Henry J. Mansell – Communio

St Gianna Center, New Haven blessed today by Hartford Archbishop

The brand NEW Saint Gianna Center of New Haven, CT was officially and blessed today, a beautiful spring day.

More than a 100 people gathered on the corner of Whitney Avenue and Trumbull Street for the dedication followed by a reception at St Mary’s Church. The Archbishop of Harford, The Most Reverend Henry J. Mansell, blessed the Center.

This pregnancy care center provides care, support and education to pregnant mothers and men who are learning to be a father.

The Center is named for the 20th century wife, mother, physician and saint, Gianna Beretta Molla, who died of cancer a week after giving birth to her last child, Gianna Emmanuela. She was beatified on April 24, 1994 and canonized on May 16, 2004. Today is the birthday of Gianna Emmanuela.

As a light in darkness, the Saint Gianna Center is a pregnancy resource center that seeks to provide housing, financial and legal aid, emergency food and transportation, pre-natal care, adoption information, education and more.

Volunteers are always welcome to join in the work of helping pregnant women. Notable is the involvement of the local chapter of the Fraternity of Saint Dominic (known to many as the Third Order Dominican Laity), a group of women and men who follow the life and teaching of Order of Preachers (the Dominicans).

Contact: info@giannacenter.org; 203-624-BABY.

Saint Gianna, pray for the new center, and all the women who seek help there; pray for all of us.

Archbishop of Hartford Henry Mansell blogs, tweets

Today, as you know the Church begins a Year of Faith. We also observe today the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. Not least in the list of initiatives is the inauguration of a blog written by Archbishop Henry J. Mansell, the archbishop of Hartford.

You may read the blog here.

He also tweets here.

The Hartford archbishop joins a growing list of North American bishops who are intelligently using social communications to fling abroad the Good News, to spread the joy of being persons of faith on a journey to encounter the Lord.

Social media does, in fact, build communion among persons of faith and non-faith. It bridges the gap among those who believe in Jesus and and those who don’t, or are searching. Blogging, tweeting and using Facebook are but means to an end. They only make sense if there the media they employ have something to say, attractive with beautiful images (traditional art and with contemporary images) and updated with regularity. Kudos to Archbishop Mansell. As point of comparison, in Connecticut Mansell is the only blogging bishop; Bridgeport doesn’t have a bishop at the moment and Norwich’s Bishop Cote and Stamford’s Ukrainain Eparch Bishop Paul don’t use social media at the moment. Hint.

Let’s also acknowledge that yesterday was the Archbishop’s 75th birthday. May God grant him many years.

Michael J. Brescia to speak at October White Mass, New Haven

The 2012 White Mass of the Archdiocese of Hartford will host Dr Michael J. Brescia, Executive Medical Director of New York’s Calvary Hospital on Sunday, 28 October 2012, St Mary’s Church and Hall, (5 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT).

Hartford Archbishop Henry J. Mansell will be the celebrant of the Mass at 10am.

Dr. Brescia is known for the development of the Brescia-Cimino Arterio-Venous Fistula, a critical treatment for kidney disease.

The White Mass prays in thanksgiving for the service of physicians, nurses, helathcare providers and administrators.

Questions and reservations: Heather Vaccola: 2012whitemass@gmail.com

More info: visit the website here.

The White Mass is co-sponsored by the Archdiocese of Hartford, The St Luke Society, The Connecticut Guild of the Catholic Medical Association and the Pope John Paul II Bioethics Center. This is the second annual Mass and it moves around the state.

Communion & Liberation of Connecticut meets for Mass

An annual Mass is celebrated for the repose of the soul of Father Luigi Giussani (+February 22, 2005) and the good of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation. We are a small but faithful group of friends who help each other to follow Christ and love the Church; we live our Baptism.

The anniversary of the Church’s approval of the charism of Communion and Liberation is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, 11 February.

Our friend, Bishop Peter Rosazza, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford celebrated the Sacrifice of the Mass with another friend concelebrating, Father Sal Rosa.

The 2012 Mass was held at Our Lady of Pompeii Church (Route 80, East Haven, CT) was the host thanks to Father John Lavorgna.

The CL movement asks us to live our lives in communion with the Vicar of Christ, the Pope. This communion, this fidelity to the sacred Scripture and sacred Tradition is expressed with concrete expressions of communion with the bishop of the diocese in which we live and therefore marking a gesture of communion with the Pope. Hence, by praying the Mass celebrated by Bishop Peter we demonstrate that we are in communion with him and Archbishop Henry Mansell (successors of the apostles) who are in communion with Pope Benedict XVI.

