On Sunday, I went to the Fatima Shrine in Holliston to celebrate a Mass to mark the 75th anniversary of the Xaverian Missionaries in the United States. Of course, the Fatima Shrine is a very important presence of the community here in our archdiocese.

We were very happy to be joined by Provincial Superior Father Mark Marangone, local superior Father Rocco Puopolo, and many, many guests. They do a lot of interfaith work, so they invited representatives of different faith communities to be part of the celebration, as well.

Of course, they have a nice place in the grove for outdoor Masses, and we had perfect weather for it.

The rain held off until after the Mass, and for the celebration, it was cool, pleasant, and not too sunny -- just the way you want it to be when you have an outdoor Mass.



Bishop Peter Chifukwa

On Monday, I was visited by Bishop Peter Chifukwa from the Diocese of Dedza, Malawi. Bishop Peter has been visiting the United States for the last couple of weeks, and he came to see me at the cathedral, along with Father Bill Joy, who was hosting him.

It was interesting to hear about his diocese. Malawi is a country where there are many challenges, and he told me that, among those, is a very high illiteracy rate. He said he is trying to establish a high school for girls, which will be the only one in his diocese.

He also commented that Queen Elizabeth was the head of state of Malawi. He said that the people had very great affection for her and revered her and that many are mourning her passing. Of course, we've heard so much about the passing of the queen in the news, and it was interesting to get that perspective from someone from one of the Commonwealth countries.



Gathering at Regina Cleri

Here in the archdiocese, we have dedicated the month of September to giving thanks for our priests. As part of that, we hosted a gathering at Regina Cleri for our priests and supporters on Thursday.

Several of our auxiliary bishops were with us.

Cardinal Chibly Langlois from Haiti is still at Regina Cleri, recovering from his car accident earlier this year. So, it was very good to have him with us, as well.

It was a lovely evening and they did a wonderful job converting the outdoor area of Regina Cleri into a very nice venue.

They even had a cake in the form of the Regina Cleri building!

Bishop Mark O'Connell delivered the opening prayer, and then we heard remarks by our Dinner Chairs, Ellen and Brian Walsh and Mary and Stephen Wessling.

Our emcee for the evening was Father Bryan Parrish, who pointed out that he is not Bishop Reed, but I still think he did a fantastic job!

One of the ideas behind holding this dinner at Regina Cleri was to help people become familiar with the facility and the wonderful work that goes on there. During the evening, we heard a reflection by one of the residents, Father John Mulloy, who spoke about the very positive impact the Clergy Trust has had on the lives of our priests.