Cathedral of Mary Our Queen introduces special novena

With the blessing of Archbishop William E. Lori, the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen has instituted a special novena that invokes the intercession of nine saints featured in side altars at the Homeland cathedral.

Known as the “Cathedral Novena to Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth,” the prayer will be offered on the feast days of the nine associated saints. It will also be prayed on the feast of the Queenship of Mary, the anniversary of the cathedral’s dedication and the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In a recent letter announcing the novena, Father Louis Bianco, rector, and Father Justin Gough, associate pastor, noted that in the early days of the cathedral, when there were more priests and concelebration of the Mass was only allowed on certain occasions, priests used the side altars to offer Mass if they were not scheduled to celebrate Mass publicly.

“Doing so not only gained inestimable grace from the sacrifice of the Cross, but it also honored the saints and implored their mighty intercession,” the priests wrote. “We would do very well to honor them anew and beg their prayers for the needs of the Church, the world, and our individual lives.”

On each novena day, a novena prayer that has Archbishop Lori’s imprimatur will be offered at Mass, with candles to be lit on the corresponding side altar. Father Bianco and Father Gough said all are welcome to visit the cathedral during novena days and offer prayers at the designated saint’s altar. They also encouraged visitors to attend Mass, receive holy Communion and/or receive the sacrament of reconciliation on those days.

“(P)raying the novena from wherever you are is praiseworthy and will be of great spiritual benefit to you and to the Church in Baltimore,” they said.

The novena saints are listed below, along with their feast days and the suggested novena prayer intentions for those feast days.

• St. Sulpice: The Sulpician religious society that operates St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Roland Park is named after Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. St. Mary’s Seminary, originally located on Paca Street in Baltimore, is the first Catholic seminary in the United States. Sulpician ministry focuses on the formation of diocesan priests.
  Feast day: Jan. 17
  Prayer intention: For an increase in vocations to the priesthood
• St. Peter: The side altar in honor of the first pope includes the inscription “Ubi Petrus ibi ecclesia,” “Where Peter is, there is the Church.”
  Feast day: Feb. 22
  Prayer intention: For the Holy Father
• St. Patrick: Baltimore’s Irish community is honored with a side altar dedicated to the Emerald Isle’s patron saint, an early bishop of Ireland.
  Feast day: March 17
  Prayer intention: For the Archbishop and Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of Baltimore
• St. Thomas More: The memorial chapel to St. Thomas More, an English martyr considered a patron saint of religious liberty, memorializes Thomas O’Neill, a Baltimore businessman whose patron saint was St. Thomas More. O’Neill’s bequest to the Archdiocese of Baltimore solely funded the building of the cathedral.
  Feast day: June 22
  Prayer intention: For the faithful of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
• St. Ignatius Loyola: The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) were founded by St. Ignatius. Father Andrew White, a Jesuit priest, offered the first Mass on Maryland’s soil in 1634 and Baltimore Archbishop John Carroll, another Jesuit, was the first bishop in the United States.
  Feast day: July 31
  Prayer intention: For an increase in vocations to religious life.
• St. John Vianney: This French priest devoted up to 18 hours a day hearing confessions in a small, rural parish.
  Feast day: Aug. 4
  Prayer intention: For the priests of the Archdiocese of Baltimore
• St. Pius X: This early 20th century pope was known for his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
  Feast day: Aug. 21
  Prayer intention: For an increase in faith in the holy Eucharist
• St. Vincent de Paul: This French saint established a religious community that would become known as the Vincentians. He also co-founded the Daughters of Charity. Both religious communities have long histories in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. St. Vincent is known for his concern for the poor.
  Feast day: Sept. 27
  Prayer intention: For the poor and vulnerable
• St. Michael the Archangel: The cathedral’s altar to St. Michael includes an etching of the shrine of Mont Saint-Michel, which honors Baltimore’s French immigrants.
  Feast day: Sept. 29
  Prayer intention: For the spiritual protection of the Church

The intentions for the other novena days are:

• Queenship of Mary: Baltimore Archbishop Francis Patrick Keough broke ground on Baltimore’s then unnamed “new cathedral” on Oct. 10, 1954. On the following day, Pope Pius XII instituted the new liturgical feast of Mary’s Queenship, under whose patronage the cathedral was placed.
  Feast day: Aug. 22
  Prayer intention: For the cathedral parish and school
• Dedication of the Cathedral: The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen was dedicated Nov. 15, 1959.
  Date: Nov. 15
  Prayer intention: For the cathedral parish and school
• Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary: This feast is the annual liturgical commemoration of the dogma that Mary was kept free from original sin from the moment of her conception. The Archdiocese of Baltimore has a special connection to the feast because it was in 1846 inside the archbishop’s residence next to the Baltimore Basilica that the U.S. bishops unanimously agreed to petition the Holy See to name Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, to be patroness of the still-young country. Pope Pius IX granted the request one year later.
  Feast: Dec. 8
  Prayer intention: For the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Cathedral Novena to Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth

O Most Glorious Queen, who in God’s Providence have been made to reign over Heaven and Earth, we honor you this day with our prayers and devotion as your sons and daughters. You stood beside your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, throughout his life, and you remain with his Church as we make our pilgrimage of faith. Look with favor upon this local church so that the light of Christ may be a light brightly visible upon us. We ask you, through your most powerful intercession, to pray for us and for the graces we need to be faithful disciples of the Lord and active members of his People. In particular, and with the prayers of Saint N., we ask you to hear our petitions (here state your intentions) and bring them before the throne of Almighty God. Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us. Amen.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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