‘Here we are healed by the One who loves us most’
St. Lawrence Basilica reaches anniversary milestone
ASHEVILLE — This year marks the 110th anniversary of the dedication of St. Lawrence Basilica, and on the anniversary of its dedication Oct. 1 the historic basilica was on display for tours, special Masses were offered, and an organ recital was performed for the enjoyment of parishioners and visitors.
Originally known as St. Lawrence Church, it was dedicated on Oct. 1, 1909.
In his homily, the basilica’s rector and pastor, Father Roger Arnsparger, mused about the dedication Mass that was celebrated 110 years earlier.
“We can imagine the excitement of 110 years ago, in 1909, when Abbot Leo Haid, Cardinal (James) Gibbons, other bishops and priests and the laypeople of this parish and from around gathered together for the dedication of this church. They watched it for four years, rising from the foundation, they prayed for it daily, they donated for it generously,” he said. And through their efforts and prayers, a church was built that was “large enough to welcome as many people as possible for the sacred rites, that people might be healed, coming into union with Christ Jesus.”
A church points to “the vision of the glory of heaven,” Father Arnsparger noted, referring to the Temple described in the Old Testament Book of Zechariah and in St. John’s vision of heaven in Revelation. “In this place, we are in heaven.”
“As St. John looked to that beautiful vision, you and I are placed in that vision, to celebrate the sacred mysteries here,” he said. “Here we are, in the heavenly Jerusalem, celebrating these mysteries.”
As beautiful as St. Lawrence Basilica is as an architectural achievement, Father Arnsparger pointed out, its purpose is to provide a dedicated place for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, where the Lamb is offered for the forgiveness of our sins so that we may be healed.
“When you walk through the doors – and the doors of a Catholic church are extremely important because they represent going into the Holy of Holies, the door of heaven – you see that beautiful terracotta panel (depicting) Christ healing the sick,” Father Arnsparger said. “It is here that we are healed ... through our personal encounters with the One who loves us most, God Himself, who stays with us. For all these years, staying with us – our parishioners, our visitors, our community.”
Coming into the basilica, he said, people are “invited to experience the love of the One who is true love.”
“Let us thank God for the privilege of being able to be part of such a great mystery and let us pledge to Him that as He has stayed with us, we will always stay with Him – the One who loves us most.”
— Catholic News Herald
About St. Lawrence Basilica
St. Lawrence Basilica is one of two minor basilicas in the Charlotte diocese; the other is Mary Help of Christians Basilica in Belmont.
There are two kinds of basilicas in the Catholic Church: major (or papal) and minor. The Church’s four major basilicas are all in Rome: St. Peter, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major. Minor basilicas, on the other hand, are churches around the world designated by the pope that stand out because of their antiquity, dignity, historical importance, architectural and artistic worth, or significance to the Church.
Pope John Paul II designated the Asheville church as a minor basilica in 1993 for its unique architecture: with its massive tiled dome, it is the only church designed and built by the renowned Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino.
The basilica sits on a hill in downtown Asheville, overlooking the Appalachian Mountains. The red brick building, built in the Spanish Renaissance style, is capped by a copper dome that is guarded by statues of St. Lawrence, St. Stephen and St. Aloysius Gonzaga.
The 82-foot-by-58-foot dome, which is constructed of terracotta tile and mortar like most of the 110-year-old church, is one of the largest free-standing elliptical domes in North America. It features the same vaulting technique and herringbone tile pattern that Guastavino used at Grand Central Terminal and Ellis Island’s Registry Room, as well as 200-plus other locations in New York City, and at Asheville’s Biltmore House.
Guastavino is actually buried inside the basilica he built, and visitors can visit his crypt to the left of the main altar.
The church also features two chapels: the Chapel of Our Lady and the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. Life-size statues of St. Peter, St. Patrick, St. Rose of Lima and St. Cecilia, a frieze of stained-glass windows, and paintings adorn the altars and walls. Artifacts of great historical and artistic value are carefully positioned to be admired and used as instruments of prayer and reverence throughout the basilica.
Self-guided and complimentary guided tours are available.
More online
At www.saintlawrencebasilica.org: Learn more about the history and architecture of St. Lawrence Basilica, view the Mass and confession schedule, and plan your visit
At www.savethebasilica.org: Support the Basilica Preservation Fund to repair and restore the historic basilica
Basilica Days of Pilgrimage and Celebration
As a minor basilica, St. Lawrence is a special place of pilgrimage in the Diocese of Charlotte, and on certain days of the year, a pilgrimage may bring with it a plenary indulgence (under the usual conditions).
Among its special privileges, St. Lawrence Basilica provides an opportunity for the faithful to receive a plenary indulgence if they devoutly visit the basilica on specific days during the year. “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1471).
A plenary, or full, indulgence is offered to pilgrims who devoutly visit the basilica on these “Basilica Days” and either attend Mass or at least pray the Our Father and recite the Creed, receive Holy Communion (preferably on the same day of the visit), and go to confession and offer prayers for the Holy Father within 20 days before or after their visit. They must also have no attachment even to venial sin.
Upcoming “Basilica Days” are:
- Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020: Feast of the Chair of St. Peter
- Friday, March 13, 2020: Anniversary of the election of Pope Francis
- Monday, April 6, 2020: Granting of the title of basilica, close of 26 years as a minor basilica
- Monday, June 29, 2020: The Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul
Other “Basilica Days” held each year include the basilica’s patronal feast day, the feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, on Aug. 10, and the anniversary of the dedication of the church on Oct. 1.
