Mass at the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour: A fitting conclusion to our pilgrimage

Hello everybody. I hope this Monday is going very well for you. Rome continues to be white with the snow that fell mostly on Saturday. Though it is melting, it’s not melting fast.

Today in the afternoon we had the last official celebration of our Ad limina pilgrimage with the bishops of Ohio and Michigan, along with the priests and seminarians from our diocese who are studying here in Rome, at Mass at the Lateran Basilica. The formal title for that is the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour because it is the Holy Father’s cathedral. As I was offering Mass I thought this was a great way to consummate, bring to a fitting conclusion, our pilgrimage. And I’ve made it very much my prayer to ask the Lord to bless the Holy Father in his ministry for the priests and the people of the Diocese of Rome and I’m sure he very much has all of us in the Archdiocese of Detroit in his prayer.

This morning we were able to

Some Detroit history in Rome

Good afternoon everybody. Happy Sunday. I’ve just came back from the house where priests from the United States who are doing graduate university studies here in Rome live — the Casa Santa Maria, Our Lady of Humility.

One of the interesting things for all of us from Detroit is that this is the chapel in which Cardinal Mooney was ordained a bishop. So it was a great reminder to pray for all of the priests and the people of the Archdiocese. In fact, all of us who were archbishops of Detroit — Cardinal Mooney, Cardinal Dearden, Cardinal Szoka, Cardinal Maida and I — were all priest-students in that house.

I remembered all of you, especially asking that through my pastoral ministry and all that’s been done by my predecessors will bear fruit and holiness in the lives of everybody in the archdiocese.

God bless. I hope the week has been well for you, and thank you for your prayers.

Relying on Our Blessed Mother, In Any Weather…

Hello everybody, happy Saturday. Saturday is always a day dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the Church. Today, our group was supposed to go to the church of St. Mary Major. The difficulty is, with the inches of snow here in Rome, traffic is still a great problem. So we weren’t able to go there.

We bishops of Ohio and Michigan instead gathered at the North American College, our U.S. seminary here in Rome, where many of us are staying and offered a Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin.

It was a great reminder to me that while the role of Peter in the Church is so important, even more important is the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is, in a sense, the role of holiness—each of us being good disciples.

I prayed for all of us back at home, and I ask that you continue to pray for me, especially pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary our mother, that she protect all of us and accompany us arm-in-arm as we make our way to the Lord.

I’ll blog again soon, and may God keep you all well. We look forward to having a blessed celebration of the Lord’s day.

A Light-filled Meeting with the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI

Good afternoon everybody. It’s early in the afternoon here on Friday in Rome. It’s actually a snowy day — something that only happens once every few years in the City of Rome.

We’ve just come back from the audience with the Holy Father, all of us bishops from Michigan. It was a wonderful experience. We talked about really all the themes that are important in the pastoral life of the Catholic Church in our diocese. The Holy Father was very sympathetic when we told him about the economic troubles of our region. He assured us of his prayers.

We spent a good bit of time talking about the liturgy. The Holy Father encouraged all of us to do whatever we can to be sure that your experience of the liturgy is an experience of the Church as she exists in every age.

Throughout all of his remarks, and also a theme in our conversation with him, was the New Evangelization, which gives us all great hope for the future – especially the evangelization of families.

And through it all, the Holy Father expressed his support for all of us, his prayers for us bishops and our people. We assured him of your prayers. And the meeting was filled with the sort of Light that comes from faith in Jesus Christ.

So, again, thanks to all of you for your communion in prayer, and be assured of what a blessing it is that we belong to the Church, and that Peter continues to be our leader in the person of Benedict XVI.

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!

Looking to Blessed John Paul II for Moral Courage

Good morning everybody, happy feast of St. Blase. In a few hours I’ll be with the other bishops of Michigan and we’ll have our audience with the Holy Father. When that’s done I will have a report to make to you about that, to tell you how that went.

But already this morning what I’d like to mention to you is that we bishops of Ohio and Michigan had the chance this morning to offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass at the altar built over the tomb of Blessed John Paul II . And my particular prayer this morning was that I would, and all of us would be, like Blessed John Paul really courageous shepherds of the Church in the face of the challenges that confront all of us, not just bishops but the whole people of God today. Not least are the threats to our own religious liberty.

Pope John Paul was a great advocate of the dignity of the human person, and the right of the Church to speak the truth. In the face of the administration’s edict demanding that we violate our consciences — and in fact violate the moral law — so that we should have to pay for abortifications, unjust sterilizations, and contraception, we all need courage. And I prayed at Mass this morning for the intercession of Blessed John Paul so that all of us would have the courage to stand up for the truth. Not just because it’s our right and we need to be vindicated — but because we’re patriotic and our country needs our voice, our witness to the truth for us to survive as a free and just nation.

