My good friend Pablo Eduardo came to visit me recently, and it was great to be able to catch up with him. The family is from Bolivia, and his father was the editor of El Pregonero, my newspaper in Washington, D.C.

He has a studio in Gloucester and does a great deal of religious artwork. He is presently working on some pieces for the new Christ Cathedral of Orange County, California.

Locally, he's done a number of projects at Boston College, such as statues of St. Thomas More and St. Ignatius. He has also done work for some of our parishes, creating beautiful tabernacles, crucifixes, and Stations of the Cross.

Zoom meeting with Hispanic priests

Last Thursday evening, I met via Zoom with a new support group for Hispanic priests that has been formed by Father Americo Santos of Holy Redeemer Parish in East Boston. I always encourage our priests to form support groups to promote their own spirituality and a sense of fraternity. So, I was very pleased that Father Americo is taking this initiative.

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to be with them via Zoom, and I look forward to the day when I can join them personally for one of their gatherings.

The Discalced Carmelites

On Sunday, I visited the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites in Roxbury. It's a very old monastery, and they have been a constant presence in that neighborhood for generations. It's been quite a while since I last visited them, so I was happy to go there for Mass.

We are blessed with the presence of five contemplative communities of sisters in the archdiocese, and they are a great blessing for us. So, I was happy for this opportunity to be with them. After the Mass, we had coffee together and a dialogue about religious life and the state of the Church. It was just wonderful to catch up with the sisters. They have a young postulant and a number of women who are in the process of discerning with them. That was very encouraging news.

March for Life

On Tuesday, I left for Washington, D.C., to participate in events around the annual March for Life.

Thursday evening, we held the Opening Mass of the Prayer Vigil for Life at the National Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

I was pleased that so many bishops were able to join us, along with a large number of priests and seminarians. This year, we had many Orthodox bishops with us, including the Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and our own Metropolitan Methodios of Boston. Their presence is always a sign of solidarity.

We had thought that the crowd might be limited because there was a permitting process, and we didn't know what the limits would be, but we were very, very pleased to see so many priests, seminarians, religious, and young people with us at the Mass. As always, the large number of young people in attendance was so encouraging.

It was wonderful having our new chairman of the Pro-life Committee, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, celebrate the Mass for us. He gave a wonderful reflection in his homily. Archbishop Lori pointed out the Sisters of Life and commended them and the other religious women for the pro-life ministry that they carry out so wonderfully in the name of the Church.