St Patricks Cathedral, Beacon of Hope, in Down Town New York

(19 Apr 08 - RV) Vatican Radio’s director of English programming, Sean Patrick Lovett, is in New York with Pope Benedict XVI. He speaks to us about mass marking the third anniversary of the Holy Father's election to the Papcy in one of the iconic symbols of US Catholicism; St Patricks Cathedral. Hear more:

You can buy the postcard for $1.50 or you can take the picture yourself. But you have to find just the right angle, where the neo-gothic spires reflect in the plate-glass windows of the skyscrapers opposite.
St Patrick’s Cathedral is a New York icon.


For the secret service, it’s also a high-alert, number one possible terrorist target. Which is why not only was the route of the papal motorcade through the city, from his residence to the Cathedral, kept top secret – but special units were at work since before dawn “testing the air” to check for possible radio-activity in the area.


“Built with the pennies of the poor” – in the words of its Cardinal Archbishop, Edward Egan, the foundation stone of St Patrick’s Cathedral was laid in 1858. The interior is a triumph of arches, sculptures, stained glass and marble – all of which has been cleaned and restored in honor of the Pope’s visit so that the whole edifice sparkles like a jewel. Even the candles, complete with papal coat-of-arms, were especially made for this, the first-ever papal Mass to be celebrated in this church.


Pope Benedict XVI’s homily at the Mass resonated far beyond the liturgical context of the celebration, precisely because he chose to use the image of the Cathedral building, complete with its gothic arches and stained glass windows, to communicate his themes of unity and the search for God. In fact, he gave his own eloquent description of this New York land-mark when he said: “The spires of St Patrick’s Cathedral are dwarfed by the skyscrapers of the Manhattan skyline, yet in the heart of this busy metropolis, they are a vivid reminder of the constant yearning of the human spirit to rise to God”. The Pope’s invitation to the priests and women and men religious for whom he was celebrating the Mass, was to become – in his own words - “living stones in the temple which God is even now raising up in the midst of our world”.


And for those who weren’t there, or just didn’t have the chance to take the picture, as of tomorrow they’ll be able to buy a new postcard for the same old price. It shows a white-robed Pope Benedict XVI on the steps of St Patrick’s Cathedral, his arms outstretched in greeting - and in an ideal embrace of the whole city.
Looks like New York may have a new icon.