So please keep praying for me. You’re all in my prayers, and I look forward to writing later today after our audience with the Pope.

Be a Reflection of the Light of the Nations

Hello everyone. Today is Thursday, the Feast of the Lord’s Presentation, February the 2nd.

My brother bishops and I had a great blessing late this afternoon – we celebrated Mass at the tomb of St. Paul the Apostle. It seemed a particular gift that on the day when the Church remembers that the Infant Jesus was declared to be a light of revelation to the Gentiles, we were at the tomb of the Apostle of the Gentiles.

One of the reasons for the Ad limina visit is for our Holy Father, and for those cardinals who are his close coworkers, to give us encouragement in our apostolic ministry, our ministry as bishops.  Another way that we receive great encouragement in our ministry are occasions like the Mass tonight. It gives me a lot of support to realize that the work that I’m engaged in is work that began with St. Paul himself, and that no matter what the cost for the work, God will be glorified. And as St. Paul said, there is a merited crown that awaits all of us who serve Christ.

So I brought my prayers for you and your families to the tomb of St. Paul, offered them at the Mass we celebrated there. And I pray that in your homes especially, that everybody is able to be a reflection of the light of the nations. The world can sometimes seem pretty dark and we need that light of Christ. All of us have to

To the Tomb of St. Peter

Good morning everybody . It’s early Wednesday morning, just after 6 o’clock here in Rome.  I’m about to put my coat on and go down to the bus so we can head over to St. Peter’s for the first really significant event of this Ad limina visit, which is for us bishops from Ohio and Michigan to offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass in front of the Tomb of St. Peter.

This is, along with the audience with the Holy Father, at the heart of what this pilgrimage is for – the strengthening of our communion with the whole Catholic Church, which means not just communion with Pope Benedict, but with Pope Benedict as the successor of Peter, and through him, all the way back to the prince of the apostles, Peter.  And that’s important because it was Jesus himself who chose Peter.

So, I will bring everyone’s intentions, the whole good of the Church in the archdiocese to the tomb  of Peter. Pray for all of us that we can have the same faith that Peter had, the same confession of Jesus, to be as heroic as he was, and to find our strength to live out our pilgrimage in loyalty to the Lord — even sometimes when he takes us where we rather would not go. We walk forward and know that, if we persevere, some day we will stand next to St. Peter and praise the Lord Jesus.

That’s what’s in my heart as I head out. And please, in your prayers at home at home, in your visits to the blessed sacrament, in going to daily Mass, remember me. God bless.

Beginning the week from the North American College

Good morning everybody. Happy Monday morning to all of you. I’ve just finished a great Monday morning.

I began with Mass at the chapel which is part of the apartment I’m staying at in the Pontifical North American College –really not a very long walk from St. Peter’s. Actually I’m staying in the room where, if I’m not mistaken, Cardinal Mooney died on the very afternoon where the conclave began for the election of Blessed John XXIII. So I offered Mass this morning for the happy repose of the soul of Cardinal Mooney and all of the deceased priests of our archdiocese.

I had an opportunity this morning also to visit the tombs of all the saints that were always  very important places of prayer for me. Number one, the apostles Philip and James in the Church of the Twelve Apostles, cared for by the Conventual Franciscans. I also made a visit to the tomb of St. Philip Neri, a great pastor and a wonderful priest in the city of Rome. And I also visited the tomb of St. Ignatious Loyola, where I especially prayed for all the members of the Society of Jesus, whose work is so important for the life of the Church.

I took the occasion this morning to

Praying the Angelus in St. Peter’s Piazza

Good afternoon everybody. It’s a beautiful end of a Sunday afternoon here in Rome. The sky is clear. Half-moon. And I’m walking in St. Peter’s Piazza right now.

I was able to be here in the square today for the Holy Father’s Angelus. I remembered to pray for all of you. I’m looking forward to the arrival of all the other bishops from Michigan. It’s a great opportunity for us not only to be of mutual support as we face a common mission, but also to be in prayer together for all of you.

So, again, my prayers continue, and please keep praying for me.

St. Peter, pray for us. St. Paul, pray for us. Amen.

A sense of our Communion…

Good morning everybody. I wish you all a blessed Sunday morning. I’ve just finished offering my Sunday Mass. And of course as always for a bishop Sunday Mass is offered for all of you, for your intentions, for all of your families.

I’m happy particularly to do this in here Rome. We have a very vivid sense that our communion and the sacrifice of Jesus is a communion with the successor of Peter and all the people of God throughout the world.

I hope you have a blessed day. Please be assured of my prayers, and please keep me in your prayers that I may be always faithful to my stewardship of the paschal mystery of Jesus. I’ll be back in touch with you very soon, I hope even later today. God bless.

