March
1. Ash Wednesday. We began the holy season of Lent with the traditional observance of Ash Wednesday. Father Ryan noted in his homily for today: “Lent is about our own change of heart, it’s true, but it is human hearts changed one at a time that will ultimately change the world!”
6. Rite of Election. Archbishop Brunett presided at this liturgy in which those to be baptized at the Easter Vigil are “elected” or chosen for the Easter Sacraments.
12. Blessing of Pilgrims. On the eve of their departure for a pilgrimage to Venice, Padua, Florence, Rome, and Assisi, some two-hundred choristers and parishioners received a special blessing at the conclusion of Mass.
14-26. Pilgrimage to Rome. Highlights of the pilgrimage were an evening concert for the city of Rome at the church of Sant’Ignazio, singing at the Holy Father’s Mass for Workers on Sunday, March 19, and singing for the Holy Father and a crowd of 30,000 pilgrims at the General Audience. Pilgrims-at-home prayed along with the pilgrims every step of the way. Relive the pilgrimage at the pilgrimage page.

April
1. Day of Reconciliation. As part of our Year of Prayer and Renewal, this day was set aside for the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance. All day, priest confessors were available in the Cathedral. About 200 parishioners took advantage of this unique opportunity to celebrate the sacrament of God’s mercy.
9. Palm Sunday. This year, for the first time, the blessing of palms took place in the new Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy Courtyard.
14. Good Friday. At the traditional Tre Ore meditation on the Seven Last Words of Christ, we were privileged to welcome Father Jan Lambrecht, SJ, of Leuven, Belgium. The prayer of Saint Richard of Chichester served as the theme for the seven homilies: “O dear Lord, Three things I pray, to see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly, day by day.”
15. Easter Vigil. Ten adults and nine children were baptized by Archbishop Brunett at the great Easter Vigil, the most solemn celebration of the Church year.
16. Easter Sunday. In his homily for today, Father Ryan said: “on this Easter Sunday of 2006, let us let go of lukewarm, token declarations of faith that trip lightly off the lips but fail to engage the mind or to move the heart; let us let go of timid, anemic, safe statements of belief that skate around the reality, settling for symbol and leaving little or no room for divine initiative, divine power, or divine love. Let us, instead, hear the Easter message the way those brave women heard it from the angel: ‘Do not be frightened; you seek Jesus of Nazareth. He is not here. He has been raised!’”
29. Annual Catholic Appeal. Each year the Cathedral parish responds generously to the Archbishop’s Appeal. Nearly 1,000 parishioners (about 40% of our registered households) participated.

May
7. First Eucharist. Twenty-three children made their first communion this year at the Noon Mass.
21. Blessing of the Archbishop Murphy Courtyard. Father Ryan blessed the beautiful new courtyard, naming it in honor of our late beloved Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy. We were privileged to welcome Archbishop Murphy’s brother and sister, and other members of the Murphy family to the celebration.

June
3. Mystery of Faith and Parish Retreat. During the weeks of Eastertide the parish explored the Mass through spoken meditations and bulletin inserts. On the vigil of Pentecost, we welcomed Archbishop Hunthausen, who led us in a morning retreat.
10. Ordinations. On this memorable day Archbishop Brunett ordained seven men to the priesthood, the largest number of ordinands in thirty-eight years.
18. Corpus Christi. We “took our faith to the streets” as about 1,000 of us participated in the traditional procession with the blessed sacrament at the conclusion of the 10:00am Mass.