It might seem like the odds are against us, he continued, "but here we are tonight, maybe tired, maybe a little cynical or a little weary, and yet Jesus is calling us again to go and cast the net onto the other side of Seaport Boulevard."
The shrine, the first new Catholic church to be constructed in the city of Boston for decades, will allow the archdiocese to "cast the net onto a whole new population."
"This beautiful building will help us cast our nets wide and far. Jesus is calling us again, like the disciples, like he called the women and men for generations, like he called Father Matignon, our first priest here in Boston, to preach the good news," Father Flavin said.
The shrine will "stand as a beacon of hope."
Speaking to The Pilot, Ethan Anthony, architect of the interior of the shrine and president of Cram and Ferguson Architects, said it felt "absolutely great" to see the shrine being used publically for the first time.
After working on the shrine for two and a half years, "the real reward is the people really loving it and enjoying it."
"I'm just as overwhelmed by it as anyone," he said. "We did visualize it early on, but sometimes it's just even better than you hoped it would be."
John Monaco, a student at Boston College who said he assists priests in the North End, commented on how he was happy to see the archdiocese come together during the vespers to "really celebrate the word and really worship together."
Looking around at the various ship imagery presented in the shrine, Monaco said that imagery is fitting, as it is "very tied in with Jesus in the Gospels who commands us to go out and cast our net in deep water."
It is "really conducive to the mission, which is to fish for souls."