November 6, 1992
The Message Monthly -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
3
A cathedral
Task force asked to make recommendations to Bishop Gettelfinger
By PAUL R. LEINGANG
Message editor
The Diocese of Evansville
raay have a cathedral and
Seven stational churches in
1993. A task force has been
asked to make recommenda-
ti ns to Bishop Gerald A. Get-
te !roger.
n a letter dated Oct. 14,
13: ;hop Gettelfinger wrote to
P; tors, parish life coordina-
'1 " a.d others in church
t i w'l,alP, to tell them about
', orl that was beginning.
, At the urgin of the s nod
t fur ..... y
, y and Environment
' hmeittee, I have apointed a
Cnur, dra! nd Stational
the q. otUdy Task Force,"
give'oP wrote. "I have
.L - ttne task force} the
ge to make recommenda-
itvsto me for 1)the feasibil-
'-lU na •
static- • mmg of deanery
_ ,,hal churches and if
eerned feasible, reco '
= sta," • • mmend
clea,.= °ha! church for" each
recOpY respectively, and 2)
.t ="mend an existin
aurch in the greater Evan
ville area to be designated as
cathedral church of the Dio-
cese of Evansville indepen-
dent of the deanery stational
churches."
Naming a cathedral
According to the letter, the
decision to be made about a
cathedral is which church
will be selected. The first de-
cision about having stational
churches in each deanery is
whether or not such churches
are feasible.
On Feb. 6, 1990, Bishop
Gettelfinger publicly an-
nounced that it was his inten-
tion "to name one of our pre-
sent churches as a cathedral."
He said a cathedral would
"serve as the central church
for the diocese to symbolize
in a physical place the unity
of the diocese."
When the Diocese of Evans-
ville was established in 1944,
Assumption Church in down-
town Evansville was named
the cathedral. Bishop Henry
Grimmelsman sold the cathe-
dral property to Evansville
Future, Inc., in 1965. Since
that time, the diocese has had
a "pro-cathedral" the Pro-
Cathedral of the Most Holy
Trinity in Evansville.
Succeeding Bishops Paul
Leibold and Francis R. Shea
continued use of the pro-
cathedral. Diocesan liturgies
such as Holy Week cere-
monies, ordinations, and
major feast day celebrations
: ASHINGTON (CNS) --
!e John Paul II has ap-
T0i in ed Father Thomas J.
,, vicar eneral and en
ra so- - g "
- cretarv of the Pitts-
',p oI Pittsburgh.
r e aP_p°intment was an-
t-- t;ett Nov. 3 in Washine-
A00o00.no
ciQ o ,Luta_ n, papal pro-nun-
toe United States.
i. Born April 1, 1948, in Pitts-
UUrgh' Bishop-designate
Auxiliary bishop appointed in Pittsburgh
Tobin attended Catholic
schools and colleges in Penn-
sylvania. He studied theology
at North American College
and the Pontifical Liturgical
Institute of St. Anselm, both
in Rome.
Ordained in 1973, he has
served in a number of pas-
toral and administrative as-
signments in the diocese.
As general secretary, the
bishop-designate is responsi-
ble for administration of the
diocesan central offices.
were often held at selected
parish churches throughout
the diocese.
Under the leadership of
Bishop Gettelfinger, diocesan
liturgies have been celebrated
at the pro-cathedral. The ap-
pointment of a task force is
the beginning of a process
that will lead to the selection
of a cathedral. Consultation
with the Priests' Council is
also part of the selection
process.
In making recommenda-
tions for a cathedral, task
force members were in-
structed to come up with a
list of three churches, ranked
first, second and third. Crite-
ria to be considered include
adequate seating, good litur-
gical space, handicapped ac-
cessibility, accessible to trav-
elers, reception space,
renovation required, whether
or not the church has a good
organ or piano, the building
accoustics, adequate parking
and an inviting architectural
design. Task force members
were also instructed to deter-
mine the status of current
parish activity, and what per-
sonnel would be needed in
addition to the current parish
staff to oversee diocesan
cathedral events.
The bishop said the church
chosen would continue to
function as a parish church.
