September 8, 2006
Though Southeast Texas Catholics will be celebrating three major events in their history this weekend, they will not forget the people who were impacted by that tragic day five years ago, in New York, Pennsylvania, and our nation's capital.
Victims, survivors, and family members of those affected by the nation's tragedy on September 11, 2001, will be remembered during Prayers of the Faithful at the Pontifical Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica in Beaumont, at 4:00 p.m. on September 10, 2006; the vigil of the fifth anniversary of 9/11; and at all parishes of the diocese this weekend.
The Pontifical Mass will open a Jubilee Year marking three major events in the history of the local Church: the 40th anniversary of the Diocese of Beaumont, the elevation of St. Anthony Cathedral to minor basilica status, and the 100th anniversary of St. Anthony Cathedral as a place of worship.
"In our Catholic tradition, a jubilee year is a great event, a period of conversion, of hope and justice -- a time of commitment to serve God in peace with the larger community. It seems appropriate that we should remember these families, these victims and survivors, during this Jubilee Year," Bishop Curtis Guillory said.