As I left off last week, we were about to begin our celebrations of the Sacred Triduum. It was wonderful to once again be able to have the faithful present for our liturgies, and I was very encouraged to see that the cathedral was full to capacity for all of our celebrations.

We began, of course, with our celebration of the Mass of the Last Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday.

Following the Mass, the Eucharist is brought to the altar of repose, and we hold a Eucharistic Vigil until midnight, which we conclude with Compline and the singing of the Salve.

We were so happy to be joined, once again this year, by the many local university students who came accompanied by Father Kevin Staley-Joyce. It was the largest group they ever had.

Father Kevin had been holding Holy Week celebrations for the students at St. Stephen's Church in the North End because, ordinarily, the church is only used for Sunday Mass. As part of their Holy Thursday observance, they walked to several different churches, and they concluded their journey at the cathedral to pray Compline with us. Their presence was a great joy.

Good Friday

On Friday afternoon, we had our Good Friday services, which began with the cathedral bells tolling 33 times for the death of Jesus.

We were very pleased to have members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre accompanying us for the Veneration of the Cross.

Easter Vigil

On Holy Saturday, we had our celebration of the Easter Vigil.

The Easter Vigil is traditionally a moment when new Catholics are welcomed into the Church, and it was a great joy to celebrate the baptism of two catechumens at our vigil at the cathedral. We are so grateful to Sister Maria for all her hard work preparing them.

Easter Sunday Mass

On Easter Sunday, I celebrated the 11:30 a.m. Mass at the cathedral. We also added an additional 8 a.m. Mass, and both were at capacity. It was very encouraging to see the people return for Easter.

Virtual panel discussion

This week, on Wednesday, I participated in a virtual panel discussion, entitled "La Vacuna de la Esperanza" ("The vaccine of hope"), sponsored by SOMOS Community Care. I understand there were over 4,000 physicians from across the United States and Latin America who joined us for the conference, and it was an opportunity to encourage them and answer any questions they may have.

With me on the panel were the founder of SOMOS, Dr. Ramon Tallaj, and their chief of medical innovation, Jacqueline Delmont. The moderator was SOMOS's vice president of communications, Denisse Oller.

In my remarks, I spoke about some of the ethical questions that the Holy Father has addressed, as well as about the Holy Father's words in "Fratelli Tutti" calling for a post-pandemic world that is based more on solidarity and care for people.

Meeting of the Presbyteral Council

On Thursday, we had one of our regular meetings of the Presbyteral Council of the archdiocese.

During our meeting, we heard a report by Father Paul Soper on the state of COVID in Massachusetts and our plans for the archdiocese going forward.