CT Catholics to fight Department of Health and Human Services on conscience rights

Since it was announced on January 20th that Catholic institutions will be expected by law, to comply with Federal mandates to provide services named “healthcare” but really are procedures connected with contraception and abortion, several US bishops have come out against the Obama administration’s war on conscience rights of people of faith, and the Connecticut Catholic dioceses (Hartford, Stamford, Norwich and Bridgeport) will be fighting Obama. Why is this important: conscience can’t violated, Catholic institutions serve not just the Catholic population, but everybody. Catholics will not comply with Obama, it contradicts Jesus. As Pittsburgh’s Bishop Zubik said, to hell with you Mr Obama.

What follows are a few paragraphs of Archbishop Mansell’s February column in the Catholic Transcript (the full text can be read here):

We cannot comply with this edict. Our parents and
grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America’s cities and
towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to
have their posterity stripped of their God-given rights. In generations past,
the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and
protect her sacred rights and duties. We hope and trust that she can count
on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren
deserve nothing less.

The Dioceses of Bridgeport and Norwich, as well as the
Ukrainian Diocese of Stamford, will be joining us in the Archdiocese of
Hartford as we mount a campaign against this horrific development. Prayer
and fasting are, of course, supremely important, that wisdom and justice may
prevail and religious liberty may be restored. You may also wish to visit www.usccb.org/conscience
to learn more about this severe assault on religious liberty, and how to
contact our Senators and Representatives to support legislation that would
reverse the Administration’s decision.

We must act strongly against this
edict. It affects the lifeblood of Catholics and millions more who are not
Catholic but whom we serve diligently. The future of all of us and our
country as well is at stake.

Archbishop Henry J. Mansell

Archbishop of Hartford

The Catholic Transcript, February 2012

New subcommittee for Health Care Issues formed by Catholic Bishops

On 14 November the US Catholic bishops established a permanent Subcommittee on Health Care Issues to deal with the highly contentious subject. The subcommittee will be under the supervision of the Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine which is now chaired by Donald William Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, DC. Wuerl will appoint members of this new subcommittee. The bishops have followed through on their own recommendation from the June 2011 meeting to make this project a reality.

Hartford Archbishop Henry J. Mansell strongly supported the new subcommittee of the relation of health care to “the Gospel mission of the Church” and because the bishops need to have a handle on the “billions and billions of dollars in funding.” Mansell also said, “We run the risk of losing a major ministry of the Church if we don’t keep a close eye on health care issues.”

Cardinal Donald Wuerl will be succeeded by the Archbishop of St Paul and Minneapolis John C. Nienstedt.

The list of the bishops and consultants to the Doctrine committee is noted here.

Ad Limina of New England bishops 2011

There’s not been lots of details revealed about the recent Ad Limina of New England’s 18 bishops. That may be because most of the meetings are private affairs between a bishop –or a group of bishops– and the Pope and his 12 key Vatican collaborators. The pilgrimage in Rome happened 3-9 November. The two New England Metropolitans, Cardinal O’Malley and Archbishop Mansell, led the bishops with the coordinating help of Bishop Evans.

There are things that are becoming more known because of the generosity of the bishops speaking about their experiences and their concerns.

Several stories of the recent Roman pilgrimage are noted here:

Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap: “Together with the Holy Father“

Burlington’s Bishop Salvatore Matano: “US ad limina visits in focus“

A widely circulated CNS article: “Ad Limina visit highlights religious freedom, evangelization“

Meeting the Pope, Connecticut and Rhode Island bishops

Pope Benedict XVI met Nov. 5 with U.S. bishops from northeastern states on their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses. From left are Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, R.I.; retired Auxiliary Bishop Peter A. Rosazza of Hartford.; Archbishop Henry J. Mansell of Hartford; Pope Benedict XVI; Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport; Bishop Michael R. Cote of Norwhich; Auxiliary Bishop Robert C. Evans of Providence, R.I. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano)

Hartford Archdiocese Bishops meet with Pope

The bishops of the United States have begun their official visit to heart of the Church by praying at the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, meeting with Pope Benedict, and meeting with the various heads of the Church’s departments at the Holy See to report on the various apostolic works undertaken for the proclamation of the Gospel.

The visit is called “Ad limina apostolorum,” meaning, “to the threshold of the apostles.” The Ad limina is a gesture of communio, an act of love, between individual bishop and the Pope. Hence, this is a pilgrimage of a bishop to center of faith. The Ad limina visits typically take place every 5 years though with Pope Benedict these pilgrimages are taking place every 7 years. Pope Benedict will meet all the diocesan bishops with the auxiliaries in the coming months and into 2012; he’ll have met 190 heads of dioceses, plus…. by the time all is said and done.

John Thavis of CNS has a review of what’s expected.

Continue reading Hartford Archdiocese Bishops meet with Pope

Saint André of Montréal, brother, friend and saint: a Mass in Thanksgiving

Frère André, nous t’acclamons: Dieu t’achoisi depuis toujours. Grand ami de Saint Joseph, prie pour nous dans la gloire. (hymn by M. Dubé, OP).

