The Venerable Basil Anthony Moreau, the 19th century French churchman and founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, is to be beatified in a ceremony at the Centre Antares, a sports arena in Le Mans, France, on Sept 15.
A person who isbeatifiedby the Catholic Church has significantly advanced towardcanonization,or the status of being officially and solemnly proclaimed a saint.
The event will be celebrated in several ways by the University of Notre Dame, which was born as a project of the Holy Cross order in 1842 and continues to rely on Moreaus followers for its administration, inspiration and communion in the Catholic Church.
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., will lead a delegation from the University to the beatification ceremonies in Le Mans.Among those in the delegation will be Richard C. Notebaert, chair of the Universitys Board of Trustees; John Affleck-Graves, executive vice president; Rev. James E. McDonald, C.S.C., associate vice president and counselor to Notre Dames president; Thomas G. Burish, provost; John Cavadini, chair of Notre Dames theology department and director of the Institute for Church Life; Rev. Mark Poorman, C.S.C., vice president for student affairs; Patricia O’Hara, Joseph A. Matson Dean of the Notre Dame Law School; Carolyn Woo, Martin J. Gillen Dean of the Mendoza College of Business; and Hilary Crnkovich,vice president for public affairs and communication.Several Notre Dame students from Angers and other Notre Dame undergraduate programs in Europe are also expected to attend.
Bishop Jacques Maurice Faivre of LeMans will preside at a 4 p.m. Mass on Sept. 15 (Saturday) in the Centre Antares during which Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will read a letter from Pope Benedict XVI declaring Father Moreaublessedand establishing January 20 as his liturgical feast day.
On Sept. 16 (Sunday), Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, D.C., will preside at a Mass of thanksgiving for Father Moreaus beatification at the cathedral of LeMans.
After the Notre Dame delegation has returned to campus, on Sept. 20 (Thursday) at 4 p.m., an invitationalMass of thanksgiving will be celebrated and a statue of Father Moreau will be blessed and installed in the northwest apsidal chapel of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, directly facing the northeast apsidal chapel from the statue of the other beatified member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Blessed Brother Andre Bessette.The new statue was carved by Robert Graham, a Los Angeles sculptor whose works include the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C., the Duke Ellington statue in New York Citys Central Park and the bronze doors of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.
Beginning Sept. 12 (Wednesday), the Notre Dame Archives will present a rotating series of exhibitions in various locations around the campus.The exhibitions will include 19th century photographs, historical information on the Congregation of Holy Cross, and biographical information on Father Moreau and his influence on the history of the University.
A special Web site with further information on the beatification and related events is online at http://moreau.nd.edu/
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