ST. JAMES CATHEDRAL TO LAUNCH

SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

            A year-long series of liturgical, musical and artistic events will celebrate the l50th anniversary of the establishing of St. James Cathedral in downtown Brooklyn as the cathedral church of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

            Msgr. John C. Tosi, the rector, said a prayer service honoring Mary Immaculate on Sunday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. will formally place the anniversary observance “under the motherly protection of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.”

            Father Michael J. Himes, a Brooklyn priest ordained at the cathedral in l972 and a prominent professor of theology at Boston College, will preach the homily.

            As a church edifice, St. James has historical roots. Its cornerstone was laid in l822, becoming the first Catholic church on Long Island, the third in what is now New York City and the sixth in the State. When the Diocese of Brooklyn was founded in l853, it became the cathedral.

            When Pope John Paul II made his first pastoral visit to the U.S. as pontiff in l979, he stopped outside St. James while en route to a prayer service in Shea Stadium. Three years later, the cathedral was designated a minor basilica.

            Msgr. Tosi, the rector since 1995, said the theme for the sesquicentennial is: “We Are the Temple of the Living God.”

            During the year, the cathedral will house a museum of liturgical art, with exhibits changing every month, he said.  In addition, a monthly artists-in-residence series will display works that are “intended to inspire as positive statements of faith,” created by area artists, beginning with those of sculptress and painter Dolores Valenza of Bay Ridge in December.      

            In a unique “parish banner project,” colorful banners prepared by the 217 churches in Brooklyn and Queens will hang from the cathedral ceiling, from the entrance to the sanctuary, each expressing “the local community of faith---its people and their church,” said Msgr. Tosi. They will be blessed at the 10:15 a.m. Mass Sunday, Jan. 11.

            “Taken together, the banners will proclaim the Church in this Diocese, rich in our diversity and one in our faith in Jesus Christ,” he said.

            Three Compostela Lectures, named for the burial place in Spain of St. James the Apostle, are planned in 2004, two in March and one in October.

            The Creative Ministries Performing Arts Center of Long Island will present the first program, “The Journey, Cross and Crucifixion,” Sunday, March 7, at 2 p.m. Josephite Sister Marie Pascuzzi of the University of San Diego will offer a “Biblical Reflection on Cross Wisdom and Cruciform Existence” Sunday, March 14, at 4 p.m., and Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Permanent Observer of the Holy See at the United Nations, will speak Sunday, Oct. 3, at 4 p.m.

            Nine concerts by visiting choirs are scheduled during the anniversary year, said Msgr. Tosi, including the Haitian Apostolate Choir Nov. 30 at 10 a.m. prior to the Sunday Liturgy, and the Vicariate Choir performing Christmas music Sunday, Dec. 21, at 4 p.m.

            St. James will also host a number of additional events, beginning with a procession and Mass honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe Sunday, Dec. 14, with Msgr. Diego Monroy Ponce, the rector of Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City, as homilist. A procession from Sacred Heart Church, Adelphi St., at 2 p.m. will precede  Mass at 3 p.m.

            The other events include Solemn Vespers on the World Day for Consecrated Life Sunday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m.; the annual Black History Month Mass Sunday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m., with Franciscan Father James Goode of the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life as the homilist; the Diocesan Migration Day celebration Saturday, May 8, at 3 p.m., and the Mass of the Anointing of the Sick Saturday, May 22, at 2:30 p.m., the same day as a health fair.

            A committee of 16 clergy, Religious and laity of the Diocese developed the schedule of sesquicentennial programs, Msgr. Tosi said.