The Cathedral of St. Thomas More is a symbol of unity for our diocese and represents a home for all the faithful.
In the cathedral, you will find the bishop’s chair, called the cathedra, which signifies his governance and pastoral ministry. In a particular way, the cathedral provides a place of truth and beauty where the liturgical and sacramental life of the church encourages, teaches, and uplifts all those who hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our chaotic and noisy world.
In this month of September, we reopen the Cathedral of St. Thomas More, the mother church for all the faithful of our diocese, after more than 18 months of renovations. Our Golden Jubilee Celebration livestream event Sept. 5 will feature an exclusive narrated video tour and Solemn Mass and Dedication of the Altar of our new cathedral, as well as the premier of a historical documentary commemorating 50 years as a diocese.
Our cathedral’s new exterior stonework honors the Tudor style of architecture found during the time in which our patron St. Thomas More lived.
The cathedra has been relocated in the sanctuary. The tabernacle in which our Eucharistic Lord is reposed has been placed in the center of the new sanctuary. His presence on the Altar of Repose reminds us of the centrality of the Most Blessed Sacrament in our faith.
Throughout the cathedral are devotional shrines and statuary, with 24 statues representing saints and those on the pathway to sainthood from throughout church history and from each of our diocesan multicultural communities, including African, African American, Filipino, Hispanic, Korean and Vietnamese. In this way, our cathedral reflects the universal nature of the church and the diversity of our diocesan community. These statues are complemented by newly crafted stained glass, which include symbols that are associated with each saint.
Monumental stained-glass clerestory and transept windows, with images representing parishes throughout the diocese, complete the cathedral’s cruciform shape and raise one’s sight toward the heavens.
A beautiful new crucifix high above the altar reminds us of Our Lord’s sacrifice and the reason for our hope of everlasting life. A new rose window suggests the perfection of the well-ordered soul, and the heavenly beatitude of those who live with Christ at the center.
This rose window is now illuminated each night to encourage and evangelize all those passing by. On the exterior, beneath this rose window, a larger-than-life bronze statue of St. Thomas More extends a hand of invitation to all to return, forevermore, to our Eucharistic Lord and a life of faithfulness to him.
It is my hope that our new cathedral will evangelize all who encounter it through its beauty and theological symbolism. As we have approached the reopening of the mother church of our diocese, I have found myself thinking especially of those on the margins or who may not be living the Christian life, who may pass our cathedral along Route 50 or Glebe Road after a difficult day at work, or anxious about a situation they are heading home to face, or perhaps experiencing some other conflict of the heart. Our new cathedral now shines like a beacon, and with a special brightness for the weary, inviting each of us day after day to come home to our Lord for prayer, for baptism, for the Mass, and for faithful community.
I am profoundly grateful to all the faithful of the diocese for your patience and perseverance throughout the renovations and transformation of our cathedral. I am also grateful to the generous benefactors who allowed us to renovate our cathedral without any diocesan campaign, without any debt to our diocese, and without any cost to our parishes. I hope you are proud of what we have been able to do for God’s greater glory.
The greatest and most profound gift of our newly renovated cathedral is its reminder to us to allow God to reinvigorate our very heart and soul. In our fundamental longing for Christ the savior, every human person feels on some level the need for the sort of sacred renewal that God makes possible through his church.
As one people of faith, and as we strive by God’s grace to live out our baptismal promises, we have in our cathedral a common home. By God’s grace and the provision of the Holy Father, all the faithful this Golden Jubilee year may obtain a plenary indulgence by making prayerful pilgrimage to our newly dedicated cathedral. May we make regular pilgrimage to this holy place, inviting God to continue working in us today and each day of our lives to come.
