CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
Serving San Francisco, Marin & San Mateo Counties
www.catholic-sf.org
May 24, 2018
$1.00 | VOL. 20 NO. 11
Congratulations, Bishop-designate Robert F. Christian, OP 18th Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco (Photo by Dennis Callahan/Catholic San Francisco)
C2 AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
Inside auxiliary bishop christian special edition:
Bishop Christian’s coat of arms
Local Dominican friars discuss their vocation . . . . . . . 4 Dominican pioneers of Northern California . . . . . . . . 14 A conversation with Bishop-designate Christian . 12-13 ‘E pluribus unum’ and Christian unity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
All are welcome: Ordination Mass set for June 5, 11 a.m. The episcopal ordination Mass for Bishop-designate Robert F. Christian, OP, the 18th auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Cathedral at 11 a.m. on June 5. There will be ample open seating for the public on a first-come basis. Doors open at 10. Parking will be extremely tight. Valet parking will be available, but most of the cathedral lot will be reserved for bishops and those requiring assistance. Carpooling and public transportation are strongly recommended. A public reception in Patrons’ Hall will follow the approximately two-hour Mass. Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone will deliver the homily during the Mass, which will be attended by retired Los Angeles archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahony, Vatican nuncio to the U.S. Archbishop Christophe Pierre and at least 16 other bishops.
The ordination rite takes place after the Gospel and involves the presentation of the bishop-designate, reading of the apostolic letter, consent of the people, homily, examination of the candidate, Litany of the Saints, laying on of hands by all bishops present, prayer of consecration (during which the open Book of the Gospels is held over the ordinand’s head), anointing of the bishop’s head and presentation of the Book of the Gospels. The rite concludes with the bishop’s investiture with ring, miter and pastoral staff, and the kiss of peace by all bishops present. Following Communion, the new bishop will go throughout the cathedral blessing the people and then will make some remarks. For more information on Bishop-designate Christian and the Dominican community, visit www.opwest.org/ bishopchristian/.
Bishop-designate Robert. F. Christian, OP, described his episcopal coat of arms in an email to Catholic San Francisco: “The cross with the ihs shield represents the Dominican Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus – my province. The crossed arms are, of course, Christ and St. Francis – so a reference to San Francisco. And the motto also recalls the name of Jesus: ‘Hallowed be thy name.’”
Archbishop José H. Gomez, the Auxiliary Bishops, the clergy, religious and laity of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles offer congratulations and best wishes to Bishop Designate Father Robert Christian Archdiocese of San Francisco
May God shower his blessings upon you as you exercise your new ministry.
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Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, Cardinal William Levada, Auxiliary Bishops Emeriti William Justice and Ignatius Wang, together with the Clergy, Religious, and Laity of the
the Archdiocese of San Francisco
Congratulate
Bishop Robert Christian on his appointment by His Holiness, Pope Francis, as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
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DISTINCTLY Dominican: 6 Dominicans talk about what it means to belong to the Order of Preachers Christina Gray Catholic San Francisco
On the occasion of the upcoming episcopal ordination of Dominican Father Robert F. Christian as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Catholic San Francisco asked five other Dominican priests and one novice to share their experiences in the Order of Preachers. St. Dominic, a Spanish priest, founded the order in 1216 in response to a need for informed preaching at the time.
Holy fire: Father Michael Hurley, OP Dominican Father Michael Hurley has been a Dominican for 18 years and a Dominican priest for 10 of them. For the past five years he has been the pastor of St. Dominic Parish located in the geographic center of San Francisco at Bush and Steiner. The 145-year-old Dominican parish lures the faithful from all parts of the city and Bay Area with the motto: “Radiating the Joy of the Gospel from the Heart of the City.” “As Dominicans, the reason we get up in the morning is to preach for the salvation of souls. From that, everything else flows,” Father Hurley said. “The question is for us, how can we best strategize in a spiritual, a practical and a human way to be most effective in doing that?” Father Hurley noted that the Dominican order is the only religious community defined by “what we do” rather than with the name of the founder. “We are the Order of Preachers, not the Order of St. Dominic,” he said. He’s only recently returned from a self-styled “Camino Santa Domingo” pilgrimage with a group of parishioners in April, when they walked through Spain and Southern France in the footsteps of the saint. It offered him, he said, a
‘As Dominicans, the reason we get up in the morning is to preach for the salvation of souls. From that, everything else flows.’
unique opportunity to reflect on the man who saw a desperate need for an order of priests dedicated solely to preaching and evangelization. Many people think of preaching as only a liturgical act, Father Hurley said. And though most Dominicans do have a special facility and love for the pulpit, it goes far beyond that. “Even outside of a liturgical setting, there should be a way in which our very life and the way the brotherhood interacts with the community serves as a light or a kind of beacon to others.” Living in community, as Dominicans do, is what shapes both the message and the messengers, he said. “The virtues that we need to be holy men and women come from living in a family,” Father Hurley said. “The family teaches you to be patient, how to be generous, how to be encouraging, how to be sacrificial. Hopefully that plays out in whatever particular ministry we have for the salvation of souls.” Dominican preaching is always the “fruit of the collective” he said. “Here at St. Dominic, you have one person who preaches on a Sunday at a Mass, but that really comes from the heart of the community,” he said. “So it’s really the entire community you hear, not just the individual.” He said the Dominicans – priests and novices – at St. Dominic get together
Father Michael Hurley, OP
see distinctly dominican, page C6
(courtesy photo)
WalkForLifeWC.com
Walk for Life West Coast welcomes Bishop Robert Christian. Congratulations. We are in this together. Lead the way!
See you Saturday, January 26, 2019
AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition C5
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
Congratulations
Bishop Robert Christian, O.P. on your elevation to Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
St. Dominic’s Friars, Staff and Parishioners
Palm Sunday, March 25
2390 Bush Street (at Steiner), San Francisco (415) 567-7824 | www.stdominics.org
5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass (Saturday, March 24); 7:30 a.m. Quiet Mass; a.m. Palm Sunday Procession with donkey starting at the Lourdes Grotto to the main Palm9:15 Sunday, March 25 entrance of the church, followed by the 9:30 a.m. Family Mass; 11:30 a.m. Solemn Choral 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass 24); 7:30 a.m. Mass; Mass; 1:30 p.m. St.(Saturday, Jude PilgrimMarch Mass in Spanish; 5:30 p.m.Quiet Mass with Contemporary music; 9:00 Sunday p.m. MassProcession by candlelightwith donkey starting at the Lourdes Grotto 9:15 a.m. Palm
to the main entrance of the church, followed by the 9:30 a.m. Family Mass; 11:30 a.m. Solemn Choral
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DISTINCTLY Dominican: Friars’ perspective on the Order of Preachers
‘When we come to an issue, a problem or some aspect of great concern, Dominicans look not to agree with it right away, nor to disagree with it right away, but to make a distinction by proposing something we can talk about.’
When asked for an example, he offered this: “If someone come to us and says ‘The church hates people with AIDS,’ we would not disagree with it, nor would we agree with the statement,” he said. A Dominican might ask the person who made it to consider what that means in the context of the fact that the church was the first on the scene in San Francisco when it came to ministering to people suffering with AIDS. Dominicans, he said, invite critical thought and reflection. “We don’t offer teaching as top down, we propose it within the context of what the person is going through at the time or how that person can learn,” he said. “We are not preaching to a theoretical community. We are preaching to a real parish with human beings with real problems.” “Dominicans are good at making distinctions,” said Father Hilander. “Rather than approving or condemning, we are good at making good decisions and judgments, though not in an inquisitorial spirit.” Another defining aspect of the Dominican charism, according to Father Hilander, is this “missionary aspect of bringing our charism outward into new places.” Dominicans are not just preachers, but also teachers and missionaries, he said. The first saint of the Americas was a Dominican saint, St. Rose of Lima. Dominicans are on the forefront of new frontiers for sharing the Gospel message, said Father Hilander. “You’ll see a lot of Dominicans on Facebook and on Twitter.” It was in fact a Dominican priest from France, Father Eric Salobir, who founded a Catholic think tank in 2012 to promote research and innovation in the use of “disruptive” technologies for evangelization: The OPTIC (Order of Preachers for Technology, Information and Communication) Network.
