Catholic san Francisco Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
Novena to St. Anne turning 100 and still attracting the faithful
By Tom Burke In less than two weeks, St. Anne of the Sunset Parish in San Francisco will begin celebration of the centennial of a ministry that has drawn hundreds of thousands to the Judah Street church over a century of summers - the annual Novena to Good St. Anne. The parish celebrated its own centennial in 2004. Judy Morris of St. Cecilia Parish remembers attending the Novena – in the late 1940s. “My mother took us when we were little kids – babes in arms,” Morris told Catholic San Francisco. Other children in the family included brothers Jerry, now living in Southern California, and Jim – now Father James Morris ordained in 1966 and today serving at St. Raymond Parish in Menlo Park. “My mom took all three of us,” Judy Morris said, pointing out that her middle name is, indeed, Anne, in honor of the saint whose intercession is implored at the Novena each year. “I say a prayer to St. Anne everyday,” she said. “We always went. We liked it as kids and less as teen-agers,” she noted with a laugh.
“My grandparents and aunts and uncles had attended the Novena from the start.” Morris said the Novena – July 18-26 this year — was “a part of summer” and vacations for her family never took place in July. “People would come by bus and street-car,” she said. Her mother, Josephine, who died 10 years ago, attended the Novena into her 80s. Morris said she has only missed the Novena “a couple of times,” and that was due to sickness. She’ll be there this year, she affirmed. The Blessing of Children was a rite Morris and her family never missed. The special blessing takes place this year on the Sunday of the Novena, July 22, during the 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Masses. “They’d bring us up on the altar and always have a medal or memento for us,” Morris recalled. As one who has lived on both sides of Vatican II, she believes there is room for the Novena in today’s Church. “I think you stay close to your religion when you have an opportunity like the Novena.” She recommends people take the centennial year to try the Novena anew. Msgr. John Foudy, who led St. Anne’s as pastor from 1970-90, knew the Novena long
San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Connolly – later archbishop of Seattle — carries a monstrance in the famed Novena to St. Anne procession. The July 18-26 Novena celebrates its 100th anniversary this month. At Bishop Connolly’s right is the late Father Joseph A. Donworth, pastor of St. Stephen Parish in San Francisco from 1952-72. Through many of its 100 years, the Novena to St. Anne drew huge crowds to St. Anne of the Sunset Parish. before he took reins of the parish. “My mother would take us every year,” he said. Now retired, he lives at Alma Via residence in San Francisco. He tries to attend the Novena each year. “I’ve gone pretty faithfully but I’ve got the walker now and can’t march around,” he said. Impact of the Novena can be as powerful today as in past generations, Msgr. Foudy said. “Anything that gathers people together around their faith, especially in the numbers the Novena has generated, is a good thing,” he said. Father Raymund Reyes will be officially installed as eighth pastor of St. Anne’s July 21 during a 10 a.m. Mass. Archbishop George H. Niederauer will preside. A recep-
tion will follow. “The devotees of the Novena have dwindled in number for the past years,” the new pastor told Catholic San Francisco. “The challenge for me as the pastor today is not just about making the traditional prayers and devotions become prominent again during the Novena days. It is also finding a new direction where these blessed days can relate particularly with the homebound, the elderly, the new immigrants, young families, and especially the children.” Last year, approximately 500 people attended the Novena daily, “many fewer than the thousands who flocked to the church in the 70’s,” Father Reyes said. ST. ANNE, page 3
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Earth aided . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 School snapshots . . . . . . . 18 Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Classified ads . . . . . . . 22-23
Manila cardinal welcomed
Outreach to Guatemala
Risks high for better future
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July 6, 2007
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