World News
U.S. bishops gather at national shrine in Washington for jubilee Mass
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception -- the largest Catholic church in the United States and one of the largest Catholic churches in the world -- is celebrating its 50th anniversary but it is still a work in progress, as are the people who worship there, said a West Virginia bishop who was once the shrine's rector. "Even as it still looks to the construction of this major dome over us this evening and countless other physical projects to make this an ever more beautiful building, these stones would speak about how this church and every church in Christendom is a 'work in progress,'" said Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va. "As faithful as we try to be and are, we are not perfect," he added, which is "why we come to this building to worship" and to be inspired by the Gospel. Bishop Bransfield, who was the shrine's rector for 18 years, was the homilist for an anniversary Mass Nov. 19 for the U.S. bishops, who concluded their annual four-day fall general meeting in Baltimore earlier that day.
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