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The Annual Icon Festival began 20 years ago to educate parishioners and the community about the history and significance of Icons. The Greek work "Icon," meaning "image" is used in Christianity to denote a Holy Image. Icons have profound historical and spiritual significance in the setting of the Orthodox liturgy, in private daily prayer rituals, and in the art world. The Festival provides opportunities to learn more about each other through art and music.
Last Sunday, Fr. John Bauer, Pastor of The Basilica of Saint Mary, asked parish members via e-mail for their thoughts and opinions regarding a slight decline in weekend attendance at The Basilica. Hundreds replied and for that, we are grateful.
We recognize that not all of you may have had the opportunity to receive the e-mail or reply to his comments. Therefore we have extended this opportunity for you.
Click here to provide anonymous feedback directly to Fr. Bauer. All comments will remain anonymous, unless you e-mail him directly, and will only be shared in generalizations to the Parish Council and our community as a whole.
We understand that while we may be facing some challenges at this time, our future is filled with hope. We have much to be thankful for.
Thank you for your feedback.
The 2014-15 year of JustFaith has begun.
JustFaith is a powerful exploration of social issues and social justice. It examines topics through the lens of Catholic social teaching and a structured curriculum that incorporates texts, videos, speakers, and immersion experiences.
This year, we have 15 group members and have met twice in Phase 1, which is focused on Compassion and The Option for the Poor. Some insights that have surfaced include that compassion is not only about kindness and helping others. It is not about a position of advantage where you get to choose who you help and when you help and then you get to go home.
It is so much more.
It is “suffering with” the other and standing with the other as Jesus did. Compassion is not as much about helping other people as it is about the beauty you discover in the other person and what you learn from their wisdom. Check out the TED talk we heard on compassion by Krista Tippett below.
The Basilica’s session of JustFaith began in October and will run through May on Wednesday evenings. For more information for future programming, contact Bill, Deb or Leah.
Governor Mark Dayton Proclaims Basilica of Saint Mary Employment Ministry Day
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 has been proclaimed Basilica of Saint Mary Employment Ministry Day in the State of Minnesota. Our Employment Ministry has worked tirelessly to serve over 5,000 in job transition during the past 25 years. This is indeed an honor. Read the full proclamation here: 
Basilica of Saint Mary Employment Ministry Day, Tuesday, October 21
The Basilica of Saint Mary along with the Minnesota Catholic Conference, and the University of Saint Thomas Center for Catholic Studies presents Inequality of All Oct. 23, at 6:00 p.m. here.
Inequality for All is a 2013 documentary film that explores economic inequality and the widening income gap in the U.S.
The film will be followed by a foundational talk on Catholic Social Teaching led by Dr. Robert Kennedy and Dr. Michael Naughton, both professors with the Department of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.
Inequality for All explores the meaning of a good society and role of the widening income gap plays in our nation’s economic health. The film also won the 2013 Special Jury Prize for Achievement in Filmmaking from the Sundance Film Festival.
During the month of November we remember all those who have gone before us. We begin this month of Remembrance with solemn Evening Prayer for all our beloved dead. If you wish to include names of the faithful departed, please call or submit names online by October 29. You are invited to join The Basilica of Saint Mary Parish for Vespers in remembrance of all the beloved dead of our community on Sunday, November 2nd at 3pm in the Church. In this Vespers celebration, we are reminded that our family members and friends are with God and that we will be reunited with them.
The Basilica of Saint Mary Cathedral Choir was notified Oct. 14 of their selection to sing at the 11:30am Mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral on June 7 in Paris, France.
The performance will be a part of the choir's summer tour to France.
"I am absolutely thrilled to have the choir selected to sing at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris," said Teri Larson, Cathedral Choir director. "This is a huge honor."
Any choir requesting to sing at the Cathedral must complete an extensive auditioning process, to include sending a recording of a performance and complete biographies of both the choir and director(s).
"Last time the choir sang in this space was for a 5:00pm Saturday vigil mass," added Larson. This time, the choir was selected for the Sunday service meaning, "we will be heard by thousands, as well as broadcast all over the world."
The Cathedral of Notre Dame is one of the most well-known church buildings in the world and serves as the cathedral for the Archdiocese of Paris.
For more information about the Cathedral Choir, visit their website here.
This past weekend, parish member Bob Kleiber shared his “Basilica moment” -- a defining moment when The Basilica became deeply and abidingly part of his spiritual journey. After their son's unexpected death at age 22, Bob and his wife Nancy found solace and comfort in The Basilica's embrace.
Basilica moments are the times in your life that The Basilica has made a difference – a lasting legacy – in your life.
For Bob and Nancy, their Basilica moment became in invitation to become more involved and to share their time, talent and financial treasure. For them, making a Financial Stewardship pledge was a priceless opportunity to express their gratitude and to make more "Basilica moments" possible in the future.
Fr. Bauer invites you to prayerfully consider a Financial Stewardship commitment to The Basilica parish community for 2015. Your pledge of any size is a celebration of belonging. Pledge forms are in the pews, or click here to make your 2015 pledge today.
Over 500 owners, and their beloved pets, gathered at the Basilica of Saint Mary Oct. 5 for the annual Blessing of the Animals service.
The event is in its 25th year at the Basilica of Saint Mary and is held annually near the Feast of St. Francis, to recognize him as a patron saint of animals, nature and peace. This year's feast day was Oct. 4.
Each year, Basilica staff choose a "featured creature" that they choose to highlight during the event. The creature is typically endanged or threatened and in need of prayer and awareness of its issue. This year's featured creature was the honeybee.
Actors from "In the Heart of the Beast" theater in Minneapolis, Minn., were dressed in life-size honeybee costumes to add an increased presence for the small creature. Members of the Bees Kneez honeybee advocacy organization were also availabe to discuss the current bee population and how we can all protect our pollinators.
In earlier times, people took their animals and food to monasteries for a special blessing around harvest time. They depended on these gifts for survival. Now, the blessing invokes a connection between people and their animals, as well as a connection with all of nature.
The Missa Choralis, or visiting musical ensemble, series is scheduled to begin Saturday, Oct. 4 during the 5:00 p.m. Mass.
The Basilica is well-known for its robust outreach to the greater community, its welcoming spirit of hospitality, its grand architecture, and its marvelous music and acoustics. The Basilica continually seeks to strengthen and build collaborative artistic bridges with local, regional, and touring choral and instrumental ensembles through the invitation to share their musical gifts in the Missa Choralis series. We thankfully welcome all of our guest musicians and their directors.
This week we welcome the University of Minnesota Trumpet Ensemble under the direction of Dr. David Baldwin. Next week, we will welcome the Saint Paul Vocal Forum under the direction of Karin Barrett.
Check back to our website for more information on upcoming performances.