New york cardinal to speak at todays cathedral diamond jubilee
The celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar take place this morning.
While the official church ceremony is not due to take place until 11 am, at 10.15 am, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, will plant a tree in the Cathedral grounds at 10.15 am, together with some couples celebrating their 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries.
The Mass at 11 am the concelebrated Mass takes place. The concelebrants are to be Cardinal Dolan, Bishop Michael Smith, Archbishop Charles Brown (Papal Nuncio) and Bishop Denis Nulty. The Master of Ceremonies will be Fr Paul Crosbie.
The music will be provided by the Cathedral Choir (director Gerard Lillis) together with the Mullingar Choral Society (director Fergus O’Carroll).
Following the Mass, a photo of the entire congregation (in the form of a large 75) will be taken outdoors with the photographers located in the high balcony above the Cathedral entrance.
A street party will then begin on Mary Street, involving the Mullingar Town Band, the Arts Centre and numerous volunteers who have been incredibly generous with the time and efforts.
At the end, Archbishop Brown will recite the final prayer, an Invocation of Thanksgiving (copy attached).
All will conclude by 3pm - in time for the All Ireland Hurling Final !!