Jorge Garfia and his family held signs Sunday, May 3 thanking the archbishop for his pastoral care. (Photos by Dennis Callahan, courtesy St. Mary's Cathedral)
May 8, 2020
Nicholas Wolfram Smith
A group of parishioners at St. Mary’s Cathedral celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday, May 3, by thanking Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone for his pastoral care, greeting him on the cathedral plaza with signs and cheers after he finished Mass.
Cathedral pastor and rector Father Arturo Albano, who organized the event, said he had “been looking at the TV, how people show their appreciation for first responders and doctors and nurses, and it occurred to me, maybe we could do something for our spiritual leaders.”
Father Albano asked Alexei Lukban, grand knight of the cathedral’s Knights of Columbus chapter, to organize on short notice a show of support for Archbishop Cordileone.
Knights and other parishioners gathered at the foot of the cathedral steps, holding handmade signs and printed banners to greet Archbishop Cordileone after he celebrated the 11 a.m. Mass.
As he exited the cathedral doors, shouts of “hooray” and “Viva Guadalupe” met him. “There was so much joy in his face, I could see he really felt appreciated,” Father Albano said.
Father Albano said parishioners appreciate the archbishop’s celebration of daily and Sunday Mass at the cathedral. “The people feel the archbishop is with them during moments of uncertainty, fear and doubt. They see there is a spiritual leader who is with them,” he said.