Father Augustine Hilander, OP
see distinctly dominican, page C8
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early in the week and read and reflect on the Gospel and share ideas. Four times a day the community chants the Divine Office in the church, which may sound like “song” but it is in fact, group prayer. The image of fire is a symbol of Dominican evangelization, according to Father Hurley. “The idea of fire radiating outward is part of our tradition,” he said. He noted that St. Dominic’s mother had a dream before his birth of a dog with a torch in its mouth, a visual which became emblematic of the Dominican Order. St. Catherine of Siena, a Dominican nun, also famously said: “Be who God wants you to be and you can set the world on fire.” “Dominicans are very comfortable with holy inflammatory language,” Father Hurley said. “Fire encapsulates the energy of what God’s grace is about to us.”
Critical thought: Father Augustine Hilander, OP
Dominican Father Augustine Hilander, parochial vicar at St. Dominic for the past three years, said a distinction of the Dominican order is – making distinctions. “In our studies we are taught never to deny something and seldom to affirm something and always to make distinctions. This is an important element of our thought,” he said. “When we come to an issue, a problem or some aspect of great concern, we look to not agree with it right away, nor to disagree with it right away, but to make a distinction by proposing something we can talk about.”
(courtesy photo)
Saint Vincent de Paul Parish Congratulates
Father Robert Christian, O.P. on your Episcopal Ordination Confirmed Robert Peter Christian SVdP Church on April 7, 1961 Graduate of SVdP School - Class of 1962
Since 1924, SVdP School has served the San Francisco community. As we plan to celebrate 100 years of advancing Catholic education, we are also looking ahead to the next 100 years with facility upgrades and improvements.
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition C7
With our Congratulations and Prayerful Support
Most Reverend Robert F. Christian Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco We pray God blesses you with wisdom and strength as you continue to praise, to bless, and to preach with us.
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A Tradition of Faith Throughout Our Lives.
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Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
DISTINCTLY Dominican: Friars’ perspective on the Order of Preachers these questions, and this age group is so critical,” he said. “This is often the time young people make life decisions and I wanted to be present and help and inspire as I could.”
FROM PAGE C6
Mission spirit: Father Isaiah Mary Molano, OP
Catholic San Francisco spoke to Father Isaiah Mary Molano hours before he was to board a flight for a two-week missionary trip to Asia with the St. Xavier Lay Missionary Society. In addition to his role as parochial vicar and chaplain of the young adult ministry at St. Dominic Parish, Father Molano is the spiritual director of the nonprofit missionary society, which trains and dispatches Catholic lay missionaries in Asia. It was founded by Stanford graduate Tricia Bolle, whom he met many years ago at a campus ministry event there. In Hong Kong, Father Molano will share his vocation story with young adults at events sponsored by the Archdiocese of Hong Kong. From there the missionaries will serve the poor in Calcutta, then travel to Goa, a “very Catholic” beach resort town in southern India where they will offer guidance to Catholic hotel and motel owners who want to find ways to evangelize through their work. Father Molano first encountered the Dominican order in campus ministry at his college in Southern California. He said he was “really affected” by the presence of Dominicans at his college in Southern California, and their desire to be “spiritual fathers” to that age group.
Inclusive perspective: Father Bruno Gibson, OP
(photo by Debra greenblat/csf)
‘What impressed me about the Dominicans was their dedication to the young adult community, the young church.’ Father Isaiah Mary Molano, OP As an art major, he turned to his own Catholic family’s tradition to help figure out what the Catholic Church said about the meaning of truth and beauty, and found a “treasure trove” there. “I’m clearly not the only person who has had
After 60 years of priesthood and at 87 years of age, “retired” Dominican Father Bruno Gibson could easily stay tucked away in his room in the peaceful ridge top home he shares in Tiburon. Instead, he gets up early each Sunday morning with his housemate as his faithful driver, and travels 30 miles west to celebrate Mass at tiny St. Mary Magdalene Church in coastal Bolinas. One of four rural Catholic parishes in West Marin County, St. Mary Magdalene is actually a mission of Sacred Heart Parish in “nearby” Olema. Three years ago, Father Bruno offered to provide Sunday morning relief to the pastor there who technically has pastoral responsibility for all four of the churches separated from one other by many dozens of country miles. Since then, Catholics have come from as far away as San Francisco, Sonoma and even Central California to hear Father Bruno’s joyful preaching. Non-Catholics too, are sometimes drawn off their tourist track into the church by the sight of the simple clapboard chapel and Father Gibson’s see distinctly dominican, page C10
Congratulations Auxiliary Bishop
ROBERT F. CHRISTIAN May the Lord bless you as you minister to our brothers and sisters in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares The Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix
AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition C9
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
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Heartfelt Congratulations Most Reverend Robert E. Christian, O.P. on your Episcopal Ordination and Installation as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
May God bless you and your ministry to the People of God in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. From Bishop Kevin W. Vann, Auxiliary Bishops Timothy E. Freyer, Thanh Thai Nguyen, Bishop Emeritus Tod D. Brown, the clergy, religious and faithful of the Diocese of Orange.
Congratulations
Robert F. Christian The Most Reverend
on your appointment to Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco from...
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DISTINCTLY Dominican: Friars’ perspective on the Order of Preachers the Gospel,” he said. Our society is “steeped in superficiality” he said, and people are yearning for a spiritual life. On any given Sunday, traditional Catholics, lapsed Catholics, nonbelievers and the merely curious might be led into the pews of St. Mary Magdalene by Father Gibson’s welcoming smile alone. Dominicans seek “dialogical encounter,” with people, he said. “Our perspective is not an exclusive perspective. The Dominican perspective is an inclusive perspective,” he said.
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white robes flapping in the wind as he stands outside welcoming all who enter. “Stored grain rots.” Father Gibson, told Catholic San Francisco, a quote from St. Dominic. He who drove his followers, he said, “to the edges” to spread the Gospel message. “Wherever the frontiers call us,” he said, with his omnipresent smile. “In many ways Bolinas is a frontier town.” The San Francisco-born priest ordained in 1960 has served at Dominican parishes and centers in Oregon, Washington and California including two separate stints as pastor of another St. Mary Magdalene Parish, the one in Berkeley. He left in 2013 shortly before the Dominicans left the parish in 2016. Father Bruno developed “A View from the Ridge,” a retreat series “from a Dominican perspective” offering preaching, meditation, and silent contemplation in the same home in which he now shares with a local Catholic who opened the home to him. Participants came from all over the Bay Area to participate. Today, with a small corps of friends and followers to help him, Father Bruno is recreating those day retreats in Bolinas with a “A View
(photo by christina gray/catholic san francisco)
‘The Dominican perspective is not an exclusive perspective; it’s an inclusive perspective.’ Father Bruno Gibson, OP from the Shore” during Advent, on Pentecost Sunday, on the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, and on All Souls Day. He and his cohorts hope to lure other Dominican priests out to Bolinas to organize day retreats of their
own by offering free housing in the homes of local Catholics. Father Bruno said that he sees the same “hunger” that St. Dominic saw at the time he founded the order. “People don’t really know our Lord Jesus Christ, they don’t know
As a college student at Gonzaga University, Dominican Father Anthony Rosevear traveled to Florence, Italy, as part of a junior year abroad program. He didn’t know it at the time, but his life as a Dominican began to take root then. see distinctly dominican, page C22
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Bishop Robert F. Vasa, Bishop Daniel F. Walsh, the Priests, Deacons, Religious and Laity of the Diocese of Santa Rosa express to you, a warm note of congratulations on the occasion of your Ordination as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. May God grant to you an abundance of graces, blessings and joy during the years of your Episcopal Ministry in the Archdiocese.
AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition C11
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
O
n behalf of myself, all the clergy, religious and laity of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, I extend our sincere congratulations and best wishes to the Reverend Robert F. Christian on his appointment by Pope Francis as Auxillary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The Most Reverend Martin D. Holley, D.D. Bishop of Memphis in Tennessee
Congratulations Congratulations Bishop Robert Christian Bishop Robert Christian
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AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
A conversation with Bishop-designate
Robert F. Christian, OP
The Dominican priest to be ordained June 5 as the 18th auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese discusses sacred art, Dominican life, the importance of transmitting the faith and the resurgence of social thought
sit with white shirts and Block Club sweaters to form a large SI block in the stands. The whole school would turn out. If you weren’t playing on the field, you were sitting in the stands cheering on the team.” His favorite teachers at SI included two Jesuit scholastics who later became priests – Charles Gagan, SJ, who taught Latin in the 1960s and who later served as pastor of St. Ignatius Parish, and Richard McCurdy, SJ, “who was a great English teacher” and who later became principal at SI in the 1970s. “The Jesuits were inspiring and made me want to be one of them.” After graduating from SI in 1966, he majored in English at Santa Clara University. While there, Father Christian joined the Gonzaga in Florence program in his junior year and found himself in a Dominican parish for the first time. “That was my chance to see another order that was viable in the church. With the Dominicans, this was an order with a common prayer and community life.”
Paul Totah
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Catholic San Francisco
wice yearly, the pope delivers a papal address known as “Urbi et Orbi” – to the city and to the world. That phrase is just one way to describe the life of Father Robert Christian, OP, who will be installed as San Francisco’s newest auxiliary bishop June 5 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. A fourth-generation San Franciscan, Father Christian’s ministry has seen him rooted in several cities since his ordination in 1976, including San Francisco, Oakland and Rome. He has also traveled to every continent on the globe save Antarctica in his work for the church, especially in its attempts to find common ground with other religions. Born to Robert and Gloria Christian, Father Christian was the oldest of seven children. Even though six of the seven were sons, the Christian household wasn’t a rowdy one. “My mother thought it was much easier to raise boys than girls,” he added. His younger brother John (who works for the Archdiocese of San Francisco heading its real estate division) noted that “when Bob was left in charge of us at night, he always made sure we said our prayers before going to bed.” Father Christian, John added, “had an inkling of a religious vocation even in grammar school. Our parents, however, advised him not to enter the minor seminary but to gain some real-life experience in high school and college before making a decision on his vocation. From the start, my brother has always been in love with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He is perfect bishop material – smart as well as pragmatic.”
(Photo by Dennis Callahan/Catholic San Francisco)
‘The bottom line is that the transmission of faith is key, especially of belief in Christ’s life, death and resurrection and the promise of eternal life. If that isn’t passed on, then everything else becomes irrelevant.’
Bishop-designate Christian is pictured in April at St. Albert’s Priory in Oakland, the house of formation for the Western Dominican Province.
Bishop-designate Robert F. Christian, OP
Their father gained a modicum of fame as an inventor with Christian Engineering, the family’s company. He helped Ore-Ida make use of leftover slivers of potatoes by creating a device to turn them into Tater Tots. “Ore-Ida used to shower our family with potato products every Christmas,” said Father Christian. He attended St. Brendan School and transferred to St. Vincent de Paul before going on to St. Ignatius High School and graduating with the Class of 1966. There, he joined the Debate Society and the Forum, “both of which helped me overcome my shyness and taught me public speaking skills, which was good preparation for becoming a Dominican.” He loved the school spirit he found at SI, including the crowds that would gather to watch games at Kezar. “Students would
Studying in Italy also gave him exposure to the great art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. “That’s where I learned to see art as a means of communication. Years later, at the Chagall Museum in Nice, I saw a painting of Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. That work speaks to the connection between the Old and New Testaments, of the sacrifice of Isaac prevented by an angel and of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, one freely offered. It became for me a wonderful tableau for preaching on Good Friday.” After finishing his bachelor’s degree, he answered the call to the priesthood “at a time when vocations were declining and the prospect of working alone as a priest was looming, but I didn’t think I could live alone.” He considered joining the Jesuits and one other order but chose the Dominicans “as it seemed the best fit for me.”
Art as communication
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
He studied first at St. Albert’s Priory in Oakland, made his solemn profession of vows in 1974 and was ordained in 1976. After teaching at Dominican College, he continued his studies at the Angelicum University in Rome, where he received his Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1981 and his Doctorate in Theology in 1984. He gained experience in pastoral work at Newman Centers at UC Riverside and the University of Washington before being sent back to the Angelicum to teach theology. He remained there, off and on, until 2014. He returned to the U.S. twice, first for a sabbatical at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and at Yale, and later to serve as Vicar Provincial for the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, which comprises 10 Western states. He accepted several Vatican appointments, including membership on the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, where he and Catholic and Anglican colleagues work to achieve, in his words, “a full, visible unity – based on a shared faith, a shared government and a shared worship – but a unity that makes due allowance for legitimate differences.” Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 also appointed him to serve as Consultor for the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. His Bay Area roots also kept him busy locally, as he has been elected to attend almost every Dominican provincial chapter meeting since 1981, as well as three general chapters. Currently he serves as master of students for the Dominican’s Western province based out of St. Albert’s.
Dominican decision-making
That notion of being elected is an important one for Father Christian, who values the principles that guide the Dominicans. “We are the most democratic order in the church. We even elect our local superiors, so there is a good scrappiness at times as well as a good deal of cross pollination and discussion on common projects. We also know that if a decision isn’t the right one, we can change it in a few years. Our basic values aren’t up for grabs, but our implementation of policies can change as time goes by. This gives us all in the order a sense of ownership, where decisions are imposed by the common will and not from above.” What all Dominicans have in common, he added, are charisms defined by two mottos. Veritas – truth – and contemplari et contemplata aliis tradere (to contemplate and to give to others the fruits of contemplation). The latter motto, Father Christian noted, “implies that our common prayer and study life are two aspects of contemplation. We don’t compartmentalize them, and they are subordinate to our preaching mission. And while we can never know the truth in its entirety, we can know much, because God has revealed himself to us. We want people to know that the truth will set us free.” Also key to the Order of Preachers is the act of preaching. “We work to praise, to bless and to preach. That’s what we do in our lives. We praise what God has made, and we preach about the goodness of God.” He is approaching his new work as auxiliary bishop with some excitement and some trepidation. “It will be a steep learning curve, as I don’t know canon law. In some ways, I feel as if I’m being kidnapped. I’ve been a Dominican for 48 years. This will be a big change. I’m excited, but I confess I’m dreading it just a little bit.” Father Christian first met Archbishop Cordileone in Rome when the latter was a seminarian studying at the Gregorian.
Both were members of the Cal-Neva Club, which brought together U.S. clerics from California and Nevada who were studying or teaching in Rome.
