A Worthy Altar
After several delays, for a myriad of reasons, the installation of the marble Altar of Sacrifice for the daily celebration of the Eucharist is accomplished! It was the expressed wish of now Cardinal Justin Rigali in 2002, repeated by his successor, Archbishop Raymond Burke, that there be an Altar here suitable for this church of historic significance and part of the patrimony of the Archdiocese.
The project was, in September last, entrusted to Mr. Robert Cradock, of Architectural Stone Incorporated. His studio is on Washington Avenue and a neighbor to us. Mr. Cradock has long been familiar with this church, and has been involved in the creation and preservation of marble pieces in churches throughout the Archdiocese. Also of interest is the fact that Mr. Cradock had a long and close friendship with Monsignor Joseph Dwyer, fourteenth pastor, from 1960 till 1982, of this parish. It was Monsignor Dwyer who oversaw the then $600,000 complete renovation and restoration of the church during the Plaza Square Redevelopment of that renaissance era in this center city area.
The altar is executed with four marble pillars as its base. These are of Rosa Verona marble and repeat the design in the pillars which are part of the Sacred Heart Shrine Altar in the sanctuary. The pillars draw on the colors in the ornamentation of the ceiling and vaults of the church, thus providing a contrast with the High Altar and Tabernacle behind it. They are set on bases of white Carrara marble. The table-top or mensa of the Altar, which alone weighs six hundred pounds, is of the same Carrara marble harmonizing with the existing Altars in the sanctuary.
There is – as current norms prescribe – a small marble sarcophagus beneath the Altar and in which the relics of the saints will be entombed in preparation for the consecration of the Altar. During the consecration it will be permanently affixed to the stone floor. The relics are those of the martyrs St. Benignus of Dijon, (3rd century A.D.), St. Jucundus of Rheims, (451 A.D.), St. Illuminata of Ravenna, (303, A.D.), St. Fortunatus of Africa (303 A.D.) and St. Paulinus of Antioch (67 A.D.).
The Consecration of the Altar will be celebrated on Saturday evening, 28 February 2009, during the 5 o'clock Mass. The Altar will be consecrated by the Most Reverend J. Terry Steib, S.V.D., Bishop of Memphis in Tennessee. Bishop Steib is a member of the Society of the Divine Word. He was born and raised in Vacherie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. He was elected Provincial of the Order at the age of 32, and because of his age, a dispensation from Rome was required for approval that he serve as Provincial of the Divine Word Fathers.
He was reelected for a second six year term, and a third six year term. As he neared the end of the that service, he planned, to appoint himself pastor of a parish in the rural South which was served by the Divine Word Fathers. All outgoing Provincials, as their final act, appoint themselves to their next assignment. Before the end of his term, though, he was notified that the Holy Father had appointed him, in 1984, Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis. He was the first African-American priest to be named Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis. In 1993, Bishop Steib was named Bishop of Memphis in Tennessee, the first African-American Bishop of that Diocese. Bishop Steib is one of 16 African-American Bishops in the United States.
From 1985 until 1992 I served as his Master of Ceremonies in St. Louis and accompanied him throughout the Archdiocese for liturgical celebrations. Bishop Steib is an exceptional liturgist and gifted preacher. It is my hope that all members of our parish family will do everything possible in order to participate in this almost once in a lifetime moment. Grace will be abounding!
