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Archbishop Broglio celebrates Mass with diocesan seminary community

News of the Diocese

September 21, 2020

Even the novel coronavirus pandemic couldn’t keep Archbishop Timothy Broglio from his annual Eucharistic celebration with the seminary community of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. The archbishop celebrated the vigil Mass on Sept. 19 at the Center for Pastoral Leadership in Wickliffe. Due to the pandemic, attendance was limited to students from Borromeo and Saint Mary seminaries and other members of the seminary community. However, the Mass was livestreamed on the diocesan website, a fact the archbishop noted as he welcomed those viewers.

Archbishop Broglio celebrates Mass with diocesan seminary community
Archbishop Broglio, who leads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, traveled from his home in Washington, D.C. for the event. He mingled with the seminarians at dinner after Mass.

“It’s delightful to experience the cooler weather here,” he said, noting that was one reason he enjoyed living in Northeast Ohio – the seasonal weather changes.

“I am happy to be back with this presbyterate of which I was a member for almost 25 years,” he said.

A son of the diocese, Archbishop Broglio is an alumnus of St. Ignatius High School. He was ordained a priest in 1977 in Rome for service to the Diocese of Cleveland and served two years as a parochial vicar at St. Margaret Mary Parish in South Euclid before returning to Rome for additional studies, after which he joined the Vatican’s diplomatic corps. The archbishop served as apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic and apostolic delegate to Puerto Rico.


He was ordained as an archbishop in 2001 by Pope St. John Paul II and was named the fourth archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA on Nov. 19, 2007. He was installed on Jan. 25, 2008 at the Basilica of the national Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. Archbishop Broglio was elected last November to serve as secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

His ties to the diocese remain strong and he said he received a number of prayer requests during the past week, all of which he remembered at the Mass. He also expressed his thanks to all who support the Archdiocese for the Military Services.

The archbishop recalled a trip he took to Naples, Italy more than 40 years ago with Father James Grandillo, a good friend, a priest for the Cleveland Diocese and former pastor of Holy Redeemer Parish in Cleveland. His friend’s middle name was Januarius, after the martyred patron saint of Naples, whose feast day is celebrated on Sept. 19. Father Grandillo had long desired to visit Naples to see St. Januarias’ blood that was sealed in a reliquary in the Naples cathedral. The blood is said to liquefy several times during the year,

Archbishop Broglio recalled how he saw the dried blood in the container. He and Father Grandillo were invited to join the other clergy in prayer.

“The women of Naples demanded that the saint work his miracle,” the archbishop said, recalling how the blood then liquefied. He said the experience was a double lesson: don’t impose your culture on others and how glad he was to accompany his dear friend as he fulfilled a lifelong dream. “It was where I needed to be on Sept. 19, 1979,” he said, noting how powerful prayer can be – especially the perfect prayer of the Mass.

Archbishop Broglio celebrates Mass with diocesan seminary community
Archbishop Broglio said he often reflects on that when he has to fight to provide pastoral care for those in the military. “It’s not a popularity contest,” he said. And these challenges also relate to the pandemic.

Things that are counter to the Gospel must be purified and uplifted, something that applies to all of us, as well, he said, reflecting on the use of force racism, neglect of the poor and other societal issues.

In the day’s Gospel, the archbishop said the master went out repeatedly looking for workers to help with the urgent task of harvesting the crop. While some workers toiled all day, others spent less time – yet each received the same wage. He told the seminarians that they work hard as they prepare for ordination – with help from their teachers who work to form them.

Work often is measured in terms of wealth, but we need to recognize the worth of each person.

“The master goes to town repeatedly looking for workers. My work as a chaplain couldn’t wait for people to come to me. A chaplain must be in the midst of the people; the call to openness is obvious,” he said. “Each worker got a day’s wage. Even the late, lazy workers are able to taste the bounty of almighty God.”

Archbishop Broglio celebrates Mass with diocesan seminary community
Archbishop Broglio said we can see that the roots of our concern for social justice do not all start at the same place. “Our eyes are opened to the poor.” He said there are ways of helping those in need, including Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Service.

As for racism, the USCCB issued a pastoral letter saying those who harbor racism should work to overcome it and we need to reach out to the victims.

“We must work to abandon the mentality of the first workers – those who were working for a reward with no sense of graciousness of the master,” he said.

Isaiah tells us we must look within to begin the process of healing, the archbishop said.

“St. Januarias’ blood liquefied; I saw it. Hardened hearts can soften and recognize the magnitude of God,” he added.

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