Transmitting the faith
The two share a common concern – “that the transmission of faith isn’t happening,” said Father Christian. “The crisis will grow worse before it gets better. The ‘nones’ – those who have no religion – won’t be passing along the faith that they don’t have to children they might have. We are approaching a cliff and looking at a landscape where we may no longer have a large faith community. People react to this fear by going to one of two extremes rather than moving to the middle; they either adopt an eccentric rigidity or they throw in the towel.” One solution, he noted “is to work on good preaching, but that will only be heard by those still coming to hear us. The other part is good family formation and evangelical outreach. The bottom line is that the transmission of faith is key, especially of belief in Christ’s life, death and resurrection and the promise of eternal life. If that isn’t passed on, then everything else becomes irrelevant. We need to deal with this gracefully without being combative or self-righteous. The answer is not found in a sledgehammer approach.” The other challenge the church faces, he added, is the need to respond to global threats that affect the most vulnerable communities. “The poor live with rising sea levels brought on by climate change, and they suffer from human trafficking, even here in Oakland, which is a center for this. The poor will sell organs so that wealthy people can have a kidney or an eye. The homeless camps we see on the streets are both a symptom of and a repudiation of the separation of rich and poor. For many, the poor are a problem to be hidden away. Others abuse the principle of subsidiarity – they believe local authorities need to deal with problems, but local governments are unable to do much without federal or state funding.”
Resurgence of social thought
The church, which historically has excelled at education and health care, is strongest today in areas of social justice, he added. “Social thought is also enjoying a renaissance of acceptability in both government and academic circles. The church is stressing both the common good and the common dignity of the human person. We are losing, however, the Catholic identities of our schools, and we need to stress this more.” When he is installed as auxiliary bishop, he hopes to bring his Dominican sensibilities to the job. “We have had four Dominican popes over the years, and the first archbishop of San Francisco, Joseph Alemany, was a Dominican. Prayer and study is part of our lives, though subordinate to preaching the good news.” While he has yet to choose his coat of arms, he has chosen his motto: “Sanctificetur nomen tuum – Hallowed be thy name. That echoes the name of our province, and it lets people know that I’ll continue to preach the name of Jesus, who teaches me to be grateful for all that I have, including a good family, many friends, an education, my Dominican life and travels all over the world. This gratitude calls me to wonder if I’m using all these gifts as best I am able. God is the giver of all good gifts and has given me the opportunity to be something of a gift to others.” Paul Totah serves as director of communications at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco.
Timeline: Bishop-designate Robert F. Christian, OP
1948:
Robert and Gloria Christian with baby Robert Francis, their firstborn.
1954:
(Family photos courtesy John Christian)
St. Brendan School days.
1965:
With his six siblings.
1970:
1966:
With fellow St. Ignatius College Preparatory senior Forum men.
2001:
(Photo courtesy St. Ignatius Collegiate Prep)
C13
Dominican novice.
With parents at his 25th ordination anniversary.
C14 AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition
Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany, OP
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
Dominican Father Francis Sadoc Vilarrasa
Dominican Sister Mary Goemaere
Dominican pioneer priests and sisters of Northern California Here are excerpts from “Mission West: The Western Dominican Province, 1855-1966,” written by Dominican Father Fabian Stan Parmisano and published by the Western Dominican Province, based in Oakland. Reprinted with permission of the Western Dominican Province. San Francisco was a genteel, laid-back sort of town from its early Spanish beginnings in the 1700s to the drifting in of pioneering Europeans and U.S. citizens. But shortly after the cry “Gold!” was heard from Sutter’s Mill in January, 1848, even the most sober and settled of its citizens caught the fever and joined in the rush. Overnight, carpenters dropped their hammers, masons their trowels, bakers their loaves, clerks their pens, to rush to the American River. Schools were closed as both teachers and pupils deserted; shopkeepers hung signs on their doors – “Gone to the Diggings,” “Off to the Mines” – and disappeared. By June 15 [1849] San Francisco was a ghost town, with houses and shops empty, and all who could walk, ride, run, or crawl rushing toward the Sierras.” A ghost town, yes, but not for long. A year later San Francisco was alive again with those returning from the mines, rich or as poor as ever, and with latecomer from near and far stopping off to cash in. The town soon became “the City,” percentage-wise as cosmopolitan as we find it today. So a wide-eyed seminarian, later ordained by the city’s first archbishop, wrote to the
Society of the Propagation of the Faith on September 18, 1851: “What a port! What a town! What a population! … Christians, pagans, Protestants, atheists, brigands, thieves, convicts, firebrands, assassins; little good, much bad; behold the population of San Francisco, the new Babylon teeming with crime, confusion and frightful vice.”
of the Catholic Church in California. It also was the beginning of the presence of the Order of Preachers in the whole of the western United States. For Bishop Alemany had come not just to oversee the California Church but also to establish in California a new province of the Dominican Order.
Alemany: A bishop for the California wilds
Before his departure from Rome where his consecration took place, Alemany had spoken to Fr. Jerome Gigli, the Vicar General of the Order, of his intentions with regard to the new foundation, and had been given the green light. Once arrived in his new diocese he immediately set to work not only as bishop but as “provincial.” Within a few days of his arrival we find him writing to the new Vicar General, Fr. Alexander Vincent Jandel, requesting more explicit directions with regard to the province. Fr. Jandel responded graciously but also rather sharply that “It is entirely forbidden to any Dominican religious elevated to the episcopacy to retain any jurisdiction in the Order itself: this is clear in our Constitution and confirmed, if I mistake not, by a bull of Benedict XIII. Since I am unable to give you the authority to establish our Order in California, I send with this answer letters patent to Father Vilarrasa to do so.” Jandel’s letter, however, did not reach Alemany until some weeks
The archbishop who ordained this young enthusiast was Joseph Sadoc Alemany, then, as the above letter was being written, simply bishop of the two Californias, Alta and Baja, Nevada, most of Utah and a fair slice of Arizona, with his episcopal see in Monterey. Less than a year prior to this date, Alemany, a Dominican friar newly ordained bishop expressly for the wilds of California, arrived at the port of San Francisco. It was the night of Friday, December 6, 1850. With him was another Dominican friar, Fr. Francis Sadoc Vilarrasa, and a Dominican sister, the Belgian-born Sr. Mary Goemaere. Next day Alemany with his party was formally welcomed and the following day, December 8, he presided at the Mass of the Immaculate Conception in the small wooden church of St. Francis, the only Catholic church in San Francisco besides the mission. After the Mass he was presented with a gift of $1,400.00 to cover the expenses projected for the visitation of his vast diocese. Such was the modest ceremony, prayerful and practical, that began a new era in the history
Shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus
see pioneers, page C16
Joyful congratulations
Dominican Friars
to our brother,
We warmly congratulate our brother and Friend of Saint Jude Father Robert F. Christian, O.P. upon his election as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of San Francisco!
The Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus 2390 Bush St., P. O. Box 15368 San Francisco, CA 94115 www.stjude-shrine.org tel: (415) 931-5919
Establishing the province
an apostolate of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
Bishop Designate Father Robert Christian, OP
Know that our prayers are always with you. St. Dominic by Robert Pawell
AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition C15
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
St. Dunstan
Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Daly City Congratulates and offers prayerful best wishes to Auxiliary Bishop Robert Christian as you begin your ministry to the Archdiocese of San Francisco
Faith and School Communities extend their warmest congratulations and prayerful wishes to
Bishop Robert F. Christian on his appointment as the Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco
Star of the Sea Parish Congratulates
His Excellency Bishop Robert F. Christian Ad Multos Annos
The Department of Pastoral Ministry in the Archdiocese of San Francisco welcomes Auxiliary Bishop Robert F. Christian, OP and seeks God’s blessings upon his ministry among our faithful
Prayers and Blessings Bishop Designate Robert Christian Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of San Francisco
Rev. Charles Puthota, Ph.D., Director of Pastoral Ministry
Faith Formation Marriage and Family Life Child and Youth Protection Victims Assistance Chinese Ministry Filipino Ministry Ministry to Spanish Speaking Youth Ministry and Young Adult Ministry
Bishop Robert Gruss, the Clergy, Religious, and the people of the Diocese of Rapid City, S.D.
