“Approaching the Irish people as equals, while showing no pretense of superiority, allowed the Irish people to become more receptive to the Christian faith,” Father O’Leary said.

He said St. Patrick’s story is still relevant to the current economic, political and religious circumstances in the archdiocese and the nation now face.

He encouraged all Catholics, “To take up our sin and go and walk amongst the people; to take strength from our roots, our traditions and our faith; and to plant a seed of a renewed Church in the midst of a new world.”

At the end of the Mass, Bishop Hennessey prayed for St. Patrick’s intercession and guidance in the face of today’s challenges.

“And so we ask Patrick again to lead us, to support us with his prayers, to help us learn in our post-modern world the lessons that he learned when alone, unaided and afraid in order that he discover the Lord that became the center of his life and so the center of ours,” he prayed.

Holding his two year-old grandson, Raymond Flynn, former ambassador to the Holy See, said it is always wonderful to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Boston.

“I spent five St. Patrick’s Days in the Vatican with my family and Pope John Paul II. It was a special day and wonderful holy experience, but there is nothing like being back in Boston at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross,” said Flynn.

“My mother and father and my grandparents used to go to church here at the cathedral. So today’s ceremony was wonderful--we have a lot of good memories here,” he said.

“This is where the immigrants built this church with their nickels and dimes; this is where the Catholic faith is so strong--here in Boston,” said Flynn.

David Barry, the Consul General of Ireland, said it was special to be able to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Boston.

“It is a wonderful celebration and the fact that St. Patrick is the patron saint of Boston and our patron saint in Ireland it is a special feeling to have it here,” said Barry.

“There is a more exuberant expression here of St. Patrick’s Day, but that is not surprising,” he said.