On Friday, I attended the Eucharistic Congress sponsored by the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious in Washington, D.C. The gathering was held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception under the theme “Sacrifice of Enduring Love.”

The congress focused on the meaning of the Eucharist, the priesthood, religious life, and marriage. I encourage you to visit its website (www.cmswr.org) for more information.

Seeing the national shrine filled for the Eucharistic Congress, particularly with young religious sisters, was such a sign of hope. It helps us to realize that, although in recent years there have been many challenges, religious life is still with us and will be with us in the future. It was very uplifting to be a part of the Eucharistic Congress.

Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus gave the opening address on Friday night on Christian vocations and a civilization of love, which was very well received. [See p. 16]

I concelebrated the Mass on Friday night with Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, and Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec.

On Saturday, I gave one of the keynotes and Cardinal Ouellet spoke as well.

Beyond just all the young religious women, it was also very encouraging to see the many students and others who came to be a part of the Eucharistic Congress.

Visiting friends in Washington

While I was in Washington, I also went to visit a couple of friends who have been ill. One of them is Dr. Jorge Arnoldson, who is in the Agrupacion Catolica Universitaria, which I mentioned in last week’s post.

Dr. Arnoldson was with me when I made my Cursillo back in the 1960s and has been suffering with a bout of cancer. I had a nice visit with Jorge and his wife, Rosita.

I also visited Ramon Dominguez (“Mongo,” as we call him) and his wife Carmencita. He just had open-heart surgery. He’s doing very well. He is also a member of the Agrupacion Catolica who worked very closely with me for years in providing services to refugees and immigrants at the Centro Catolico.

Dinner with the Memores Domini

By Saturday night, I had arrived back in Boston. I had dinner with the Memores Domini, a group of consecrated laymen of Communion and Liberation living at Sacred Heart in the North End. They are Italians and they prepared a wonderful Italian meal for us.

We were joined by a member of the Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo who has recently come to the archdiocese, Father Luca Brancolini. Father Luca is teaching at the Newman School in Boston’s Back Bay and we are very pleased to welcome him.

Bishop Fenwick High Anniversary

On Sunday morning, I had a Mass at Bishop Fenwick High School, together with Bishop Francis Irwin, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the school. The school’s principal, Sister Catherine Fleming, and chaplain, Father Richard Burton, organized this. We had a beautiful day.

They have an extraordinary choir that was just superb. They’ve sung at Carnegie Hall. In all it was a beautiful celebration of the Eucharist.

Also in this post:

Celebrating with Religious women jubilarians

A visit from Cardinal Seán Brady

The priest appreciation dinner at the Seaport-World Trade Center