Andrew Masi thinks it was the meningitis he was afflicted with as an infant that left him with total deafness in one ear and partial deafness in the other. It was the grace of God that gave him a new outlook on life after being received into the Catholic Church in 2005.
“God has taught me to appreciate life every day,” said Masi. “Having a disability has not stopped me from enjoying the finer things that life has to offer.”
For Masi, 37, there’s nothing finer in life than beholding a beautiful cathedral or basilica and that’s why he began a pilgrimage in 2014 to visit all 192 cathedrals and 93 basilicas in the United States.
The vision for the pilgrimage was a surprise. It was a normal Sunday and Masi was sitting in the pew before Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J., when an idea “just popped into my head,” he said. “I wondered if other cathedrals were as majestic as this. That’s when the Lord gave me a sign to go out and see for myself and visit these beautiful places.”
A decade later, he’s just over halfway to his goal. Masi, who works in the publishing business in his home diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., plans his pilgrimages around weekends and holidays and he’s not concerned if it takes another 10 years to finish.
“I want this pilgrimage to inspire others,” he said, on his visit to the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington Sept. 29. “To those who have a disability, do not be discouraged. You are special and loved in the eyes of our Lord. We are all human and imperfect and that’s okay with God.”
Better known as “The Catholic Photographer,” Masi travels alone, capturing images with his smartphone to share with social media followers around the world. He is still overwhelmed every time he enters a basilica or cathedral for the first time. “When I walk into these places, I just feel awestruck,” he said. “I never thought I could do something like this and I thank God that he gives me the grace to do so.”
He had visited the Cathedral of St. Thomas before and has high praise for the renovations that have transformed the mother church of the diocese. “You guys have done a marvelous job restoring it,” he said. “It not only enhances the beauty of the cathedral, it enhances the beauty of the Diocese of Arlington.”
Experiencing so much beauty has given Masi a heart for evangelism. He wants everyone to know the truth, beauty and goodness of the Catholic faith. “The church will always have ups and downs, but it is the source of hope and refuge,” he said. “The faith is strong, the church is alive. Embrace the faith. Come home to the church. The Lord is here, inside the church. Go to him.”
