August 25, 2006
My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I want to extend to all of you, the Catholic faithful in Southeast Texas, an invitation to join with me and my brother priests and deacons in the opening of a Centenary Year of Jubilee for the Diocese of Beaumont, and celebrating the recent naming of St. Anthony Cathedral as a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Year of Jubilee will begin with a Pontifical Mass of Thanksgiving at 4 p.m. on September 10, 2006, at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica in Beaumont. It will close with a Centenary Mass, basilica inauguration, and proclamation ceremony on October 21, 2007, acknowledging that St. Anthony Cathedral now has the status of minor basilica.
The Jubilee Year will mark the 100th anniversary of the church's dedication, and also acknowledge the naming of St. Anthony as a basilica.
We are deeply thankful for this magnificent temple of worship that has nourished our faithful and the Southeast Texas community for 100 years. We also are grateful to the Holy Father for designating this historic cathedral a minor basilica. The designation is an affirmation of the faith of the Catholics of Southeast Texas.
In our Catholic tradition, a jubilee year is a great event, a period of conversion, of reconciliation, of hope and justice -- a time of commitment to serve God in peace with the larger community.
During this year we will have several spiritual events including concerts, lecture series and liturgical services that will focus on the Catholic sacraments, especially baptism, confirmation, matrimony and holy orders.
We want to make sure this Jubilee Year emphasizes the spiritual and pastoral role St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica plays in the history of Southeast Texas and the lives of its people, and also to emphasize St. Anthony's tradition of being a welcoming place for the entire community. I would like for you to join with me in this.
Again, I invite you to attend the Pontifical Mass of Thanksgiving on September 10 and the opening of the Jubilee Year. This will be a year in which together we will thank our Lord and Savior for the many gifts He has given to our diocese, and we will prepare ourselves further for carrying out the mission of Jesus.
Sincerely in Christ,
Most Rev. Curtis J. Guillory, SVD, DD
Bishop of Beaumont