Denver Catholic

2 I CATHOLIC LIFE NOVEMBER 19, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER ARCHBISHOP'S COLUMN MOST REV. SAMUEL J. AQUILA Our young people need to hear about "the greatness, uniqueness and courage of the first evangelizers of this country, those who were the extraordinary pioneers of faith," Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the papal nuncio to the United States, said this past week at the bishops' meeting in Baltimore. I was struck by how true the nuncio's message is for every- one, but particularly for the youth, who long for meaning and inspiration in their lives. All one has to do is look at the case of the three teenage girls from Aurora who tried to join the Is- lamic State militants in Syria. They responded to a challenge, a call to serve something beyond themselves. The Islamic State was able to give them a mission that would confer a purpose to their lives, even though it carries out unspeakable atrocities. Archbishop Viganò reminded us that "young America is searching for something, or perhaps someone, to lead them beyond the frustrations they experience every day. They are looking well beyond just so-called 'happiness.'" During our meeting in Baltimore, we also heard a report from Archbishop Thomas Wenksi of Miami, who delivered the results of a multi-year survey of the Catholic faithful. The survey found that Catholics active in parish life would acknowledge they had trouble with certain Church teachings, but younger Catholics said they just "tuned out" teachings they didn't agree with. They adopted an "agree to disagree" approach. The survey showed that young Catholics are being influenced by the relativistic culture we live in. But despite this atmosphere, it is impossible to suppress our longing for meaning and pur- pose, since every human being is created for God. We must respond to this longing for meaning by proposing Christ and his Church to them. As Archbishop Viganò said so eloquently, "(w)e have to let our young people know that their lives are worth living and that they were born for eternal glory, not for glamor, or guns, or sensationalism. They are crying out to us. They desperately need to be inspired, to have the life of Christ breathed back into them. It is up to us to set the exam- ple, not just by doctrinal teaching alone, but by the teaching of our whole lives." The Archdiocese of Denver has been graced with the heroic examples of many saintly men and women whom we can look to for inspiration. Our first bishop, Joseph Machebeuf, was one such man. When he arrived in Denver in October 1860, he and a priest who accompanied him were the first Catholic clergy to be sent to Colorado. At the time, Denver was home to only 200 Catholics, out of a population of 3,000. Father Machebeuf traveled extensively to bring the Gospel to the mining camps and towns that had sprung up throughout the region. His ministry, fueled by his love for Christ, had meaning and an eternal impact. You might also have heard of Julia Greeley, a former slave who earned her living scrubbing floors and used the little money she had left to help the poor. By all appearances, she was an unremarkable woman who could have been mistaken for a homeless person. But when she died on June 7, 1918, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, people flocked to her wake and funeral by the hundreds. It soon became widely known that although Julia earned $10-12 a month, she would constantly visit the poor and help them with what little she had. When her money was insuf- ficient, Julia would beg for those in need. In a story written shortly after her death, the Denver Catholic Register recalled, "Nobody ever asked for help in vain from Julia Greeley. She was victimized many times by charity frauds. But Julia's rule seemingly was that it was better to give than to be too careful and deny assistance to someone who needed it." We are surrounded by saints-in-the-making today, too. There are many men and women in the archdiocese who selflessly dedicate themselves to the same person who gave purpose and meaning to Bishop Machebeuf and Julia Searching for meaning: the call to be holy DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE: 303-722-4687 OR CIRCULATION@ARCHDEN.ORG Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 Denver Catholic Register (USPS 557-020) is published weekly except the last week of December and the first week of January, and in June, July and August when it goes bi-weekly. The Register is printed by Signature Offset in Denver. Periodical postage paid in Denver, CO. Subscriptions: $35 a year in Colorado; $42 per year out of state. Foreign countries: $42 surface, all countries, 6-8 weeks for delivery; $135 air, all other countries (average). Mexico, $48 air; Canada, $55 air. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Denver Catholic Register, Circulation Dept., 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 or e-mail circulation@archden.org. Editorial: 303-715-3215 or editor@archden.org Advertising: 303-715-3253 or dcrads@archden.org Circulation: 303-715-3211 or circulation@archden.org Online: www.DenverCatholicRegister.org General Manager Karna Swanson Interim Editor Julie Filby Business Manager Michael O'Neill See Aquila, Page 5 BY CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY Pope Francis officially an- nounced this week that he will visit the United States in Sep- tember 2015, including a visit to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and New York City. "I wish to confirm, if God wills it, that in September of 2015 I will go to Philadelphia for the Eighth World Meeting of Fam- ilies." he said at Vatican City's Synod Hall Nov. 17 during his remarks at an international col- loquium on the complementar- ity of man and woman. The Philadelphia World Meeting of Families will take place from Sept. 22-27. Even be- fore the pope's announcement, the meeting was expected to draw tens of thousands of peo- ple. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver 1997- 2011, told a gathering of bish- ops last week that a papal visit would likely result in crowds of about 1 million. A global Catholic event, the world meeting seeks to sup- port and strengthen families. St. John Paul II founded the event in 1994, and it takes place every three years. Archbishop Chaput previ- ously hinted that Pope Francis would attend the 2015 meeting, although he cautioned that the visit had not been officially con- firmed. In March 2014, a Penn- sylvania delegation including Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and Philadelphia Mayor Mi- chael Nutter visited the Vatican to help encourage the pope to visit the U.S. On Nov. 13, Archbishop Ber- nardito Auza, the head of the Holy See's permanent observer mission to the United Nations, told the Associated Press "if he comes to Philadelphia, he will come to New York." The 70th anniversary of the U.N.'s founding would be "the ideal time" for a papal visit, the archbishop said. Next year also marks the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's 1965 visit to the U.N., the first such visit from a pope. In August, on his return flight from South Korea, Pope Francis said he wanted to visit the U.S. in 2015 for the Philadelphia gathering. He also noted that he had received invitations from President Barack Obama, Con - gress and U.N. Secretary-Gen- eral Ban Ki Moon, as well as from Mexico. However, despite the antic- ipation of the possible visit to New York and Washington while in the U.S., Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombar- di told journalists shortly after the announcement that as of now nothing else is confirmed. The World Meeting of Fam- ilies themed "Love is Our Mis- sion: The Family Fully Alive" will take place shortly before the Oc- tober 2015 meeting of the Synod of Bishops on the Family, which will discuss the mission of the family in the Church and in the world. At the last World Meet- ing of Families in Milan, Italy in 2012, more than 1 million peo- ple representing 153 nations at- tended a papal Mass with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. The Philadelphia meeting will mark the first time the event will be held in the United States. Registration began Nov. 10. For more information, visit www. worldmeeting2015.org. A pilgrimage is expected to be organized by the Archdiocese of Denver. It's official! Pope Francis announces 2015 visit to US PHOTO BY DANIEL IBÁÑEZ/CNA POPE FRANCIS greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square during his Wednesday general audience June 18.

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