Bishops return to spiritual home in Baltimore for Mass before meeting

Published: 2006-11-13

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Two by two, all the bishops of the United States returned to their spiritual home Nov. 12 when they solemnly processed into Baltimore's radiantly restored Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary for a special Mass celebrating the old cathedral's $32 million restoration. Recreating a similar procession from when the first Catholic cathedral in the United States opened in the early 19th century, 243 bishops marched from the Enoch Pratt Free Library across the street from the basilica -- making their way through two long lines of 130 Knights of Columbus festooned in brightly colored capes and feathered hats. It was the first time all of the country's bishops gathered in the basilica since 1989 when the archdiocese marked its bicentennial. The American prelates had often met in the nation's first diocese, the premier see, during the 19th century at seven provincial and three plenary councils of the U.S. Catholic Church.

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