WASHINGTON (OSV News) — At Nov. 1 Masses for All Saints’ Day, new Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, and Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory emphasized that all people are called to be saints by loving God and others in their everyday lives.
Both prelates presided at Masses for that holy day in the nation’s capital after the conclusion of the recent Synod of Bishops in Rome.
Cardinal Pierre — a 77-year-old native of France who has served as the pope’s representative to the United States since 2016 — was one of 21 new cardinals from 16 nations created by Pope Francis at a Sept. 30 consistory at the Vatican.
Cardinal Pierre meets well-wishers
As he arrived to celebrate the All Saints’ Day Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Cardinal Pierre was greeted by applause from a crowd gathered outside the basilica’s entrance. The crowd included a group of about 100 eighth graders and adults from Our Lady of Fatima School in Lafayette, Louisiana, who were visiting the Washington area. The new cardinal, wearing red, smiled and waved to the crowd as he walked up the steps, accompanied by Msgr. Walter Rossi, the basilica’s rector.
The apostolic nuncio often presides at holy day Masses at the national shrine, and the Mass for All Saints’ Day was the first Mass that he celebrated there since returning from the consistory.
In his homily at the basilica Mass, Cardinal Pierre noted, “The Solemnity of All Saints is a celebration of the universal call of holiness.” All Saints’ Day, he added, not only celebrates men, women and children known for living holy lives in a heroic way, but also people not universally known who lived lives of faith, hope and love.
“We rejoice in the hope that we too will join the saints in heaven, by becoming people of love today,” the apostolic nuncio said.
The Solemnity of All Saints
Cardinal Pierre said that day’s Scripture readings described what it means to be a saint. He noted that in the second reading, St. John emphasized that Christians are beloved by God because they are God’s children.
“Becoming a saint means choosing God, and choosing to follow his way, but this only matters because God first chose us,” he said, adding, “To be God’s child, to be loved by him, is our core identity. It is who we are.”
The apostolic nuncio said Matthew’s Gospel at that Mass, where Jesus highlighted the Eight Beatitudes, shows the opposite of “spiritual worldliness” that Pope Francis has warned about, people’s tendency to make themselves look religious on the outside while seeking worldly things on the inside.
Cardinal Pierre said the beatitudes, including being poor in spirit, practicing mercy and being a peacemaker, show people how to live an authentic life, a “blessed life which Jesus not only teaches but models,” a life that offers “happiness that this world cannot give.”
The new cardinal said the first reading at the Mass from the Book of Revelation describing a multitude from every nation, race, people and language praising God offers “a vision of the belonging that is enjoyed by the saints. With all their diversity, they are united as one people.”
A symphony, an image of holiness
Cardinal Pierre said that image reminded him of Pope Francis’ homily at the recent consistory, when the pontiff said the College of Cardinals with its cardinals from all parts of the world is called to resemble a symphony orchestra.
The pope said, “A symphony thrives on the skillful composition of the timbres of the different instruments: each one makes its contribution, sometimes alone, sometimes united with someone else, sometimes with the whole ensemble.”
Reflecting on the pope’s homily at the consistory and the universal call to holiness, Cardinal Pierre said, “The pope emphasized how important it is, in the church as in a symphony, for each person to listen to the others so that the playing produces a true harmony. And it is the Holy Spirit who makes this possible. The Holy Spirit is the protagonist of the entire work of the church. He is the one who makes saints of us all.”
Concelebrants at the Mass included Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, who is the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia; Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Brooklyn, New York; and retired Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington.
Callista Gingrich, who was the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See from 2017 to 2021, read the first reading at the All Saints’ Day Mass at the basilica.
The prayers offered at the Mass included a prayer that the lives and examples of the saints will foster deeper devotion in the hearts of Catholics today, and that world leaders will work for the protection of the unborn and immigrants and refugees, on behalf of the sanctity of marriage and to protect religious freedom, and for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Cardinal Gregory celebrates
Across the city from the national shrine, Cardinal Gregory celebrated an All Saints’ Day Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.
In his homily, Cardinal Gregory emphasized that the holy day offers a time to remember and honor humble people of faith from many backgrounds and professions who may not be known for miraculous deeds or heroic sacrifices, but whose lives were marked by their love for God and the love that they showed to others.
“The solemnity of All Saints recognizes that holiness must become an undertaking for all those of us who are ordinary folks,” Washington’s archbishop said.” We are all called to achieve holiness, but most of us will not reach it by doing spectacular things, but by doing everyday things.”
All Saints’ Day, Cardinal Gregory added, “is not about the unusual, but about the typical. It’s about you and me and our potential,” and he said the holy day offers a reminder that “folks like you and me are called to live a life of holiness.”
Mark Zimmermann is editor of the Catholic Standard, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington.
