Archbishop Coakley rededicates The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

OKLAHOMA CITY – More than 500 faithful joined Archbishop Coakley, Archbishop Emeritus Beltran, Seattle Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg , priests, deacons and religious men and women to rededicate The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Nov. 16 after a five-month renovation that included a new mural on the triumphal arch and a Blessed Stanley Rother Oratory.
 
“Much has changed over the course of 100 years since this parish’s beginnings … (when) the first Masses were in an auto showroom on Classen Boulevard. We celebrate that history today, along with many milestones along the way,” Archbishop Coakley said during his homily.
 
“Some of the milestones, saints and individuals whose lives and witness shaped this history of the Church in Oklahoma are illustrated in the glorious triumphal arch above, including Bishop Meerschaert and his first cathedral of Saint Joseph, Mother Catherine McAuley (foundress of the Mercy Sisters), Saint Katharine Drexel, Saint Therese, Saint Benedict, Saint Juan Diego and Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, and, of course, Blessed Stanley Rother, who was ordained here in 1963.”
 
During Mass, Archbishop Coakley consecrated the new altar and blessed the new reredos, cathedra and ambo. He also placed a large first-class relic of Blessed Stanley Rother in the new Blessed Stanley Rother Oratory in the southern transept.
 
The oratory includes the official portrait of Blessed Stanley, panels with scenes from Guatemala where he was martyred in 1981 and a first-class relic in a lit reliquary. Refurbished kneelers and chairs were included in the oratory for veneration.
 
The new reredos, originally assembled in a chapel in Baltimore, stands more than 12 feet high and nearly 13 feet across. It was reworked to incorporate the cathedral’s tabernacle. The front of the reredos features a Marian symbol and an original mosaic based on Bernini’s descending dove in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Three of the four types of stone in the reredos – Paonazzo, Giallo Siena, White Carrara and Porta Santa marble – are carried throughout the remaining sanctuary pieces and in the coloring choices for the walls.
 
The front of the new altar features the Greek letters Alpha and Omega and an image of a lamb, known as Agnus Dei or Lamb of God, resting on the Book with Seven Seals from Revelation. Sealed in the altar are first-class relics of Blessed Stanley Rother, Saint Paul, Saint Eugene, Saint Thomas the Apostle and Saint Francis Xavier.
 
The cathedra, or bishop’s chair, signifies the teaching, governing and sanctifying tole of the bishop in his diocese as successor of the apostles. The new cathedra incorporates the same three stone elements of the reredos and altar with added cross features on the sides that resemble the crosses and designs from the cathedral’s original altar rails. Behind the cathedra is a walnut screen that features the coat of arms of the bishop.
 
“This beautiful church building is more than a gathering place. Its beauty signifies and makes visible the mystery of Christ and his Church abiding in this place,” Archbishop Coakley said. “Here, through sacramental signs, God reveals himself and becomes present in order to draw us ever more deep into the mystery and communion of his life and love.”
 
The principal contractors for the renovation were Rambusch Lighting Company in New Jersey (which recently completed renovation of the original Statue of Liberty torch), Evergreen Architectural Arts in New York, Homco Construction Company in Oklahoma City and Cooper Project Advisors in Oklahoma City.
 
To read or download a copy of the program from the rededication or to watch a video of the Mass, go online to archokc.org/event-programs.    
 
Diane Clay is editor of the Sooner Catholic.

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