Signs of universal church clear at Atlanta archbishop's installation

Published: 2005-01-19

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (CNS) -- Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory's decision to begin his homily in Spanish during his Jan. 17 installation Mass as the new head of the Atlanta Archdiocese did not go unnoticed by Dilia Gomez of Norcross. "It wasn't so much what he said. It was his preference in opening his sermon this way that speaks to the heart," said Gomez, a native of the Dominican Republic. "I think it was unexpected. I tell you honestly, I wanted to get up and just start clapping." Roberto Herrera, a seminarian at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., also liked hearing Spanish at the beginning of the homily and said it showed a new leader who is "able to understand the language and culture" of Hispanic Catholics. But it was not just the language that impressed those at the installation Mass at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park. Mother Rose Marie, prioress general of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecelia Congregation in Nashville, Tenn., said the Mass, which drew more than 8,000 people, was an experience of the universal church. "It was a beautiful picture of the diversity of our church," she told The Georgia Bulletin, Atlanta's archdiocesan newspaper. "I thought it was very inspiring."

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