THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512030185
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
Not everyone rejoiced at the founding of the Roman Catholic diocese of Richmond in 1820.
The archbishop of Baltimore was particularly irked, as he made quite clear in a hostile note to Bishop Patrick Kelly, who had sailed from Ireland to lead the new diocese.
``We in no wise give or yield our assent positively to this most unfortunate action,'' he wrote. ``We are to be held free before God and His Church now and hereafter from all the evils and scandals which the Catholic religion suffers or may suffer from it in these United States.''
That rudeness, and the rugged conditions of the new territory, apparently convinced Kelly that he had made an awful mistake. Two years after arriving, he fled back to County Kilkenny.
The caustic note was read aloud - amid laughter - at the Richmond diocese's 175th anniversary celebratory Mass on Saturday morning at Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond. The event, which drew an invitation-only crowd of more than 1,000, doubled as the 25th anniversary of Bishop Walter F. Sullivan's ordination.
The parade of dignitaries was impressive. Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, the pope's representative to the United States, read a personal letter of congratulations from Pope John Paul II. Twenty-two archbishops and bishops, representing the military and many Southern states, sat on the dais. Priests and nuns came from parishes across the 37,000-square-mile diocese.
Mindful of history's early squabbles, the archbishop from Baltimore was especially complimentary. ``Thank you for the warmth, wisdom, humility and humor that you bring,'' Cardinal William H. Keeler told Sullivan.
The celebration was organized around a theme that the 67-year-old Sullivan chose as his motto when he became bishop: To unite all in Christ.
The processions showed the diverse backgrounds of the 163,000 Catholics who live in the Richmond diocese, which is the seventh oldest of the nation's 170 Catholic dioceses. Banners represented parishes in rural, mountainous western Virginia and the urban centers. People from ethnic communities, including the Hispanic Apostolate Cristo Rey in South Hampton Roads, also marched.
Sullivan, who was grinning throughout the two-hour Mass, started his homily lightheartedly. ``At a regional event, I was introduced by a rather nervous person as celebrating my 175th anniversary,'' he said. ``I knew I looked a little tired that day.''
Sullivan said that as he has traveled to regional celebrations during the anniversary year, people have asked him one question: ``Where do we go from here?''
On Saturday, he answered that question. ``All of us - priests, religious and laity . . . resolve to bring about a renewal of the spirit leading to a new evangelization,'' he said. ``Evangelization means the spread of the Gospel by word and action. Evangelization will only take place to the extent that people gather to celebrate in worship and communion.''
Taking his cue from the pope's most recent encyclical, ``That They May Be One,'' Sullivan also called for greater unity and understanding among people of all faiths. He said Catholics throughout the diocese should make it a priority.
``In the past 25 years, artificial barriers have begun to disappear. A spiritual convergence is taking place,'' he said. ``We have come to rejoice in the gifts of one another without compromising our own religious beliefs and traditions.''
On Friday evening, Sullivan held a prayer service with leaders from the Episcopal, Greek Orthodox, Baptist and Methodist communities. He spoke Saturday about his warm relations with the Jewish community, which has honored his anniversary, and he called upon all Catholics to fight anti-Semitism.
Afterward, several priests said that Sullivan's twin challenges, for greater evangelizing and ecumenical worship, will require inventive approaches.
``The challenge is that priests and people in certain parishes are parochially worried about themselves,'' said the Rev. James Griffin, of St. Therese Catholic Church in Chesapeake. ``It's a challenge to reach out to those who aren't in your parish. . . but some of those people are waiting to be invited in.''
The Rev. Joseph Lehman, of Christ the King Catholic Church in Norfolk, said Catholic leaders in Hampton Roads are already working on a plan for more ecumenical gatherings in 1996. In March, they are planning to hold a ``getting to know you'' event, where ministers from several faiths will give explanatory talks.
But he said that Catholics can't simply rely on priests to give explanations about spiritual matters. ``Sometimes they are hesitant, because they've entrusted the talking about faith to their pastors,'' he said. ``But we want them to see that they are also pastors of the faith.''
In some churches, evangelizing can mean knocking on doors to invite people to visit congregations, said Rose Marie Leiva, a Virginia Beach resident who marched in the procession as a representative of Spanish-speaking Catholics.
Catholics might consider that approach, she said, but for her, evangelizing mainly means taking the time to notice when people need help - and reaching out.
``Personally, I think you have a chance to do it every day. Not that you have to tell someone to pray, but you talk to people and help them,'' Leiva said. ``That's evangelization.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
THE BEGINNING
The area's first Catholics were Jesuit missionaries from Florida
who settled in 1570 along Queen's Creek off the York River, not far
from today's Williamsburg. One year later, Indians killed both
missionaries and settlers in that area.
In the early years of the English colonies, restrictive religious
laws discouraged Catholics from settling in Virginia. In 1786,
Thomas Jefferson's Statute of Religious Freedom gave Catholics and
people of all faiths the ability to worship openly.
On July 11, 1820, Pope Pius VII established the Richmond diocese,
which embraced the entire state of Virginia - including what is now
West Virginia. The Rev. Patrick Kelly, a 40-year-old priest from
County Kilkenny, Ireland, was chosen as the first bishop. The
poverty of his parishioners forced him to support himself by running
a school.
Two years later, Kelly sailed back to Ireland. The diocese was
directed by church leaders in Baltimore until 1841, when Pope
Gregory XVI appointed another bishop.
KEYWORDS: CATHOLIC CHURCH VIRGINIA by CNB