May 2, 2008

Page 1

Catholic san Francisco

(PHOTO BY SIMON CHEUNG)

Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper

Taking part in Dominican Schools Music Project instruction at San Francisco’s St. James Elementary School are third-graders, from left: Alexei Stout, Joel Tolentino, Ashley Dickson and Carolina Hernandez. See story on page 8.

St. Francis of Assisi relic arrives in San Francisco By Rick DelVecchio Two Franciscan friars from Assisi, Italy landed in San Francisco last week bearing a rare gift for the city and the Archdiocese: a small rock from the Porziuncola, the stone chapel St. Francis of Assisi and his early followers built more than 800 years ago and where the Franciscan order was born. Banded with a red ribbon and bearing the wax seal of the Franciscan community in the saint’s native town, the angular chunk of pink granite arrived in a felt-lined leather case with the gold-embossed image of the Porziuncola gracing its lid. The rock circulated among admiring guests at a welcoming party at San Francisco International Airport and later starred at a reception at the De Young Museum. The rock’s final destination is a replica of the Porziuncola under construction at the National Shrine of St. Francis in North Beach. Possibly the first relic of the 13th century saint to enter the United States, it will be installed on the altar of the sister Porziuncola. “This rock isn’t only a rock,” said Frate Gianpaolo Masotti of Santa Maria degli Angeli basilica in Assisi.

Sponsors confident marriage initiative will make ballot

A rock used more than 800 years ago in the repair of St. Francis of Assisi’s chapel at Assisi will be enshrined at the National Shrine of St. Francis in San Francisco’s North Beach district.

The sponsors of an initiative to define same-sex marriage in California as unconstitutional are confident the measure will qualify for the Nov. 4 ballot. Ron Prentice, chairman of the steering committee for ProtectMarriage.com, a coalition of pro-family organizations, churches and individuals, told Catholic San Francisco that election officials in 10 of the state’s 58 counties have finished validating signatures the campaign turned in April 24. Based

“It’s the story of a sanctity, a holiness that has lasted 800 years. It’s a rock that has seen pass in front of its eyes the life of St. Francis himself, Santa Chiara and many, many other saints and apostles who have worked very hard to live Francis’ life.” The 72 friars of the Assisi community met in 2006 and agreed to donate the relic “with the hope that the joy this rock gives us will also give that joy to the City of San Francisco,” Frate Gianpaolo said. The rock was one of two that had been removed from the Porziuncola over the years during repairs and kept in the museum at the basilica that was built to enclose the chapel in the 1600s. “That church is the original church St. Francis repaired and loved during his life,” Frate Gianpoalo told Catholic San Francisco. “Was he the only one who handled the rocks? At the beginning he was alone but then probably some of his followers helped him to restore the church. Of course we don’t know which part of the church was repaired by St. Francis. But we know the first community of St. Francis and the Brothers worked together to repair the church.” ASSISI RELIC, page 6

on the results so far, Prentice predicted that when the remaining counties complete their work over the next few weeks the initiative will have the 694,354 signatures required to qualify for the general election. The campaign submitted 1.1 million raw signatures. This initiative would place the wording in the state Constitution, where advocates say it could not be changed by the Legislature or the courts. Proposition 22 states that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid in the state.

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION www.uspapalvisit.org . . . . . . 5 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

May is the month of Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Lobby Day Bishop-elect Justice ~ Pages 10-11 ~ draws record numbers featured on ‘Mosaic’ ~ Page 3 ~ ~ Page 7 ~ May 2, 2008

SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS

Scripture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Classified ads . . . . . . . . 18-19 Academic Decathlon . . . . . . 20

www.catholic-sf.org VOLUME 10

No. 15


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May 2, 2008 by Catholic San Francisco - Issuu