Saturday, January 30, 2010

Catholic America: Minnesota

Photo: Cathedral of Saint Paul and Church of Saint Agnes (seen from Calvary Cemetery) in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Minnesota has produced some of the finest Catholic leaders of this modern epoch.  It is also the pocket of the world with the most "Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration" chapels.

Here are just a few from Minnesota:

America's greatest Catholic philosopher of this age: Ralph McInerny.

America's greatest Catholic church musician of this age: Msgr. Richard Schuler.

America's greatest Catholic pioneer of Internet evangelization of this age: Fr. John Zuhlsdorf.

America's greatest superior general of a new religious order of this age: Fr. John Berg, F.S.S.P.

This is what Pius XII had to say of this land during his live address over Vatican Radio HVJ to the Eucharistic Congress held there (June 26, 1941):

"No host is ever consecrated but that is should find at last its way into the breast of man, and so during these days, as Our thoughts have taken frequent flight to your Twin Cities on the upper reaches of the Mississippi River, father of streams, where We had once the pleasure of visiting our venerable brother, your devoted Archbishop - We seemed to see in a vision thousands, yes tens of thousands, of Our dear children reverently, frequently receiving from the consecrated hands of God's priests the body and blood of their Lord and Master, their God and Redeemer."

6 comments:

  1. Hurray for Minnesota! (actually, I've never been, so I better one day)

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  2. That is a beautiful quotation from the Angelic Pontiff, Venerable Pius XII.

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  3. Venerable Pius XII certainly could write with a uplifting flair, not like the a past Pope I can think of whose documents (except rarely), were written in a banal "everymans" language, and could have appealed to everyone and anyone on the planet, not specifically directed to the faithful Catholics. To compare the two styles is really shocking. One (Venerable Pius XII) reflects a perrenial Papal style of writing. The other (I'll let people guess), had a writing style that anyone could copy.

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  4. What a beautiful picture! What fond memories St. Agnes brings back. She makes my excile at college (questionably Catholic Newman Center and all) so much more bearable.

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  5. And don't forget Fr. Paul at St. Johns!

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