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Bishop Robert F. Christian, OP offers assurance of Prayers and Every Best Wish to
C16 AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
pioneers: Dominican priests and sisters of Northern California FROM PAGE C14
after its writing, thus permitting the bishop in good faith to take some initial steps in the establishment of the western Dominicans, both men and women. Although Fr. Vilarrasa under the title of “commissary general” became the founder in legal fact of the province, it is to Alemany that the idea and inspiration of the province originally belong. Even before he was consecrated bishop, as the newly appointed provincial of the Eastern Province he had begun the process. A young Dominican, Fr. Peter Augustine Anderson, had come to him asking to be missioned in California. Alemany immediately granted the request, hoping that Fr. Anderson would restore the Dominican missions in Baja California and thereby lay the ground for another Dominican province. And, when made bishop, one of his first acts was to enlist Fr. Vilarrasa as companion to help in the new foundation. A further indication of his initiative and seriousness in this regard was his invitation, dutifully accepted, to some Dominican sisters to participate in the work. It was St. Dominic over again: as the Dominican Order in its very inception was composed of both women and men, so it would be with the Order in its newest and newly challenging terrain.
Alemany’s ‘tireless begging pen’
One of Alemany’s chief activities as archbishop was to staff his archdiocese with priests and religious, both sisters and brothers. This was his
The town soon became ‘the City,’ percentage-wise as cosmopolitan as we find it today. So a wide-eyed seminarian wrote on September 18, 1851: ‘What a port! What a town! What a population!’ first concern when consecrated bishop in 1850. He immediately set to work pleading for help, from the Propagation of the Faith by letter and personal visits, but also from individual dioceses and religious orders directly. He wrote to his brother Dominican, Henri Lacordaire, asking for Dominicans, and to John Henry Newman requesting the aid of the Oratorians; and many other similar requests issued from the tireless begging pen of Alemany all through his tenure as bishop. The episcopacy of Patrick Riordan, Alemany’s successor, has been called “the Age of the Builder,” for it was under Riordan that Catholic schools and hospitals and other Catholic centers multiplied. But Riordan could build buildings only because he had the personnel to staff them, and these came largely through the efforts of his predecessor. We have seen how Alemany insured that at the very start of his work as Bishop in California there would be sisters to educate the young. Other invitations quickly followed, some rejected, at least for a
time, others accepted. In March of 1851 Alemany welcomed to San Francisco the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and in the following July they opened the doors of their convent in San Jose to its first pupils. Here was the beginning of the college which would, in 1923, be moved to Belmont and function there to the present day.
Daughters answer Alemany’s appeal
In August of 1850 Alemany had visited the superior of the Vincentian Fathers and the Daughters of Charity with the request for help. This resulted in the arrival in California in June, 1851, of five Daughters of Charity. Seven had set out from Emmittsburg, Maryland, but two succumbed to Yellow Fever along the Isthmus of Panama. Their initial losses, and other trials, weighed heavy upon this pioneer group, as the following letter, dated “March, 1853,” of Sr. Francis McEnnis to her U.S. superior betrays: … I had not the heart to write to anyone, our prospects were so bad. I was truly disappointed and not only myself, but everyone is so, when they come here. It is so different from what we expected but God had dealt with us for the best. It was His Holy Will that we should suffer, and we ought to obey Him under all circumstances … Our prospects are brighter now; it seems to me as if the sun was under a cloud since we have been here. The last time the Bishop was in the city I went to see him. I was much pleased and I find he will do anything he
see pioneers, page C17
Prayers and Blessings,
Bishop Christian
as You Shepherd the People of God
Emile J. Maionchi, Jr., Proprietor The Wine Merchant of Showplace Square 2 Henry Adams Mezz. #M74, San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 864-8466 | (415) 864-VINO
Warmest blessings and congratulations to
Bishop Christian
The Most Rev. Robert Francis Christian, OP from
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on his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
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AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition C17
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
pioneers: Dominican priests and sisters of Northern California FROM PAGE C16
can for us. He even told me, if he could get Sisters of Charity he preferred them to any other Order. I must tell you that I was not much pleased with the Bishop when I first saw him, but indeed, I am now … A good concerned bishop and, evidently, a shrewdly politic one! In a final note Sister Francis reveals perhaps the main reason for her and her sisters improved though continuing sadness with their San Francisco mission: “This is a strange place, a real bad place. Immorality seems to be the favorite virtue here. God pity us! We need prayers and good fervent ones, for we see nothing good in this miserable place.” But they made the most of it. In October, 1852, the Daughters opened St. Vincent’s School at St. Patrick’s church in Happy Valley (south Market), and soon an orphanage was added. In 1854 Alemany sent Fr. Hugh Gallagher to Ireland to gather more recruits from the sisterhoods there. The mission proved highly successful. On November 13, 1854, five Presentation Sisters of County Cork arrived in San Francisco and in little more than two weeks had opened a free school on Green Street and laid the cornerstone for a permanent foundation on Powell Street. Less than a month later, on December 8, 1854, eight Sisters of Mercy arrived from Kinsale, Ireland. Initially they visited the homes of the sick, but were soon ministering at the City Hospital. But it was in the following year of 1855 that the Mercy Sisters proved their mettle and became endeared to San Franciscans generally. It was in this year that a severe plague of cholera broke out in the city, and the Mercy Sisters were in the forefront of those nursing the sick and the dying. At the prodding of the persistent archbishop, priests, too, continued to volunteer for California, and of course the Catholic laity grew with the fast growing population of the newest State. “By the end of 1855, the number of Catholics under Alemany’s pastoral care had grown to 68,000. Forty-six priests served the diocese (all foreign-born), but encouragement was to be found in the fact that a diocesan seminary, located at Mission Dolores and christened by the Dominican archbishop St. Thomas Seminary, contained 10 students for the diocese. Moreover, 15 other aspirants were studying for San Francisco in the Irish seminaries of All Hallows and Carlow and in the Roman College de Propaganda Fide. The City Hospital, conducted by the Sisters of Mercy, was caring for 200 sick persons. There were two orphan asylums, one housing 30 boys at San Rafael and one for girls under the Sisters of Charity in San Francisco with one hundred in residence. There was a convent of Dominican Fathers in Benicia, as well as “Female Academies, number of ladies, two hundred.”
