ANTHONY DICELLO

ANTHONY DICELLO Twenty-Six Years of Music at the Cathedral

BY JOHN STEGEMAN

As a young boy, Anthony DiCello would sit outside school listening to his brother’s choir practice. When he got home, he’d recreate what he heard on a toy piano. That was the genesis of a profound career in liturgical music that spanned 26 years and officially came to a close on June 30.

DiCello retired this past summer as music director for the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains in downtown Cincinnati after 26 years in the position. He is also retiring from his role as Director of Music for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. DiCello came to Cincinnati in 1984 to work as a faculty member and music director at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology and took on his role at the cathedral a decade later.

DiCello’s first liturgical music job came at the age of 13, when he became the organist for his home parish in Wellsville, OH. He continued in that role through high school and studied a variety of music in college. He got his first job as a music director at age 20, at St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown. His next stop was Dallas, TX, to serve as Director of Music for that diocese and its seminary. After that, he moved to Cincinnati. His career in music has spanned nearly six decades

“Serving as music director for Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral for the past 26 years has been a very blessed time for me,” DiCello said. “I have a special place in my heart for the cathedral parish community. It has been such a privilege to lead musical prayer in this cathedral parish setting with these faith-filled parishioners. The parish has been very supportive.”

Father Jan Schmidt, rector of St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, had high praise for the outgoing Music Director.

“Tony DiCello has been a vital part and the inspiration that has led to the high quality of the liturgy as it is celebrated in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati,” he said. “For 36 years, as a teacher to our priests and deacons and as the director of the cathedral musical program, there are none to compare. The quality of those who were interested in replacing him alone has been a testament of how others view what he has done here in our archdiocese. We enjoy a quality of music in our cathedral church that has often, as Mass has ended, left me wondering if perhaps I had died and gone to heaven.”

DiCello’s successor is Matthew Geerlings, who has spent the past 20 years as music director for the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City, IA. Geerlings was one of 51 applicants for the role. The application process included several interviews as well as auditions on the cathedral organ. DiCello had an advisory role on the search committee.

“As the time has come in my life to retire from full-time church music ministry, I leave with a profound sense of gratitude,” DiCello said. “What a privilege it has been to serve the Church of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. I am so grateful that the Lord has allowed me to make music in such a wonderful place, among such wonderful people.”

St. Peter in Chains Cathedral was built in 1845 as a tribute to the faith of immigrant Catholics. It was rescued from ruin in the 1950’s and today is a shining symbol of that same Catholic faith. But it needs your help if it is to remain that same impressive symbol and home to all the Catholic people of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Become a “Friend of the Cathedral” with your contribution to sustain and preserve St. Peter in Chains.

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1845: Archbishop Samuel Eccleston of Baltimore dedicated the building

1938: demoted to a parish church; cathedral status given to St. Monica in Clifton

1957: rededication St. Peter in Chains Cathedral was built just outside Cincinnati city limits, because no Catholic churches were allowed in the city at the time. So Bishop John Baptist Purcell planned a cathedral across the street from city limits, grander than any building inside them. Henry Walter, the architect of Ohio’s statehouse, designed the cathedral in a Greek revival style typical of grand government buildings. Archbishop Karl J. Alter then renovated and expanded the dilapidated building. Edward Schulte designed the renovations in a variety of architectural styles, combining Greek and Roman.

Lafcadeio Hearn, an Irish-American writer, then a Cincinnati reporter, wrote a famous account of a climb up the 224-foot steeple in 1876!

On the exterior of the cathedral, large bronze doors in the ancient Greek style feature panels combining the crossed keys and an inverted crucifix. The Corinthian columns bordering the church are 33-feet high, symbolizing Christ’s 33 years on Earth.

Inside, the giant Stations of the Cross frescos, designed by Loveland artist Karl Zimmermani, recall ancient Greek vase paintings. The 35- x 34-foot glass mosaic, designed by Anton Wendling, is one of the largest in the country.

St. Peter is often pictured imprisoned in chains with two keys. But if he has keys, why can’t he escape? The keys are a symbol of the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, or the keys to the Church that Jesus bestowed upon him. The two crossed keys are also the symbol for the pope, since Peter was the first pope.

Peter was imprisoned by King Herod because he was one of Jesus’ apostles and spoke out against heresies. The night before his execution, an angel broke his chains and led Peter past sleeping guards to freedom. However, not long after, Peter was caught and crucified. He chose to be crucified upside-down because he felt unworthy to die in the same manner Christ did.

“It’s a gem that few have discovered - glorious, beautiful architecture and art that not enough people have explored. Come and see!” Fr. Jan Schmidt, rector

Isabel Mendez

Su Casa Volunteer Helps Hispanic and Latino Children Have Options in Life

BY PATTI MCGEEVER

When Isabel Mendez came to Cincinnati from Mexico City in 2008 with her husband and young daughter, her coworkers at Procter & Gamble told her about their volunteer work at Su Casa Hispanic Center. She decided to look into it.

“This was totally word of mouth,” said Mendez. “They were speaking highly of the mission of Su Casa and what Su Casa was doing that got me interested, and since then I have not stopped.”

Su Casa is a program of Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio (CCSWO) and provides social, education and health services to the Hispanic/Latino immigrant population. The goal is to help people overcome poverty, become selfsufficient and create a better way of life.

For the last two years, Mendez has volunteered on the Su Casa advisory council and is the current co-chair, but there isn’t an aspect of volunteer work she won’t tackle.

She listens to the concerns of Spanish-speaking parents as she helps them fill out forms for their children and registers families at health fairs. She helps coordinate activities at a summer camp for kids to meet others like themselves and help them become more fluent in English. Her favorite, though, is the annual Adopt-a-Family Christmas event for which she helps find sponsors so every family receives gifts from Santa Claus.

“It broke my heart when the lists from families requesting gifts for their children were shoes, underwear, jackets – things that you would not be asking Santa to bring you,” she said.

Slowly, the lists have begun to change to include dolls, footballs and toys. She’s seen some of the children she first met grow into confident and happy teens.

“This is not work that you do and goes away. It is work that has a tremendous impact in someone’s life,” said Mendez. “The gratitude that these families demonstrate and show you when you do this work is simply invaluable.”

Invaluable is an ideal word to describe Mendez, too.

“She’s been very involved in a leadership role and fundraising efforts,” says Giovanna Alvarez, director of Su Casa. “Her expertise and her professional experience advance the mission of Su Casa. She is a professional Latina woman, a very busy woman, but she doesn’t forget the community.”

Mendez organized a forum at Good Shepherd parish in Montgomery, where her family attends, to spread the word about the work Su Casa does, raise money and recruit volunteers. There is always a need for volunteers.

“If they would just do it one time, they would immediately understand how powerful it is to help somebody else have an option in life,” she explained. “So if I can get people to try it once, then I know we can retain them.”

There is plenty of work for them to do and volunteers don’t necessarily have to speak Spanish.

“I think the reason I’ve done it so many times for so many years, you cannot let go,” said Mendez. “It is so important and you’re making an impact, and it’s impossible to deny that there are people who need your help out there.”