Today the members of the Congregation of Holy Cross gathered for a Mass of Thanksgiving for the Canonization of Saint André Bessette of Montréal at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, celebrated by His Excellency, the Most Reverend Henry J. Mansell, archbishop of Hartford. About 250 people attended the Mass, including members of André Alfred Bessette’s family, a few alumni of the Notre Dame High School (West Haven, CT) and Holy Cross High School (Waterbury, CT). Several of the Brothers and Fathers of Holy Cross came from a good distance with together for this wonderful occasion. It’s not everyday that one could say that a saint has come from your region of the world! Saint André, as very young man, labored outside of his native Canada in New Hampshire and Connecticut.

Since I am a graduate of two Holy Cross institutions, Notre Dame High School of West Haven and the University of Notre Dame, today’s celebration had great meaning for me. It was at the foot of Holy Cross Brothers that I had an education, two of whom I saw at the Mass. Plus, and I have always felt close to this blessed brother, Saint André. But I didn’t learn about the Sainted Brother at Notre Dame High School; sadly, I learned about him from others than his brothers in the Congregation. A topic for another time. His attractiveness lies in his humility, his desire to make a contribution no matter what the cost no matter how menial, his constant prayer, and his openness to suffer for One who is greater than he. When I hear Brother André’s name I think of Saint John the Baptist, “I must decrease, He must increase.” In the first reading for today’s Mass the point was clear: we should glorify God in all things. And there we go… Brother André never pointed to himself and that is a rare quality today, especially for churchmen. So figure, I can learn a virtue from a humble lay brother.

The Archbishop recounted for the congregation that Alfred Bessette was born in 1845 weak in health; his father died when he was 6 and his mother died when he was 12. In a family of 12 there were tremendous needs. Therefore, Alfred didn’t attend school but labored on a farm, as a tinsmith, blacksmith, baker, a cobbler and a coachman. The finger of God could be seen in the simple and necessary work that Alfred did: these jobs allowed Alfred to meet the merciful and sustaining God. His real human need taught him to rely exclusively of God. He believed, “People worry for nothing. In times of need, their salvation will come from God.”

His friend and parish priest, Father André Provençal introduced Alfred to the Congregation of Holy Cross saying to the superior of the community, “I am sending you a saint….” It was on November 22, 1870, that Alfred made an application to the Holy Cross Congregation as a brother candidate, and given the name André, in honor of his friend. Brother André is reported to have stated: “When I entered the community, my superiors showed me the door, and I remained there these 40 years without leaving.” Imagine 40 years at the College Notre Dame as your only ministry! Brother André used to spend 6-8 hours a day receiving visitors, counseling them, healing them, being a friend to many…or simply put, being a friend who opened the door.

Making a connection with a hospital association Archbishop Mansell noted a connection Saint André: to heal the sick, to avoid things that harm a person and to be hospitable to all. This is the key to following Christ today.

Archbishop Mansell said that for an illiterate person, while he memorized great portions of sacred Scripture including the Sermon on the Mount, the various versions of the Passion, Brother André lived the essence of Scripture. It was a gift from God that Brother André was able to call women and men to live their faith with intimacy and intensity because he himself had experienced a profound communion with Christ. Brother André showed his friends that the Cross of Jesus is our hope and the root of our communion with Christ; it is the atonement of the Cross that shows us the way to our destiny.

Holy Cross Brother Thomas Dziekan, Vicar General of the Congregation of Holy Cross, gave a post communion reflection in which he highlighted the very important fact that the reason we were all here for the Mass of Thanksgiving is that we’ve had some kind of relationship with Brother André. For Brother Thomas, and therefore I think it’s also true for us, that in simple ways, though not insignificant, God speaks to us.

The gift that Saint André relates to us the humility one needs to be aware of a profound love for God -a complete trust in Divine Providence–from which we are able to welcome, serve, pray, counsel, teach and be a brother to others. In a real sense, when Brother Thomas said this I thought that what he’s speaking of is the vocation to his Congregation. This is what it means to embrace the cross as our only hope.

But what does it mean that André is a saint? Let point to a few things: he was fully human, dependent upon and aware of God’s will; he looked on others with the eyes of Jesus; and, he prayed often with the heart, always persevering by making a holy hour, praying the rosary and observing vigils.

People will frequently note that Saint André was responsible for the Oratory of Saint Joseph in Montréal but the saint demurred: “This is not my work; it is the work of Saint Joseph. Place a statue of him in the middle of the building. If he wants a roof over his head, he’ll see that one is provided.”

One last fascinating thing of Saint André: he said once that when you say the Our Father God has his ear near your lips.

Brother André’s last words are said to have been, “Ite ad Ioseph” (go to Joseph). Even near to death André pointed his friends to Saint Joseph. He said, “It is God and Saint Joseph who can heal you, not I! I will pray to Saint Joseph for your.” On October 17, 2010, Pope Benedict raised Blessed Brother André to the altar.

Saint André of Montréal, brother, friend and saint, pray for us!