Mother Pia Backes, superior of the Dominican Sisters of Mission of San Jose. sanction of his archbishop, founded the Sisterhood of the Holy Family whose purpose it was, as stated in Sadlier’s Catholic Almanac and Ordo for 1879, to “devote themselves to the sick and the poor, provide for the Christian education of young children, and take care during the day of small children whose mothers have to go from home to work.” On November 11, 1876, a second congregation of Dominican sisters arrived. Originally from Ratisbon, Bavaria, these sisters had, in 1853, founded the Convent of the Holy Cross in Brooklyn which in a short time gave birth to ten other distinct offshoots of U.S. Dominican sisters. The sisters who accepted Alemany’s invitation to come to California settled in Mission San Jose and became the Congregation of the Queen of the Holy Rosary. Originally they were to serve the German Catholics of the Bay Area, but in a short time we find them in addition conducting many schools for whatever nationality throughout and beyond the archdiocese. In all this ecclesiastical expansion under Alemany it was perhaps the religious sisters who attracted
Peace and All Good
A second congregation of Dominican sisters arrives
In the following years more priests and religious were welcomed into the archdiocese by its archbishop. The Marists were here for a time as administrators and teachers of the seminary. In 1872, as noted above, the vicar general, Fr. Prendergast, with the
Your Franciscan Sisters of R edwood C ity
Congratulations and Best Wishes Bishop Designate Fr. Robert Christian From Genevieve Elizondo Robert O’Connor | Michael Gotuaco
Mission Office On your Episcopal Ordination as Auxiliary Bishop Of the Archdiocese of San Francisco The Society for the Propagation of the Faith Missionary Association One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 614-5670 | FAX (415) 614-5671 E-Mail: spof@sfarchdiocese.org
most attention and admiration. They were to the forefront in the very beginnings of the diocese, and in works that were at the heart of life itself – physical life in their nursing and administration of hospitals, intellectual life in their teaching and establishment of schools, spiritual life in the living of their own spirituality and their teaching of religion. Catholics may have come to take them for granted, as children do their parents, but the non-Catholic population in and about San Francisco could not help but wonder at them. For them they were something new and different among womankind, at once displaying and expanding its potential. A statement in this regard appeared in an article of September of 1873 in one of the local newspapers noting the growth and influence of the Catholic Church. It was evidently written by a Protestant, but one intrigued by “Romanism,” at least as he was observing it in the San Francisco of his day. He seems to have been especially appreciative of the opportunities it offered in its sisterhoods for the advancement of the “female sex”: The San Francisco diocese has 104 churches and chapels and 92 priests. Among the convents are “Presentation Convent” and Dominican monastery on Bush St., the convent of the S. Heart and several others. The majority of these establishments have schools attached, and it is noticeable in these as in all other institutions of this church that women are employed most unhesitatingly in the most responsible positions. One cause of the success of Romanism is found in the fact that it opens so many avenues for women, cultivated and otherwise, see pioneers, page C18
Bishop Robert F. Christian, OP The Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community offers our congratulations and prayers for many blessings as you begin your role as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of San Francisco
www.sistersofmercy.org
C18 AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
pioneers: Dominican priests and sisters of Northern California FROM PAGE C17
to engage in legitimate work. … If the network of this organization [Romanism] which covers the land could be someday suddenly presented before the public gaze in its entirety, like the instantaneously illuminated powder traceries of a fourth of July fireworks exhibition, people outside of the Roman communion would be greatly startled. …
A demanding but forgiving pastor
Although Alemany was always eager, and often desperate, for priests and religious to satisfy his present needs and future plans, he was properly selective and was circumspect with regard to discipline. “Good priests and religious or none at all,” was the qualification of his every petition. He was understanding of failure and sin and was quick to forgive and reinstate, as early evidenced in the case of the suspended Dominican, Fr. James Aerden. But he demanded real change of heart. There are instances of his issuing of reprimands to individual priests, always, however, with paternal charity, even in the most recalcitrant cases. Thus he wrote to one of his problem priests: “You know that I have loved and do love you as a dear son. I have admonished you and advised you as a father – and you have turned a deaf ear. This I feel very deeply in my soul, but, as a Bishop, I feel myself obliged to take away your faculties. But remember that, when you repent and behave yourself and do as you are told, I am ready to lift the suspension.” By the time of his retirement in late 1885 the Monitor of February 4 of that year offered the
Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
following summary of the apostolic work accomplished in and through the leadership of this Dominican archbishop: It is only 36 years since a small wooden shanty on Vallejo Street sufficed to hold the Catholics of San Francisco he desired to worship Almighty God. The churches in the other portions of the vast diocese were simply the ruined adobe buildings left by the missionary Fathers. The native congregations were scattered and rapidly disappearing, but our venerable Metropolitan has lived to see this spiritual wilderness blossom as a rose, and has been the husbandman of Heaven who has labored to bring about this state of Christian cultivation in the Lord’s vineyard. More than 150 churches and chapels to the glory of God attest to the zeal of the pastor and the generosity of the flock. Nearly 200 priests, the majority of whom were educated and ordained for this diocese, lift up their voices to the throne of God and ask Him who sent them such a beloved bishop to bless his last days even as his whole life has been blessed. A theological seminary, 6 colleges, 18 academies, 5 asylums, and 4 hospitals are all living monuments of the watchful care of the prudent pastor for his people. … The flock which has grown up from a few hundred to 200,000, finds itself surrounded by churches, schools and institutions wherein they can find salvation for their souls, solace for their afflictions, mental strength to serve God in their religion, or to preserve their faith while fighting the battles of life. We would not dare to offend the well-known humility of our holy Archbishop by any reference to his corporal works of mercy. The recording angel will reveal them on the last day.
Congratulations Congratulations Bishop Robert F.F.Christian! Bishop Robert Christian!
1. Denis J. O’Connell, Dec. 24, 1908-Jan. 19, 1912 2. Edward J. Hanna: Auxiliary bishop, Oct. 22, 1912; Archbishop, June 1, 1915-March 2, 1935 3. Thomas A. Connolly: June 10, 1939-Feb. 28, 1948 4. Joseph T. O’Dowd: May 22, 1948-Feb. 4, 1950 5. Hugh A. Donohoe: Aug. 2, 1947-Jan. 27, 1962 6. Merlin J. Guilfoyle: Aug. 24, 1950-Nov. 12, 1969 7. Mark J. Hurley, Nov. 21, 1967-Nov. 19, 1969 8. Norman F. McFarland: June 5, 1970, to Dec. 6, 1974 9. William J. McDonald, July 26, 1967-June 5, 1979 10. Francis A. Quinn: April 24, 1978-Dec. 18, 1979 11. Daniel F. Walsh, June 20, 1981-Jun. 3, 1987 12. Carlos A. Sevilla, SJ: Dec. 6, 1988-Dec. 31, 1996 13. Patrick J. McGrath: Dec. 6, 1988-June 30, 1998 14. John C. Wester: June 30, 1998-Jan. 8, 2007 15. Ignatius C. Wang: Dec. 13, 2002-May 16, 2009 16. Robert W. McElroy: July 6, 2010-March 3, 2015. 17. William J. Justice: April 10, 2008-Nov. 16, 2017 18. Robert F. Christian, OP: March 28, 2018 Source: www.catholic-hierarchy.org
Congratulations and promises of pr ayer to
Auxiliary Bishop-Elect Robert Christian, in honor of his episcopal ordination as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Fr ancisco Bishop-elect Christian served for many years as a professor of theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (The Angelicum) in Rome, where Bishop David Ricken was one of his students.
ArchbishopJohn John C. C. Wester, Archbishop Wester, May God Archbishop Emeritus Michael J. Sheehan Archbishop Michael Bless You! andEmeritus the priests, deacons, religiousJ. Sheehan and laity the Archdiocese of Santa Fereligious send their and theofpriests, deacons, Bishop David L. Ricken best wishes on the occasion of your nd laity of love theand Archdiocese of Santa Fe send their Bishop Robert J. Banks, Emeritus Episcopal Ordination. Robert F. Morneau, Emeritus Auxiliary love and best wishes on the occasion of your Bishop and the priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese of Green Bay Episcopal Ordination. We ask God to send his richest blessings to you and the people you serve.
www.gbdioc.org We ask God to send his richest blessings to you and the people you serve.
