The Deacon's Bench
The Archbishop of Denver said his final mass last night — and the celebration included a processional that featured the thundering rhythm of Native American drummers.
Archbishop Charles Chaput said his goodbyes Sunday night to a flock that filled the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
He summoned people in from the foyer to fill the aisles and sit at the steps of the sanctuary and warned them that he might preach for an hour.
“Instead of saying goodbye,” he said to his parishioners, “why don’t we just listen to the word of God.”
Chaput gave his final Mass before leaving Denver to shepherd the 1.5-million-member Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where he is to be installed on Sept. 8. He was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in July to the task of restoring an archdiocese rocked by a sexual-abuse scandal.
Sunday night, Chaput was preceded in the ornate basilica by American Indian drummers. A member of the Prairie Band Potowatomi tribe of his native Kansas, Chaput is only the second American Indian to be ordained a bishop in the United States and the first American Indian archbishop.
Read more. There’s also an excellent slideshow at the link.
And check out this TV report (with a couple prominently featured deacons).
Photo by Daniel Petty, The Denver Post
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