The Blessing of San Damiano
New parish hall a long-awaited dream for parishioners at St. Francis Church in Gallup On May 31, 2019, the parish community of St. Francis of Assisi in Gallup formally celebrated the opening of their long-awaited parish hall. “Hospitality, Humility, Charity” The celebration began with a Mass celebrated by Bishop James Wall, who noted during his homily that the parish had been working towards the construction of the hall for at least ten years – as long as his tenure as bishop of the diocese. “That might seem like a long period, at least in our life,” the bishop said. “But if you think about in the ancient times, when they would build these great churches, these 24
great edifices. Think about a place like the Cathedral in Florence, in Italy. It took 175 years to build that building.” Builders of great medieval churches often gave their time and efforts to a structure that only future generations would see. And in Gallup, many individuals and organizations helped to fund the long-term project through donations, volunteer work, and by sponsoring bricks that now decorate the outside of the new hall. Friars from around the diocese concelebrated the Mass, including Fr. Jack Clark Robinson, the provincial leader of the Franciscan Friars of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose territory includes New Mexico and
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Arizona. The celebratory Mass fell during the Feast of the Visitation, which commemorates the reunion between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, both in the early stages of pregnancy – Mary with Jesus and Elizabeth with John the Baptist. During his homily, Bishop Wall drew parallels between the virtues of the two women and the intended purpose of the parish hall, especially the virtues of charity, humility and hospitality. “We see hospitality in the Gospel in the beautiful welcoming of St. Elizabeth, when she sings that she is glorifying God that the mother of her Lord should come to visit her. And so we pray today as we