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition C19
‘E pluribus unum’ and Christian unity The following article by now-Bishop-designate Robert F. Christian, OP, and introductory editor’s note appeared in the Spring 2012 issue of Genesis, the quarterly magazine of his high school alma mater St. Ignatius Preparatory, and is reprinted with permission. Since March 2011, Rev. Robert Christian, OP ’66, based in Rome, has worked to unify the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches. A member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, Fr. Christian works as part of 20-person committee (10 from each Church) towards the goal of achieving “full, visible unity – a unity based on a shared faith, a shared government, and a shared worship – but a unity that makes due allowance for legitimate differences.” In August, he came to Oakland’s Claremont Country Club to speak to the local chapter of the Knights of the Order of Malta, led by his brother, John Christian ’76. He wrote the article, below, a few months after his talk. Rev. Robert Christian, OP ’66
American coins bear the words “e pluribus unum” – from many, one. Throughout its short history, the U.S. has struggled to define – and to live – the relationship between unity and diversity. At one time, our country seemed to endorse the “melting pot” theory: diversity fusing into unity. Now we “celebrate” diversity, but at the same time worry whether diversity fractures unity. Although the Catholic Church takes her mandate for promoting unity among all Christians from Jesus’s prayer that all his disciples be one (cf. John 17:21), the working motto for the ecumenical endeavor could well be “unum tamen plures”: one while yet many. A civil society or a Church that insists that unity demands uniformity is totalitarian, intolerant of deviations from prevailing norms and orthodoxies. In her long history, the Catholic Church has lived through periods in which Roman authorities tried to ensure unity by promoting uniformity. One only has to recall the suspicions engendered by the work of the Jesuit missionary to China, Matteo Ricci (d. 1610), and the “normative” corrections issued by the Inquisition (at that time under the control of my own order, the Dominicans) to have an example of a mentality that sees difference as threatening. But the Church has also lived through long periods in which diversity was seen as a positive and enriching expression of underlying unity. Un-
Ecumenical dialogue requires patience, candor, charity and a willingness to see one’s own position through the eyes of others, along with a willingness to hazard opinions provisionally in the hope of being able to express the truth in a common language. til quite recently, the Latin Church (the Church directly governed by the pope) approved of many distinctive liturgical rites – the Mozarabic Rite in Spain, the Ambrosian Rite in Milan, the Gallican Rite in France, the Sarum Rite in England, as well as the rites proper to many religious Orders: the Carthusians, Cistercians, Premonstratensians, Dominicans and Carmelites among others. Since the Church holds that how we pray conditions how we believe (lex orandi lex credendi), approved liturgical differences indicate that even theological differences can be seen as potentially positive contributions to the human quest to know the God who is Love. While worship of false gods is incompatible with the Church’s life, there are many ways of offering true worship to God, all of which trace their authority back to the Last Supper. In recent centuries, some communities have entered into full communion with the Catholic Church, coming from the Churches we call Orthodox or Eastern. These communities are properly called churches since they have always had a hierarchy enjoying apostolic succession by means of episcopal ordinations, and have, therefore, always had the valid celebration of the Eucharist. Thus, there is the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the Chaldaean Catholic Church, the Coptic Catholic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church and so on. And from its beginning, the Maronite Church in Lebanon has been a church in its own right (sui iuris), in full communion with Rome. These churches have not only distinctive liturgies, but also distinctive legal systems and particular cultural and historical patrimonies. In many of these churches, married men can be ordained. Theological terms common in Latin Christianity, such as original sin, sacramental character and even confirmation, are expressed quite differently
from, say, the Catechism of the Catholic Church. For the first time since the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, the Catholic Church has now extended a welcome to communities of the Anglican Communion to come into full communion with the Catholic Church without renouncing their own distinctive spiritual, cultural and historic patrimony. Although the Catholic Church does not view Anglican holy orders as valid, she does view positively many characteristics of Anglican life and sees them as indeed graced by the Holy Spirit. Since 2003, communities of Episcopalians who have entered the Catholic Church have prayed with The Book of Divine Worship¸ which contains many elements taken from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Now, under the leadership of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., these communities are being grouped together into a non-territorial diocese, or ordinariate, just as is happening in other parts of the English-speaking world. For the time being, at least, the clergy in the ordinariates can be married as has long been the practice of Anglicans. Understandably, the phenomenon of communities of Anglicans becoming Catholics has put some strain on ecumenical relations between the two bodies. On the one hand, the provision for legitimate diversity calms any fears the participants in the dialogue may have about whether unity means absorption: The melting pot image does not pertain. On the other hand, some suspect that the Catholic Church is unfairly offering refuge to Anglican faithful who are choosing to become Catholic because of their anger with the situation in their own communion rather than because of a deliberative, calm discernment. see from many, one, page 20
The St. Veronica Parish community offers its congratulations, prayers and warmest wishes to Most Reverend Robert F. Christian, OP on his installation as the Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco
CONGRATULATIONS And
WELCOME
We congratulate and welcome you to the Archdiocese of San Francisco Robert F. Christian, O.P. CA Lic. #Bishop-Elect 309677 Phone (415 575-3900
BISHOP ROBERT FRANCIS CHRISTIAN, O.P.
190 Hubbell Street San Francisco, CA 94107-2239
CA Lic. # 309677 190 Hubbell Street San Francisco, CA 94107-2239
On Your Episcopal Ordination as AUXILARY BISHOP OF SAN FRANCISCO
We rejoice in your new ministry as episcopal Shepherd among us.
Fax (415) 575-3920 www.pagcos.com
With our prayers, support and best wishes We are
Phone (415 575-3900 Fax (415) 575-3920 www.pagcos.com
Our Lady of Loretto Parish Community Novato, California
E Pluribus Un Christian U From many, one: ‘E pluribus unum’ and Christian unity C20 AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition
FROM PAGE 19
In March of 2011, Swiss Cardinal Robert Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, appointed me to be one of the Catholic members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), the body that conducts the dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans at the worldwide level. Led by Catholic Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, England, and Anglican Archbishop David Moxon of New Zealand, the 20 participants – 10 Catholics and 10 Anglicans – come from England, the USA, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, South Africa, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. The stated goal of the dialogue is the achievement of full, visible unity – a unity based on a shared faith, a shared government and a shared worship – but a unity that makes due allowance for legitimate differences. In the current climate, such a goal can seem remote indeed, and within the Protestant world there are examples of bilateral agreements that settle for much less, basically declaring that a recognition of many elements of sanctification and truth, without agreement on all such foundational elements, is as much as can realistically be attained. ARCIC has resisted lowering the bar, confident that the unity for which Christ prayed can
be brought about with the help of Divine Providence. Nevertheless, ARCIC is realistic enough to recognize that unity will only be achieved by taking small, sure steps. Already ARCIC has taken small steps in the form of some consensus regarding authority, ministry and the place of Mary in the Church. The current mandate of ARCIC, given it by the pope and by the archbishop of Canterbury, is to explore the notions of communion at the universal and the diocesan levels, and the way the Church arrives at moral decisions on both levels. My own task lies in the first area, and in addition to participating in the plenary meetings, I am responsible for working jointly with an Anglican theologian to formulate proposals for common consideration. Ecumenical dialogue requires patience, candor, charity and a willingness to see one’s own position through the eyes of others, along with a willingness to hazard opinions provisionally in the hope of being able to express the truth in a common language. Full unity is a long-term project. It is a privilege to try to nudge our communities a little closer to that goal, and it is spiritually rewarding to learn the timeless lesson that failures and dying to established ways of doing things are often God’s way of bringing about his design.
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
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Ad Multos Annos
Bishop-Elect Christian
Robert Stafford , Inc.
Congratulations, Felicidades, ‘Oku mau fakamonu atu, to
26 genesis
Father Robert and greetings from Southern most part of the Archdiocese. Our Southern border is the border also for the City of East Palo Alto, for the county of San Mateo and for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. We are the only parish of St. Francis in the Archdiocese. For that reason we take seriously our obligation to give St. Francis a proper celebration. We had Archbishop Cordileone here the same week that he became Archbishop. We have invited Pope Francis to celebrate with us. Now we invite you - the 5th, 6th or 7th of October, 2018 -
Welcome, Bienvenido, ‘Oku mau talitali lelei koe.
St. Francis of Assisi Church
1425 Bay Road, East Palo Alto, 94303 Phone: (650) 322-2152 Email: sfofassisi@sbcglobal.net
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Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
THE ITALIAN CATHOLIC FEDERATION CONGRATULATES Auxiliary Bishop Christian AUXILIARY BISHOPRobert WILLIAM JUSTICE
Congratulations and
Blessings
from St. Gabriel Parish and School Community
Rev. William Thornton Rev. Paul E. Perry and the Parishioners of
Saint Sebastian welcome and extend our heartfelt prayers to Bishop Robert Christian
WE OFFER YOU OUR BEST WISHES, PRAYERS AND SUPPORT.