Parishes, too, will be in-
volved early in the cathedral
selection process, according
to the plan. Letters from the
bishop will be sent to
parishes proposed by the the
task force. Such a letter
would indicate that the
church is being considered as
possibly meeting cathedral
requirements, and the pastor
and president of the parish
council will be invited to
meet with the task force. At
that meeting, the pastor and
parish council president will
be briefed on the selection
process and learn about the
purpose of a cathedral and
the obligations a parish
would have if the church was
named as the cathedral.
After the task force picks
three churches to recommend
to the bishop, the bishop will
meet with the parish council
of his choice "to ascertain
parish willingness to serve as
the cathedral."
The bishop will also make
a presentation of the process
and his proposed decision to
the Priests' Council. After
hearing from the Priests'
Council, the bishop will
make the final decision.
The bishop wants to have
the task force recommenda-
tions by April 1.
Stational churches
While emphasizing the no-
tion of a cathedral as a central
church and symbol of unity,
the bishop acknowleges the
importance of continuing to
celebrate and to be with
members of the Catholic com-
munity throughout the dio-
cese. Having stational
churches designated in each
deanery may be a way to
manage such activities
throughout the diocese, ac-
cording to the bishop's plan.
The first job of the task
force is to "report to the
bishop the findings on feasi-
bility concerning stational
churches before moving for-
ward."
The task force has been in-
structed to consult with each
parish council of a recom-
mended church. The parish
council will hear about the
purpose of stational
churches, their function dur-
ing the church year, and the
obligations of a parish church
designated as a stational
church. Before a church is se-
lected, the bishop will re-
ceive "affirmation of willing-
ness of each parish council to
accept responsibility."
The origin of the term, sta-
tional churches, is in Rome,
where early popes would cel-
ebrate the liturgy at certain
churches on special days.
More recently, the use of sta-
tional churches in Rome has
come to be observed princi-
pally as a Lenten devotion,
according to Our Sunday Vis-
itor's Catholic Encyclopedia.
A list is published at the be-
ginning of Lent proclaiming
what churches will be sta-
tional and on what day.
Among more famous sta-
tional churches in Rome is St.
Mary Major, used at Midnight
Mass on Christmas. St. John
Lateran is used at Easter, and
its large baptistry is used at
the Easter Vigil for initiation.
Bishop Gettelfinger has
said that RCIA ceremonies
might be among the celebra-
tions conducted in stational
churches in the Diocese of
Evansville.
What may be the first use
of stational churches if
they are found feasible and
they are selected -- may be a
ceremony involving delegates
to the Synod. As envisioned
by the Synod Liturgy and En-
vironment Commitee,
parishes would send their
Synod delegates to a deanery
ceremony, where they would
be given a kind of prayerful
commissioning to be sent to
the Synod gathering.
The bishop wants to have
the task force recommenda-
tions on stational churches by
May 1.
Sunday for the Synod is Nov. 15
By PAUL R. LEINGANG ture readings for that week- as we, the local Church, lis-
Message editor end will be used from the ten to the promptings of the
Lectionary, under the title, Holy Spirit. We are one peo-
The weekend of Sunday, "For Unity of Christians." pie, one flock under one
Nov. 15, has been designated The homily suggestion sheoherd listenin to this
n
by Bishop Gerald A. Get- from Father, William Deeri .g' vo__ei bv bel__,:,'n _,_e__on n to his'
telfinger as a special Sunday diocesan director of worship, - .......... -
• . " ....... Olrlt speaKlnl, iviav an oz us
for the Synod as to focus on unity, lnat :r, ....... • - "
_ . " . . . , . .. , . . . __ . . ,nointneuodyandl:llO0aOI
Liturgies on the weekend let me E, ucflarlst draw us Into ...... - .... . .
............... i h" t..nrlst de drought regainer in
are to oe ceieorated Ior me stronger umty; mat we m g t ............
success of the Synod. Scrip- be one as the body of Christ, unity Dy me rtoly plrlt.
.... :; ....... Bishop Gettelfinger said he
,n ,,, . .°4.,, --. I plans to designate a weekend
runera00 nenamng u I in the spring and another in
m*ll n I'.1| , " ,e* I sunmer on which all Masses
lVllller & iVllller , 111 [ are to be offered throughout
/IO/I.OO"/tl , I the diocese for the success of
'-tg,,'-t :7,v--,/'-l. ,,, , • I the Synod
I I III I III | I
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