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Cathedral 'Friends' promote diocese's 'mother church'
Andrew Junker/CATHOLIC SUN
Priests from around the Phoenix Diocese celebrate the Chrism Mass with Bishop Olmsted at the 'mother church.'
'Every Catholic has a stake in the cathedral'
While thousands count Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral as their home parish, the church also exists as something more to every Catholic in the Diocese of Phoenix.
It is the seat of Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, the site of important liturgies like the Chrism and priestly ordination Masses, and serves as the mother church for the entire diocese.
“Every Catholic has a stake in the cathedral,” said Fr. John Lankeit, rector at Ss. Simon and Jude. “It needs to set the standard for quality of liturgies as well as being the center for major diocesan liturgies.”
When priests from across the diocese concelebrate the Chrism Mass with Bishop Olmsted each Holy Week, it shows their unity with him. Likewise, Fr. Lankeit said, when Catholics from other parishes participate in Mass at the cathedral, they show their membership in the larger Church.
“We’re not just members of individual parishes, but of the Church and especially the local Church of the Diocese of Phoenix,” he said.
Local Catholics can also show their support by joining Friends of the Cathedral, a group dedicated to promoting the identity of Ss. Simon and Jude throughout the diocese.
“We’re trying to promote its identity and offer evangelization opportunities throughout the year for all people in the diocese,” said Joe Reynolds, who sits on the group’s board. “It’s also to support the work of the cathedral and its beautification.”
Reynolds knows the cathedral and its recent beautification process intimately. He owns Skyline Productions, which broadcasts Sunday Mass from the cathedral live each week.
Fr. Rob Clements, the cathedral’s previous rector, asked Reynolds to join the group and help with planning some of their functions. One of those functions is coming up in a few weeks.
The Friends of the Cathedral Open 2010 is a fundraising golf tournament scheduled for Oct. 1 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa.
“I think the identity of what a cathedral means has been lost,” Reynolds said. “We’re a family and the cathedral is where the bishop presides. I think more than anything it’s an education thing.”
And that’s just what Friends of the Cathedral hopes to do throughout the diocese. Members receive a regular newsletter and updates, and there are different tiers of involvement.
“The idea of Friends is that it’s small and fairly new right now, but we’re hoping to grow it as we can get other people across all parishes involved,” Reynolds said. “We’re trying to get everyone out there to know that it’s not a Ss. Simon and Jude committee. We want involvement from people in churches across the diocese.”
Fr. Lankeit just hopes to continue the good work begun by his predecessor.
“The diocese owes a great debt of gratitude to Fr. Rob Clements who brought the liturgy to its current level of beauty,” he said. “I intend to build on it.” |
