Diocese of Ogdensburg celebrates 150th Anniversary
Aug. 12—OGDENSBURG — Remember. Renew. Rejoice.
The thematic three Rs for the Diocese of Ogdensburg's sesquicentennial culminated in an Anniversary Mass held Wednesday at St. Mary's Cathedral in Ogdensburg.
The Rev. Bryan D. Stitt, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Canton, coordinated the worship and served on the event — planning committee.
"We drew in people from all over to celebrate this one," he said.
"One-hundred-and-fifty years is nothing to rest on your laurels. It's something to celebrate and look to the future for."
The celebration was a year in the making.
"Remember," he said.
"You're looking back. Where have we been? How did we start? To see Bishop Wadhams be sent to us by Pope Pius IX, literally 150 years ago this year. To imagine what that history was like in his journals talking about getting a sturdy pony and making it to not just every parish but every home and every family and just spreading the Gospel."
His Eminence Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, D.D., Ph.D., Archbishop of New York was the Principal Celebrant, and The Most Reverend Terry R. LaValley, D.D., J.C.L, Bishop of Ogdensburg, was the Homilist at the Anniversary Mass held on Aug. 10, the Feast of St. Lawrence.
HISTORY
On February 16, 1872, Pope Pius IX severed a portion of what was then the sprawling Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and created the Diocese of Ogdensburg.
The new diocese would encompass 12,036 square miles of northern New York, including Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, as well as northern Herkimer County.
The Right Reverend Edgar P. Wadhams, D.D., First Bishop of Ogdensburg (May 5, 1872 — December 5, 1891), was the former Vicar General of Albany. He was born in Lewis in 1817.
His crozier, the Bishop' staff, was used by Cardinal Dolan in Wednesday's celebration.
"Every bishop has his staff," Stitt said.
"We asked Cardinal Dolan if he would like to use our first bishop's, Bishop Wadhams' shepherd staff, to show that continuity. It's not just what happened 150 years ago, but it's renewing. That's the second one, right? We are continuing on. We're looking into the future. How can we grow?
"We're still the same faith. We still need shepherds. We need teachers. We need servants to share the Gospel, but it's a different world today. How do we renew this faith in a dynamic way? And then, to rejoice. Boy, oh boy, did we. The music was glorious. The church was full."
TWELVE BISHOPS
In attendance were: The Most Reverend Marcel Damphousse, D.D. Archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall; The Most Reverend Michael Mulhall, D.D. Archbishop of Kingston; The Most Reverend Gerald M. Barbarito, D.D., J.C.L. Bishop of Palm Beach; The Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan, D.D. Bishop of Brooklyn; The Most Reverend Robert J. Cunningham, D.D., J.C.L. Bishop Emeritus of Syracuse; The Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde, D.D. S.T.L., J.C.L. Bishop Emeritus of Arlington; The Most Reverend Douglas J. Lucia, D.D., J.C.L. Bishop of Syracuse; The Most Reverend Richard J. Malone, TH.D., S.T.L. Bishop Emeritus of Buffalo; The Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano, D.D., S.T.L., J.C.D. Bishop of Rochester; and The Most Reverend Noël Simard, D.D. Bishop of Valleyfield.
"We literally had a dozen Apostles," Stitt said.
"The successors of the Apostles are the Bishops. We weren't shooting to have a dozen like Jesus, but we had a dozen of them, which is so symbolic. All of our Bishops are successors of the Apostles. It's beautiful to see the continuity not just for the past 150 years, but the 12 Bishops there is like having the 12 Apostles, the continuity for 2,000 years. So much beauty, and so much richness in that presence."
Stitt said it is always exciting to have Cardinal Dolan in Ogdensburg.
"A close second was what he called Mt. Rushmore because we had the three previous bishops, Bishop Loverde, was our 11th Bishop; Bishop Barbarito, was our 12th Bishop; and Bishop Cunningham, was our 13th Bishop," Stitt said.
"So, we had those three plus our native son, who is now the Bishop of Syracuse, Bishop Doug Lucia. Those four were featured prominently. Cardinal Dolan called them Mt. Rushmore. Then, the Cardinal spoke of the good work that Bishop LaValley has been doing and sharing his values with us. So, he had a round of applause for all the good work that he has been doing."
PARISHIONER'S PERSPECTIVE
Plattsburgh resident Anita Soltero is the assistant director of Education for Faith Formation and Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Ogdensburg.
"My reasons for attending would be multi-layered," she said.
"My faith is very important to me. I've been connected to St. Peter's Church here in Plattsburgh since 1994 when I moved here from downstate. I've been an active parishioner all these years participating in many many events. I've also been connected to the diocese from participating in their events that they offer and have been a volunteer catechist, teaching at St. Peter's Faith and Formation Program since 1998."
Soltero became the director of Faith Formation at St. Peter's Church in Plattsburgh in 2010 and worked there for seven years.
"It was the best job of my life," she said.
"Then, I was lucky enough to be able to take a position with the Diocese, my current position, going on year four. Obviously, my connection to the diocese is very, very strong.
"I wouldn't miss a great celebration like this. To be able to share with Cardinal Dolan was a very special blessing, to be in his presence and celebrate Mass with him in addition to the former Bishops that were here as well as all the priests and deacons from from around the diocese and all the people that attended as well."
Soltero said it was a joyous celebration.
"And, we got to hear some of the history of the diocese, the creation of it," she said.
"So, it makes you realize the great struggles that the early kind of pioneers had to go through in order to establish the Church in the North Country. And, it makes you appreciate it that much more."
Soltero said she wouldn't miss a family reunion or special anniversary celebration.
"My church community is just like family, you want to share all the joy you can with them and celebrate special events in a big way," she said.,
"And we did just that yesterday! The choir was spectacular and the cathedral was full. There is nothing better than celebrating mass together with all the stops pulled!"
A RETIRED PRIEST'S PERSPECTIVE
Msgr. Dennis Duprey was there, and he was a priest of two years at the 100th anniversary held in Lake Placid's Old Olympic Arena in 1972.
"You hang around long enough, you get to everything," the retired priest said.
"If you were in your 20s and now in your 70s, you made it."
Duprey called Wednesday's celebration renewing and inspiring.
"I don't have as much future in front of me as I did in 1972, but it was not an event that was simply grateful for the past, but it was an event that look forward with hope to the future," he said.
"It was inspiring because of the sacrifices that people made in the past, particularly our first bishops and priests and religious and lay people.
"They didn't have the kind of the communication, transportation systems, anything that we have, and yet they made it work. We got problems today, but they had more challenges then in many ways. They went at it. They didn't let anything deter them from the celebration of their faith and the future that lay in front of them. If they could do it, hey, why not?"
More than 100 people from the Plattsburgh area were in attendance traveling by buses and private vehicles.
"I was very pleased with it," Duprey said.
"The music was gorgeous, especially gorgeous. The food afterward was terrific, unlike afterwards when we were at the 100th. It was more of a banquet-style thing. This was picnic on the lawn of the Cathedral. But not a picnic of hot dogs and hamburgers, but of pulled pork and ham, and various food served under tents. It was a gorgeous day. It started on time, ended on time, and we were back here in time. It was a good day. A very good day."
Email: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com
Twitter@RobinCaudell
