Almost six weeks after Pope Francis prayed at the sanctuary of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving celebrating the cathedral’s 175th anniversary. At the Nov. 1 Mass, which coincided with the Solemnity of All Saints, he encouraged the cathedral’s parishioners and guests to emulate the lives of the saints.

“It is particularly appropriate that our celebration takes place on All Saints Day, when we reflect on the universal call to holiness and the example of so many who have gone before us as witnesses to Christ, His Church, and our efforts to do the same – to manifest God’s love in our lives and in our world,” the cardinal said. “…We are a people who today celebrate All Saints Day, because we recognize we are a part of a great spiritual family called to be saints.”

Cardinal Wuerl noted that when the parish was founded in 1840, many of its early members “worked for the fledgling bureaucracy of the nation’s capital, in its federal city,” so it was named for St. Matthew the Apostle, “a tax collector who fittingly is the patron saint of civil servants.” Today, the parish continues to serve people from all three branches of the federal government and D.C. government workers, and its annual Red Mass opening the judicial year is often attended by Supreme Court justices and other leaders.

The present church, designed by the noted architect Christopher Grant LaFarge, was completed in 1913, and it was designated a cathedral when the Archdiocese of Washington was established by Pope Pius XII in 1939.

“With the cross atop its majestic copper dome soaring above the Washington, D.C., skyline, the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle is truly a landmark of faith situated in the midst of our nation’s capital,” the cardinal said.

Crowds gathered at the cathedral in 1945 to pray in thanksgiving after the end of World War II, and in sorrow after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001. The Funeral Mass for President John F. Kennedy was held there in November 1963, three days after the nation’s first Catholic president was assassinated.

Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew during the future saint’s first pastoral visit to the United States in 1979, and Pope Francis led a midday prayer service with the nation’s Catholic bishops there on Sept. 23.

In his homily at the cathedral’s anniversary Mass, Cardinal Wuerl encouraged Catholics to take up the call of Pope Francis to be missionary disciples in today’s world. “We embrace the challenge of Pope Francis, to go out, to encounter, to invite and to accompany on the journey with the Lord, all of those we meet,” the cardinal said. 

Cardinal Wuerl noted that when Pope Francis was being driven to the airport for his departure from Washington, he praised the local Catholic Church for being “alive in the vibrancy of the Holy Spirit.” That spirit, the cardinal said, is a hallmark of the downtown Washington parish, at its liturgies and through its faith formation and charitable outreach programs.

That point was emphasized by Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, the cathedral’s rector, as he welcomed people to the anniversary Mass. “It is a very special day when we celebrate bringing Christ’s light to our city,” he said. “This has been central to our mission since the parish was founded in 1840. We have been a visible presence of the Lord Jesus in our midst, a home where people from all walks of life and from all parts of the world are invited to meet Jesus, to share the joy of the Gospel message, and to grow in the Christian life.”

The music at the bilingual anniversary Mass was led by the cathedral’s Schola Cantorum choir directed by Thomas Stehle, the cathedral’s director of music ministries. That choir had received a thumbs-up from the pope at his prayer service there. 

The cathedral’s charitable outreach includes a Monday morning breakfast served to about 80 homeless guests, who are invited to stay and hear a Gospel reflection and pray with volunteers. “Because we are in the middle of the city, our neighbor includes everyone. It’s part of living out the Gospel to serve and to love our neighbor,” said Norma Canedo, the cathedral’s assistant for social justice, at a reception following the Mass. 

The anniversary Mass program included a reproduction of an apostolic blessing from Pope Francis for the occasion, and the parish bulletin included a copy of a proclamation from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declaring Nov. 1 as St. Matthew’s Day in the nation’s capital.

As part of the 175th anniversary celebration, the cathedral’s Schola Cantorum, accompanied by a string orchestra and harp, will perform a concert on Sunday Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public.