Local
Nuncio to be guest of honor at Redemptoris Mater gala

By Christopher S. Pineo
Posted: 5/24/2013

NORWOOD -- Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano will be the honoree at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary Fourth Annual Gala Dinner that will be held June 16. The Catholic community and guests are invited to attend.

Seminary rector Father Antonio F. Medeiros said the dinner offers an opportunity for the Archdiocese of Boston to show solidarity with the work of Pope Francis, since his election in March.

"We would love this to be as much an honor that we will bestow on the papal nuncio, as it also may be a sign of affection from the Church in Boston to the Holy Father," Father Medeiros said.

Last year, the theme of the event centered on Vatican II and the document on interreligious dialogue ''Nostra Aetate,'' which the seminary highlighted by honoring a world-renowned leader in the field of interreligious dialogue, Rabbi David Rosen.

"To use the words of Pope John Paul II, we honored an elder brother in the faith, and we asked him for his experience since the time of the council to our own days, of this beautiful, dynamic relationship that he described between the Church and the Jews since the time of the council," Father Medeiros said.

Father Medeiros said the gala dinner this year will offer a continuation of sorts in honoring the papal nuncio.

"In honoring him we would like to focus, if you will, on another part of the Second Vatican Council, and the importance of this event for the life of the Church," he said.

"The context of this year's gala, shall we say, we owe to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. We are still celebrating this year and this gala dinner within the context of the Year of Faith," he said.

The Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary was erected by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley in 2006 to form priests for the Archdiocese of Boston. The candidates come from 11 countries and they have nurtured their vocation through participating in communities of the Neocatechumenal Way. Two priests from this seminary have already been ordained; Father Israel Rodriguez, parochial vicar at St. Patrick in Lawrence and Father Felipe Gonzalez, parochial vicar at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

Registration for the gala can be done online at rmsboston.org or by calling the seminary at 617-879-9813.