Blessings from Rome

Hi everbody. I’m so happy to be able to greet you from Rome. We had a safe and uneventful trip over, which is the best way to travel.

I had the opportunity already this mornimg to offer Mass. Today’s the anniversary of my installation as the archbishop of Detroit, and while I would have been happy to celebrate it at home, offering Mass here in Rome for all of you  was a great blessing. Rome is always a homecoming for all of us, because it’s the place of St. Peter, the place of St. Paul — the place we all belong because of our communion with the Catholic Church and especially  with the Holy Father the pope.

So please continue to keep me in your prayers. I mean this afternoon to visit some of the tombs of the other holy men and women who have lived in Rome, and I hope to be able to visit the tomb of St. Philip Neri.

God bless all of you and I hope you have a great Sunday.

I am happy to have you join us on this important pilgrimage

From his office in the chancery in downtown Detroit, Archbishop Vigneron records a brief YouTube video to the faithful using an iPad tablet, held by Jeremy Adragna from the archdiocese's digital media office.

Click here for a YouTube message from Archbishop Vigneron

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

In a little more than a week, along with the other bishops of Michigan and Ohio, I will be on my way for our “Ad limina” Visit – the pilgrimage to Rome required of all diocesan bishops at least every five years.  The official days for our visit are 1-6 February.  This trip, while it has several distinct components, is basically a pilgrimage to strengthen the bonds of our unity with our Holy Father the Pope.

Let me make a brief remark about each of the components and then go on to reflect with you on the meaning of this pilgrimage, because the significance of its meaning is the reason I am writing this letter.

The visit has three principal elements. 

The Precious Gift of Unity…

Wearing the Pallium for the first time back in Michigan, at Bp. Cistone's installation.

The first occasion at which I used the Pallium given to me by Pope Benedict on 29 June was when I installed Bp. Cistone as the new Bishop of Saginaw.  It’s hard to imagine a clearer example of what the Pallium symbolizes: That the Successor of St. Peter has charged me with serving to strengthen my brother bishops in Michigan, together with their priests and people, in our union the Holy Father and the Church Universal.  This unity is such a precious gift, because it is union with St. Peter and the other Apostles – and through them, union with Christ our Savior.

One of the blessings of recordings and photos and movies is that important moments in our lives endure not only in our memories, but are captured to be relived through seeing and hearing them again.  That’s the particular gift of “High Church and Home Movies,” the video about the Pallium Pilgrimage produced by my nephews Garrett and Griffin – along with “fairly considerable assistance” from the Archdiocesan Communications Office.  In what I said above, I told you of the first, and powerful, confirmation I had about the meaning of the Pallium.  I hope all of you will take the time to view video, so that you can, along with me and the others who made the pilgrimage, relive again that grace-filled experience.

Home Again, and Thankful to God for Many Great Blessings

Warm greetings to all of you, from me back home here at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. I arrived back in Detroit last evening, Thursday evening. I’ve come home with a tremendous sense of the blessing that the pilgrimage was — not only the blessings I received, but that were given to all of us during the days in Rome. I’m grateful to God for all of that.

I offered my Mass this morning on the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle for all of you, because I’ve really returned from the pilgrimage with a profound sense of the blessing it is for all of us to be Catholic and to be part of the Church which Christ founded on Peter and Paul and the other Apostles. So I pray in all things you will be strengthened by the blessings we have from belonging to the Church of Christ.

Thank you so much!

We’ve been enriched with tremendous blessings

Hi everybody.  Great to be back in touch with you again.  I am about one day away now from leaving Rome.

Yesterday, the last 24 hours, was really filled with a lot of wonderful events – the highlight, of course, yesterday was the audience the Holy Father gave to all of us new archbishops, and our family and pilgrim groups.  I got to present my youngest brother and my sister to the Holy Father.  We had the chance to ask him to pray for our parents, who, because of their age, are not able to travel.  Also, I asked prayers for all of us in the archdiocese and offered the Holy Father our promise of devotion and the support of our prayers in return.

Another great joy yesterday was to spend a good part of the morning with my two nephews in the Vatican Gardens.  They were able to interview me and practice their skills as journalists.  We had a lot of fun.  I was very happy to do that.

This morning, I led the pilgrim group in the offering of the holy sacrifice of the Mass in a parish church not far from St. Peter’s Basilica, the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina.  And for me, this was a wonderful way for all of us to be close to the Holy Father because this is his parish church.  He’s the bishop of that parish, and being there was a way for us to be united with the Diocese of Rome and with Pope Benedict as the Bishop of Rome.

So, we’re looking now to leaving tomorrow, returning to our own home and coming back enriched with tremendous blessings.  My prayer is that all of you have found that your being with us in spirit is a way for you to have been blessed as well with the graces of these days.

God be with you and may Jesus Christ be praised.