Dedication of the Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome

Remarks of Msgr. Walter R. Rossi
Rector
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome Dedication
17 November 2007
Washington, D.C.

Msgr. Walter R Rossi

Welcome

It is a great pleasure for me as Rector of this Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, to welcome you to this Mass in which we will dedicate the Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome.

We are happy to have with us the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Mr. Carl Anderson as well the Supreme Officers, Board of Directors, all our brother knights, and especially those brother knights who are here in Washington to participate in the State Deputies meeting.

In a special way I am happy to welcome the Chairman of the National Shrine Board of Trustees and Archbishop of Washington,  Archbishop Donald Wuerl as the celebrant and homilist for today’s Mass and we are honored that Cardinal Justin Rigali is able to be with us.

Cardinal Rigali is the Chairman of the Shrine Iconography Committee and was very much involved in the design of the Incarnation Dome.

We appreciate as well the presence of so many bishops and priests this afternoon, and among them I am happy to acknowledge Monsignor David Malloy, who is the General Secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

We are happy to have so many visitors with us for today’s celebration and I want to extend a special word of welcome to those who join us through the Eternal Word Television Network.

May our prayer this afternoon, help us to see the face of Mary’s Son more clearly and lead us along the path to everlasting life.

Concluding Remarks

As we bring this celebration to a conclusion, I would like to thank Archbishop Wuerl once again for his presence this afternoon, his excellent homily and for the great interest and support he provides the Shrine.

As I mentioned at the beginning of Mass, Cardinal Rigali is the  Chairman of the Shrine Iconography Committee and we are most grateful for his dedication to the committee and the guidance he provides.

In addition, our Plant and Facilities Committee was intimately involved with the installation of this dome under the astute direction of Dr. Joseph Braddock.

We are grateful to the Rambusch Decorating Company of New York for their design of the Incarnation Dome, the Travisannuto Mosaic Studio in Spilimbergo, Italy for fabricating the mosaic and to the General Contractor, Brett Rugo of Rugo Stone.

I am also indebted to the Shrine’s comptroller Kevin Kavanaugh and our Director of Pilgrimages Father Joseph Holcomb for the many hours they put into the supervision of this project.

I am grateful as well to Father Michael Weston our Director of Liturgy and Dr. Peter Latona and our choir for their assistance in making this afternoon’s Mass a beautiful, prayerful celebration.

Our thanks go as well to Mother Angelica and the staff of the Eternal Word Television Network for broadcasting today’s Mass and allowing so many of you at home to join us at Mary’s House.

Finally, I am indebted to the Supreme Knight, Mr. Carl Anderson and the Knights of Columbus for their support of this project.

Since the groundbreaking ceremony for the National Shrine in 1920, the Knights of Columbus have been part of the mortar which keeps the Shrine together. 

In his encyclical letter, Deus Caritas Est Pope Benedict XVI speaks of the Incarnation, “God’s condescension towards us” as the way in which we are lifted to “far greater heights than anything that any human mystical elevation could ever accomplish.” (DCE, 13)

Until now, the most visible sign of the Knights presence and intimate bond with the Shrine is the majestic Knights Tower.   Soaring 329 feet into the air, the Knights Tower can be seen from all over Washington and raises our eyes to greater heights.

With the Incarnation Dome, the Knights of Columbus have created a lasting tribute in which those who visit this Shrine and gaze upon these images will be lifted to far great heights and be clearly reminded of “God’s condescension towards us” in the Incarnation when “the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” (John 1:14)

Dinner Remarks

Although I have had the opportunity to speak at Mass, when we were planning today’s events, I was told that if I spoke briefly at Mass, I’d be able to speak again at tonight’s dinner.

Actually, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak again, because it gives me the occasion to elaborate on my words at Mass.

To begin with, I want to express once again my gratitude to the Supreme Knight and to all the Knights of Columbus for their support of the Incarnation Dome project.  

Without your assistance, I do not believe we would have been able to accomplish the completion of this dome in such a short period of time.

When we were installing the Redemption Dome last year, I thought that we’d have to wait for a few years to begin the next dome.

But, as we moved through the project, we realized that it would be financially expedient to continue with the Incarnation Dome as we were able to use much of the same scaffolding, since the two spaces were identical in size.

Coupling this with the Knights 125th anniversary it appeared like a reasonable project in which both the Shrine and the Knights of Columbus could collaborate.

As you saw first hand today, this project became a reality due in no small part to the dedication that the Supreme Knight has to the Shrine and his devotion to Our Lady.

It has often been said that the Knights of Columbus are the “right arm of the Church.”

For the National Shrine, the Knights of Columbus have been our right arm since the laying of the cornerstone in 1920.

With every project we have undertaken, the Knights of Columbus have been our staunch supporters and for this I remain grateful.

I am grateful as well for the encouragement provided to the Shrine by our Board of Trustees, many of whom are with us tonight.

The work of the board is to provide guidance and direction to the Rector,  which they do very well and our Iconography and Plant and Facilities committees are most directive under the watchful eye of Cardinal Rigali and the keen chairmanship of Dr. Joseph Braddock.

I would be remiss if I did not extend a word of gratitude to the Fourth Degree Knights who are here and who have generously undertaken the challenge to raise $500K of the $1millon that the Knights have committed to the Incarnation Dome.

I am especially grateful for the work of the Fourth Degree Knights since I just took my fourth degree back in the Spring.

A few years ago, the late Pope John Paul II encouraged the Knights of Columbus “to be a leaven within American Society” explaining to the Order’s Board of Directors that for the Knights to be a leaven in the world is for the Knights to be “a spiritual force for the renewal of the Church in holiness, unity and truth.”

Following the vision of our founder the servant of God, Father Michael McGivney Knights of Columbus throughout the world are a leaven in society through service to the Church universal, through cooperation with local pastors, volunteering to the community, strengthening marriage and family life, and by putting faith into action through the exercise of the corporal works of mercy.

The Knights of Columbus have certainly been a leaven at Mary’s House as well and the Incarnation Dome which we dedicated today is just another example of your being a leaven within American Society.

Thank you.  God Bless you.

Vivat Jesus!

Gifts

There is an ancient and recognized custom  of naming bells in bell towers.

When the Knights Tower Carillon was installed in 1963 nine of the 56 bells were named in honor of the patron saints of past Supreme Knights and the founder of our order, the Servant of God, Father Michael J. McGivney.

In 1989 the Saint Vigil bell was named in honor of past Supreme Knights Virgil Dechant and just prior to the beginning of the dedication Mass this afternoon, the 11th bell, bell C2 was named in honor of Saint Karol, the patron Saint of Supreme Knight, Carl Anderson.

While we are unable to give the Supreme Knight a replica of the bell as a gift, we thought he might like a likeness of the Incarnation Dome.