has served the Church in Worcester for one hundred and fifty three years.
When Father John J. Power (say a prayer for him in front of the bronze plaque in the vestibule) founded this Church in 1866, Worcester had been a city for only eighteen years. President Lincoln had been killed by an assassin’s bullet just a year before and Saint John’s Church was celebrating its thirtieth anniversary. The “new immigrants” were predominantly from Ireland and Sweden, including my great-grandparents, Honorah Lynch and Stephen Loughlin, who would be married in the Cathedral eighteen years later.
So now God has chosen you and me to be a part of this history.
Today we are so very different and so very much the same. Our “new immigrants” are now predominantly from Latin America and West Africa and their energy, spirit and faith help us to evangelize an increasingly secularized American culture. While 38% of our city self-identifies as Catholic, close to 50% describe themselves as having no religion at all.
We, admittedly, have our work cut out for us. But the challenges we face are no greater than the ones which faced those who have gone before us, and like them, we rely on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and seek only the will of God. For ours is a holy work and it been chosen for us by God, who loves us so much that he makes us a part of the rich tapestry which is the Cathedral Church of Worcester.
I am, of course, deeply grateful to Bishop McManus for the confidence he has placed in me by naming me as your shepherd and the Rector of his Cathedral Church. Through the intercession of Saint Paul may God work through this imperfect instrument to do great things at the corner of Chatham and High Streets!
In the Lord,
Monsignor James P. Moroney
Rector