CARPENTERS LOCAL UNION 22 OF THE UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA
The Knights and Dames of the Northwestern Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
Welcomes CARPENTERS LOCAL UNION 22 Bishop Robert Christian OF OF THE UNITED BROTHERHOOD CARPENTERS toAND San JOINERS FranciscoOF AMERICA
Congratulate The Most Reverend Robert Christian, O.P. on His Installation as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of San Francisco May Our Lady of Palestine bless your ministry among us.
To our new Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco
Father Robert Christian, OP The churches in the Bayview District of San Francisco send you congratulations and our warmest best wishes. We look forward to celebrating with you. Fr. Daniel E. Carter, Pastor St. Paul of the Shipwreck Our Lady of Lourdes All Hallows Chapel
2085 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94107 • (415) 355-1322 EXECUTIVE BOARD www.local22.org
Patrick Mulligan - Financial Secretary John Finnegan - President Patricio Cubas - Vice President Andrew Devine - Recording Secretary Bill&Bergerson - Treasurer SCHOOL PARISH Kenneth Ho - Conductor Frank Masterson – Warden David Cortez - Trustee CONGRATULATES Juan Roman - Trustee Rudy Rodriguez -Trustee 2085 Third Street • San Francisco. CA 94107 • (415) 355-1322 www.local22.org
Fath e r Ro b e rt F . Ch r i s t i a n
C22 AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
DISTINCTLY Dominican: Friars’ perspective on the Order of Preachers FROM PAGE C10
‘I found the brothers had a great sense of humor, they were very lively, they had a great view of the future, they were normal, natural people. And the life wasn’t gray, it was delightful and joyful and happy. It took me, it really took me.’
His group’s quarters were near the Dominican Convent of San Marco, former home to Dominican painter Fra Angelico. “I’d see Dominicans every day walking on the street, and I thought, ‘how quaint,’ but I never thought one day I’d be one of them,” said Father Rosevear, novice master for the Western Province in residence at St. Dominic. It wasn’t as if he’d never thought about religious life growing up Catholic in Butte, Montana. In fact, he said, the thought was always there, but he pushed it away. (photo by christina gray/Catholic San Francisco)
Congratulations Bishop Elect Robert F. Christian, O.P. Blessings and prayers from the clergy, staff and parish community of
St. Pius Church
Father Anthony Rosevear, OP “I had a real concern that it would turn my life completely gray,” he said. In Florence, he happened to befriend now-Bishop-designate Robert Christian, then a student at Santa Clara University on a similar study year abroad. The two stayed in touch. Neither was on a priestly track at that point, but Robert would later enter the Dominican novitiate at St. Albert’s Priory in Oakland. Back in Butte, the possibility of a religious vocation continued to nag the future Father Rosevear. The Jesuit-educated young man assumed that would be his path. He wrote his friend and asked his opinion “be-
cause he was a peer, and since he wasn’t committed yet.” “He wrote me back a three-page, single-spaced typewritten letter that said, ‘I think you are much more Dominican than you are Jesuit’ and this is why,” said Father Rosevear. “He listed point after point, and he was right on all the way through.” The very things that were attracting him to religious life were the things that are written into Dominican life, he said, the communal prayer and living, the intellectual tradition of the order and the preaching apostolate. Father Anthony was invited by his friend to Oakland to get a look at Dominican life. He laughed when he recalled how defensive he was on that visit, afraid to “let them get their hooks into me.” “Yet I found the brothers had a great sense of humor,” he said. “They were very lively and had a great view of the future. They were normal, natural people. And I saw the life wasn’t gray. It was delightful and joyful and happy. It took me, it really took me. At the end of four days, if they had given me the habit I would have stayed.” Father Rosevear said that in difficult times when even a priest may question where God is in his life, see distinctly dominican, page C23
1100 Woodside Road, Redwood City, CA 94061
AU XI LI ARY BI SHO P
Robert Christian Congratulations and prayerful best wishes on your ordination and installation. May the Archdiocese of San Francisco grow in faith and love with your spiritual guidance.
CrossCatholic.org
Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
DISTINCTLY Dominican: Friars’ perspective on the Order of Preachers
AUXILIARY BISHOP Christian special edition C23
Welcome, Bishop-Elect Christian
In the San Francisco Bay Area welcomes
BISHOP-DESIGNATE ROBERT CHRISTIAN, OP
TO SAN FRANCISCO WITH APPRECIATION FOR HIS MORE THAN FOUR DECADES WORK IN THE WESTERN DOMINICAN PROVINCE
(415) 459-2530 FAX (415) 459-3028 www.vanmiddeconcrete.com ted@vanmiddeconcrete.com
Ted Van Midde III 490 B Street San Rafael, California 94901 License #676584
FROM PAGE C22
he thinks about how he orchestrated his life as a Dominican. “Look, God, how you planned everything out without me even being aware,” he said.
(photo by christina gray/Catholic San Francisco)
‘I saw immediately the energy that the Dominicans had for preaching when I was a young kid. When I first felt inclined toward the priesthood when I was about 18, the natural choice was the Dominicans.’ Brother Elias Guadalupe Ford, op
Sharing God’s mercy and love: Brother Elias Guadalupe Ford, OP Dominican life was not foreign to Brother Elias Guadalupe Ford, a second-time-around novitiate at St. Dominic. “I grew up here in the city knowing the Dominicans,” Brother Elias told Catholic San Francisco. His father and extended family have a strong devotion to St. Jude, and though they belonged to another parish, his family regularly came to St. Dominic to visit the St. Jude Shrine, go to confession and to Mass. Brother Elias was in the novitiate for a year from 2012-13, struggled in his discernment and left. He has returned, this time with full conviction in choosing the Dominican order. “I saw the energy immediately that the Dominicans had for preaching when I was a young kid,” he said. “When I first felt inclined toward the priesthood when I was about 18, the natural choice was the Dominicans.” Brother Elias said the zeal and ardor he saw for the faith had really attracted him. “That was the zeal I felt when I claimed it as my own,” he said. “I wanted to spread the reality of Jesus Christ and show and share God’s mercy and love with the world.” The pillars of Dominican life – community life, group prayer, study and evangelization attracted him, but he struggled with the idea of being “alone” without a wife and children. He wondered whether his life without a family would become colorless. “What I found out after I left is that it was the outside world that seemed gray,” Brother Elias said. “Coming back now with full conviction, the joy I see and experience is the joy and love we have for each other. It’s a great life.”
Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, and the faithful of the Diocese of Oakland offer our warmest congratulations to
Bishop Robert F. Christian, OP Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, who spent his formation and taught in our diocese
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Catholic san francisco | May 24, 2018
Joseph Alemany, O.P.
Robert Christian, O.P.
In 1853, Pope Pius IX named Joseph Alemany, of the Order of Preachers, to be the first Archbishop of San Francisco. In 2018, Pope Francis now asks the friars of the Western Dominican Province to offer up once more one of our own for the episcopal ministry. We celebrate with immense joy the ordination to the episcopacy of our Dominican brother, BishopElect Robert Christian, O.P. We are grateful to God for the many gifts with which He has blessed him, and we trust that the Church too will be blessed by those same gifts, as our brother returns them to the Lord with gratitude as a bishop. He has lived his priestly life of forty-two years as a preacher and teacher, dedicated to God's people by service to them throughout the world. We are confident that, by God’s grace, the people of San Francisco will benefit from his good work. To our brother, Robert: we offer you our prayers through the intercession of St. Dominic and our sincere congratulations as you embark upon your episcopal ministry, favored with the evangelical and missionary zeal God granted our brother, Archbishop Joseph Alemany, O.P., some 165 years ago.
AD MULTOS ANNOS! Learn more about the Dominicans in the Bay Area at
opwest.org