Jubilee will remember, rejoice and renew

Beginning with this issue of the South Texas Catholic, readers will notice a slightly different look. In every section heading of the paper they will see the logo for the Diocese of Corpus Christi Centennial—“Century of Tradition/Lifetime of Faith.” With this issue we begin the celebration of our centennial, which will be a yearlong time of remembrance, rejoicing and renewal.

In preparing for the centennial, Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey wrote,  “I am hoping that we can become more aware as the People of God in this area that the faith we have is rooted in the sacrifices and faith of many people, clergy, religious and laity. What we have today is a gift of God’s grace and built on the faithful response of many others over the past 100 years. We should be able to meet many of these ‘saints’ through pictures and stories…”

Indeed, that is the other change readers will notice; we will begin with this issue featuring many pictures and stories that capture the contributions of our ancestors in faith. In this issue, we feature a story on the beginnings of the faith in South Texas during the Spanish colonial era. Next month, we will look at the contributions made during the Mexican and Republic of Texas era and the following month we examine the contributions made during the time the State of Texas was a single diocese.

We invite all parishes, schools and organizations to submit their stories or story ideas telling their part in the mosaic of the last 100 years.

In later months, we will examine the contributions made during the Vicariate of Brownsville, culminating in March with the establishment of the Diocese of Corpus Christi in March 1912.

March promises to be an exciting time for the diocese with a Centennial Jubilee Mass at the American Bank Center that will attract thousands of the faithful. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo will celebrate the Mass and New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, and President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will provide a keynote address. Many other special guests from throughout Texas and the United States are expected to attend.

Observance of the jubilee will continue throughout 2012 with many more articles of remembrance. But, history is not the only aspect of the jubilee celebration. Bishop Mulvey hopes that “our celebration will bring a spiritual renewal to our parishes and parish life.”

The South Texas Catholic will play an integral part in bringing the bishop’s message of rejoicing and renewal to the faithful. We will regularly feature stories on the new liturgy and music that is part of the New Roman Missal and we will do the same for the many efforts being planned for spiritual renewal.
 
The South Texas Catholic will not be your only source for the Centennial Jubilee. KLUX radio will also be an important source for Centennial information.
 
This week, Bishop Mulvey unveiled a new Web site, http://acenturyoftradition.org/ that will also include articles on the development of the diocese as well as multimedia presentations, parish bulletin announcements, exhibits and other special projects. The Web site is still under development so bookmark it as a favorite so you can return to it often to enjoy new additions.

The coming year promises to be an exciting and heartwarming time that will remind us about our past but will also prepare us for our continued journey, living the word of God on Earth so that we can enjoy the company of God for all time.