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Dedication
In the autumn of 1998, the Shrine of the Little Flower Church
was declared a national shrine by the United States Bishops’
Conference, one of only five in this country. On the feast of
Epiphany, January 3, 1999, in the midst of the area's worst
snowstorm in 30 years, Adam Cardinal Maida presided over
the dedication Mass. He commemorated the new status of
the church with these words: "This day we celebrate the
long faith tradition of your parish, dedicated to the spirituality
of the Little Flower, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.
"This day we celebrate that Christ was made a light to the
nation. You are here at the heart and center of the
Archdiocese; I hope and pray that you will be a sign of that
light of Christ right here as all the world passes by. In the
way that you accept the rhythm of the joys and sorrows in
your own daily lives, may you bring the light of Christ to
others, that they, too, may come and worship him, now and
for all eternity. On this feast of the Epiphany, like the star
that showed Jesus to the whole world, so your parish and
this Shrine will witness to the greatness, the love, that Christ
has for all God's people." |
