Rededication of the Cathedral

On November 21, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard spoke at the rededication of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. His remarks were reprinted last week in The Evangelist:

It is with great joy that we gather today to celebrate the rededication of our renovated and restored Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 158 years to the day of its formal opening on November 21, 1852.

There are many thanks to be expressed today. First and foremost, I thank God, who has showered choicest blessings upon our Diocese of Albany for the past 163 years.

I am grateful to Mary, the mother of Jesus, who, under the privilege and title of the Immaculate Conception, has served as the patroness of our Diocese and of this cathedral.
. . .
In the mid-19th century, its parishioners were looked upon by the wider community as socially and religiously inferior. But by their sweat equity and their nickels and dimes, they built this edifice to communicate the message, “We are here; we are Catholics; we are Americans and we are proud.”

The rest of his comments are available here.