While Catholics and Orthodox may be divided on earth, they are still able to pray to the same intercessors in heaven for unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch said during a visit to Russia.
The cardinal, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, led a group to St Petersburg to return a relic of St Nicholas to Bari, Italy. It had been on loan to the Russian Orthodox since late May.
Russian Orthodox officials estimated that some two million faithful venerated the relic either at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow or at Holy Trinity Cathedral in St Petersburg.
At a Mass on July 27 at the Catholic cathedral of St Catherine in St Petersburg, Cardinal Koch said Catholics and Orthodox believe that when they venerate a saint, they are giving glory to God.
“The veneration of the saints is divine worship and adoration of God in his holiness and in his coming, which sanctifies human beings,” he said. “The saints are like a prism that reflects the light of God’s holiness in different chromatic tones and refractions.”
St Nicholas is one of the patron saints of Russia and, having lived and died centuries before the East-West split of Christianity, he is revered by both Catholics and Orthodox.
Cardinal Koch said that while meetings of church leaders were important in the search for Christian unity, the celebration of the saints and veneration of their relics can have an even bigger impact because they involve more of the faithful.
Saints are “our best intercessors and companions on the ecumenical journey and can help us make Christian unity a reality,” he said.
Benedict XVI institute to promote Catholic culture
A liturgical institute established in 2014 by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco will broaden its focus beyond forming ministers of sacred music and liturgy. It will now aim to “reclaim the Catholic imagination”, especially through literature.
The Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship will be reimagined “as a centre for promoting Catholic culture”, continuing its emphasis on promoting sacred music, particularly chant, the archbishop announced.
Maggie Gallagher, 56, a senior fellow at the Washington-based American Principles Project, is the institute’s new executive director.
“For me, Benedict XVI is about opening the door of beauty to God to as many who want to enter by that path,” Gallagher told Catholic San Francisco, the archdiocesan newspaper. “The Mass, the liturgy and sacred music are indispensable. But encouraging a culture of Catholic art and storytelling is another closely connected goal. San Francisco’s amazingly ethnically diverse parishes provide many doors to beauty which I’m excited to explore and promote.”
America gains new cathedral
the Diocese of Raleigh in North Carolina has replaced the smallest Catholic cathedral in the continental United States with one of the largest.
The old Sacred Heart Cathedral, dedicated in 1924, could seat only 300. The new Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, dedicated on July 26, can seat 2,000.
Bishop Michael F Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, formerly Raleigh’s bishop, was principal celebrant at the dedication Mass.
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