QUINCY -- Archbishop Richard G. Henning was honored by Redemptoris Mater Seminary at the seminary's 13th annual Gala Dinner, held at the Boston Marriott in Quincy on May 4.

The gala was a joyous celebration of Redemptoris Mater and the 25 priests it has formed since its founding in 2005. Located in Chestnut Hill, the seminary is one of a global network of Redemptoris Mater seminaries that forms men whose vocations come from the Neocatechumenal Way. The Archdiocese of Boston's Redemptoris Mater Seminary currently houses 25 seminarians, including two transitional deacons who will be ordained to the priesthood on May 17.

"Your presence here tonight signifies your love for our seminary and your steadfast commitment to forming priests for the church in our time," Father Antonio Medeiros, the seminary's rector, told the hundreds of people at the gala.

Father Medeiros asked the audience to applaud the late Pope Francis, "whose wisdom inspired the theme of tonight's dinner," and praised Archbishop Henning's extensive travels through the archdiocese to meet with priests and their flocks.

"Through this experience, he reassures us that God cares for his people and understands our needs," Father Medeiros said. "And if I may borrow a few words from Pope Francis, the archbishop helps us to look at the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart, and a farsighted vision."

Father Medeiros also announced to much applause that construction has begun on a large-scale expansion to the seminary building, which was first announced at the 11th annual gala dinner in 2023. The expansion will include a new chapel and extra meeting, dining, and facilities space. Ground broke on the expansion in June 2024.

"With God's help and your support, a long-held dream is gradually coming to fruition," Father Medeiros said.

He added that the seminary's benefactors are routinely prayed for by seminarians and included in the liturgy. Redemptoris Mater is currently holding a prayer wall fundraising campaign, and Father Medeiros encouraged gala attendees to participate if they feel that the Holy Spirit is willing them to do so.

"With a $10,000 donation, your name and intentions will literally be set in stone and remembered daily in the prayers and liturgies of the seminary," he said.

Gala attendees were shown a special video about the Jubilee Year of 2025, dedicated to the memory of Pope Francis.

"If there's an institution that clearly relates to the Jubilee year, it is the seminary," Father Medeiros said in the video. "Just as central to the Jubilee is the experience of God's mercy through the forgiveness of sins, so the seminary prepares men to sound the shofar of God's mercy for the people of this generation."

He said that priests are with the faithful from birth until death.

"They remind us at every step of the way that God never abandons his people, that through grace, God makes new all things, and that in Christ, he has fully paid for all our debts," he said.

Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley was supposed to introduce Archbishop Henning as the honoree, but was unable to attend the gala because he was in Rome due to the papal conclave. Vicar General Bishop Mark W. O'Connell instead read the cardinal's written remarks.

"Pope Francis often spoke about the importance of a bishop being fully dedicated to the work of the church and the service of the people of God," Cardinal O'Malley wrote. "The Holy Father provided our archdiocese an extraordinary gift and blessing in sending us Archbishop Henning, who holds the spiritual welfare and the good of the people entrusted to his care as the highest priority."

He wrote that in an era obsessed with data and statistics, looking at Archbishop Henning's schedule shows a man who "seems to defy time and human capacity."

"It's clear that, for all intents, there are no limits to Archbishop Henning's dedication, pastoral care, and concern for his people, and he is just getting started," the cardinal wrote. "It is most fitting and deserved that the archbishop is honored this evening."

In his remarks, Archbishop Henning thanked the cardinal for his words but said he does not feel like it is appropriate to honor him because he's "still brand new."

"I'm still cutting my teeth in a new job, and I believe that tonight's honor belongs really to you, who are the good people of God who support our priests and seminarians and our seminary, so thank you very much for your generosity," he said.

He asked the priests and seminarians present to stand and be recognized. They received raucous applause.

"I hope you know, brothers, that you are well-loved," he said.

The archbishop used his remarks to give a history lesson about the early church. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the stability and intellectualism of that civilization vanished in favor of decay and disrepair. With no centralized education system and few churches, there was little opportunity for early Christians to teach the faith. It was small monastery communities that preserved and strengthened knowledge of both the ancient world and the Gospel. It was their centuries of work that allowed the artistic and cultural flourishing of the Renaissance to take place. Archbishop Henning said that story offers "a couple of truths that should be before our minds."

"The first is this," he said, "whenever it seems that all has collapsed or lost, even in the worst moments, God does not cease to be at work, and God is never one who tears down, but ever and always one who builds up."

The second truth, he said, is that God works by calling people to love and serve one another.

"God is always working through people of faith, hope, and love," he said. "And when people of faith, hope, and love work with God, respond trustingly to that call of the Lord, a new life comes. Miracles happen."

The archbishop said that during the "darkness and despair" of the clergy sexual abuse crisis, the Neocatechumenal Way came to Boston and established Redemptoris Mater. Their numbers started out small, but like the early Christians, they persevered and saw their numbers grow.

"It's a remarkable, beautiful, and miraculous thing, what you have done in this archdiocese during these years of loss and suffering," he said.

He thanked the seminary community for "keeping the faith in the dark times and the good days."

"I visited the seminary, too, both with the seminarians and also with the priests who gather," he said. "And what I see there are men of deep faith, of commitment to the people of God, of love for the Lord. I've been most moved by the fraternal spirit there. It's a true community, a family of faith."

He said that by supporting the seminary, the benefactors are allowing the seminarians to offer themselves to God and his people.

"I pray that your support this evening will be like those bricks of those lost years building back up a new world, creating something beautiful for God."

Father Medeiros presented Archbishop Henning with an icon of the Good Shepherd, a copy of the original by artist and Neocatechumenal Way co-initiator Kiko Arguello. To conclude the gala, the seminarians performed a medley of popular English and Spanish-language songs, including Queen's "We Will Rock You," Coldplay's "Viva La Vida," Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" and Gipsy Kings's "Bamboleo."