Saturday, Bishop Mark O'Connell and I traveled to Loyola University in Chicago to attend the conference "Pope Francis, Vatican II, and the Way Forward," sponsored by Boston College, Fordham University and, of course, Loyola.

The event was a gathering of several dozen cardinals, bishops, and theologians to discuss the themes of the Second Vatican Council and how to bring about greater unity in the Church through the implementation of the council. Attendees included Papal Nuncio Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Cardinal Blase Cupich, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez, Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez, and Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski.

Installation of Father Matt Wescott

By Saturday, I was back in Boston to celebrate the installation of Father Matt Wescott as pastor of Christ the King, Our Lady of Lourdes, and St. Edith Stein parishes in Brockton.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the Brockton Fire Department Honor Guard and Pipe and Drum Corps playing bagpipes outside the church.

The church was packed for the beautiful celebration. They had three choirs and a veritable army of altar servers. In addition to the English-speaking parishioners, I was very happy to see many members of the Cape Verdean and Haitian communities were there with us, and the Mass was celebrated trilingually -- in Portuguese, French, and English.

We were pleased to be joined by Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan and Fire Chief Brian Nardelli. Father Wescott's family was there, as well. We were very happy to be able to recognize them and thank them.

Mona Golabek

Monday, I was visited at the cathedral by Mona Golabek, an extraordinary musician and writer who is the author of "The Children of Willesden Lane." The book tells the story of her mother, who was a survivor of the Holocaust. Her mother's family was from Vienna, Austria, and she talks about their experience of the Kristallnacht and her mother escaping on the Kindertransport to England.

Mona tells the story set to music, and it's a very, very moving experience.

She has been the subject of PBS documentaries and has appeared in concert at the Kennedy Center, the Royal Festival Hall, and with major orchestras around the world. With support from Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation and the Archdiocese of Boston, the Willesden books are being used in our Catholic schools. In fact, she went from the cathedral to some of our Catholic schools, where she made this presentation.

We are happy she could be here, and we hope to have her back in the archdiocese again soon.

Meeting with recently ordained priests

On Tuesday, I gathered with our recently ordained priests at the Pastoral Center. We hold this meeting about every six weeks or so, and we come together for a meal, a time of discussion, and a holy hour. Previously, we had been having these gatherings virtually, but we are pleased we are now able to be all together in person at the Pastoral Center. There were about 45 priests with us at this gathering.

We had a very animated discussion about priestly spirituality and other issues they raised during our time together. I always find it very life-giving to have this opportunity to be together with our young priests.