Pilgrims can also visit on a “Basilica Day” of their choosing, such as Corpus Christi on June 11, 2020, or any day that is significant to them.
Another upcoming special day you won’t want to miss is Oct. 13, the anniversary of the consecration of St. Lawrence Church. The day will feature Masses in English at 9 a.m. and noon and Mass in Spanish at 5 p.m. Potluck snacks and visiting will be available after each Mass.
CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter Jugis announces the following appointments to the Permanent Diaconate Ministry, effective Sept. 1:
- Deacon Ed Konarski succeeds Deacon Scott Gilfillan as director of formation. Deacon Konarski has served as assistant director since 2012.
- Deacon Bill Schreiber will assume the duties of assistant director of formation. For the past three years, Deacon Schreiber has served as Hickory Regional Coordinator.
- Deacon David Rutter Faunce has been appointed to the role of Hickory Regional Coordinator.
CHARLOTTE — On Friday, the Ohio-based Glenmary Home Missioners released a list of clergy who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult. The list includes five men – three priests and two religious brothers – they say formerly served in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Brother Al Behm, Father Adelbert (Del) Holmes, Father Ed Smith, Brother Gino Vertassich and Father Anthony Jablonowski were noted as being assigned to the Charlotte diocese by the Glenmary Home Missioners. Three of the men are dead, one left the Glenmary society in 1993, and one was laicized in 2006.
In an Oct. 12 statement, the Charlotte diocese said it is unaware of any allegations of misconduct against the men while they were serving here, but an independent review of historical records is ongoing.
"The Diocese of Charlotte is looking into the service of five clergy on that list who appear to have formerly served within our diocese. We are continuing to gather information and are currently unaware of any allegations against these clergy while serving in the Charlotte diocese," said the statement. "We are grateful the Glenmary religious order has released the findings of their historical review, as it is important to notify all communities in which these clergy have served."
The Glenmary list totals 11 men (seven priests and four brothers) and "is the result of a year-long forensic review commissioned by Glenmary to promote transparency and help bring about healing for victims," Glenmary Home Missioners said in a statement accompanying the release of the list.
"Glenmary has become painfully aware that in the past we have failed to protect minors and vulnerable adults. In addition, we have realized how often our response to victims has been inadequate. We deeply regret these failures," said a separate statement from Father Dan Dorsey, president of the Glenmary Home Missioners. "It is our hope that publishing these names will be a step in the healing process for the victims."
The Glenmary Home Missioners was founded in 1939 by Father William Howard Bishop, a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, to serve what he termed “No Priest Land, USA.” At that time, he noted that more than one-third of the counties of the United States, mostly in Appalachia and the South, had no resident priest.
No Glenmary priests currently serve in the Charlotte diocese, but decades ago there were Glenmary missioners serving in some of the diocese's smallest and most remote parishes, particularly in the far western part of the state.
Since 2002 the Church in the U.S. has had comprehensive guidelines for responding to allegations of abuse, when the U.S. bishops adopted the landmark “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” which spells out protocols for reporting allegations of child sexual abuse and puts in place prevention and accountability measures.
The Glenmary Home Missioners urges anyone with information about abuse concerning Glenmarians to contact the appropriate authorities as well as Father Dorsey at 513-881-7402.
Details about the Charlotte diocese’s Safe Environment policies and how to report an allegation of abuse are online at www.charlottediocese.org/human-resources/safe-environment.
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor
CHARLOTTE — Pope Francis has set October 2019 as an Extraordinary Missionary Month to foster greater awareness of “missio ad gentes” (“mission to all peoples”) and to animate the missionary transformation of Church life and pastoral activity.
World Mission Sunday will be celebrated this year on Oct. 20. A special collection will be taken up in all parishes Oct. 19-20 to further the work of the Holy Father and the Propagation of the Faith around the world.
In his message for World Mission Sunday 2019 entitled, “Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World,” Pope Francis expressed his hope that celebrating this Extraordinary Missionary Month will “help us first to rediscover the missionary dimension of our faith in Jesus Christ, a faith graciously bestowed on us in baptism.
“Our filial relationship with God is not something simply private, but always in relation to the Church. Through our communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we, together with so many of our other brothers and sisters, are born to new life. This divine life is not a product for sale – we do not practice proselytism – but a treasure to be given, communicated and proclaimed: that is the meaning of mission,” he said.
Promoted by the Pontifical Mission Societies, World Mission Sunday is the annual worldwide Eucharistic celebration for the Missions and missionaries of the world. The special second collection taken up during Masses Oct. 19-20 is a global effort for the entire Church to provide for the building up of more than 1,000 local churches in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands and parts of Latin America and Europe.
Through the work of these churches and their witness to Christ, the poor receive practical help and experience God’s love and mercy, His hope and peace.
“The Pontifical Mission Societies serve the Church’s universality as a global network of support for the Pope in his missionary commitment by prayer, the soul of mission, and charitable offerings from Christians throughout the world,” Pope Francis said.
He further explained that their donations assist the pope in the evangelization efforts of particular Churches (the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith), in the formation of local clergy (the Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle), in raising missionary awareness in children (Pontifical Society of Missionary Childhood) and in encouraging the missionary dimension of Christian faith (Pontifical Missionary Union).
The Holy Father added, “In renewing my support for these Societies, I trust that the extraordinary Missionary Month of October 2019 will contribute to the renewal of their missionary service to my ministry.”
For more information about the Pontifical Mission Societies, go to www.propfaith.net/onefamilyinmission/default.aspx.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter. Pontifical Mission Societies contributed.