Jan. 5, 2014 – In the first event marking the Archdiocese of Washington’s 75th anniversary, Cardinal Wuerl presents Manifesting the Kingdom Awards to more than 200 Catholics in recognition of their outstanding service at local parishes, Catholic schools and agencies. During a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Cardinal Wuerl praised the unsung heroes for being like the Star of Bethlehem, leading people to an encounter with Christ. “This award is the recognition of this Church of how important your ministry, your service, your faith, your love, your life is,” the cardinal said. “Thanks for the manifestation of God’s love that you represent.”

May 18, 2014 – Cardinal Wuerl celebrates a Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Bowie, and then leads a Eucharistic procession to the Chapel on the Hill, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of the nomination of Father John Carroll to be the first bishop of the new United States. In 1789, Bishop Carroll became the nation’s first Catholic bishop, heading the Diocese of Baltimore, which at that time included all 13 original states. The Archdiocese of Washington, established in 1939, had been part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

June 8, 2014 – On Pentecost Sunday, Cardinal Wuerl convokes the first Archdiocesan Synod, and accepts recommendations and promulgates statutes resulting from a two-year widespread consultative effort, that chart a course for the local Church’s future outreach in the key areas of worship, education, community, service and stewardship and administration. About 200 Synod participants, including lay women and men, religious, deacons and priests from across the archdiocese, analyzed and summarized more than 15,000 suggestions offered by local Catholics at parish and regional listening sessions and through online surveys. On that day, Cardinal Wuerl also issues a related pastoral letter with the same title as the 75th anniversary year’s theme: “Manifesting the Kingdom.”

June 28, 2014 – To celebrate the Archdiocese of Washington’s roots of faith, Cardinal Wuerl celebrates a Mass at the reconstructed Brick Chapel in Historic St. Mary’s City in Southern Maryland. The chapel, rebuilt on the site of the 1667 original building, stands as a monument to Maryland’s status as the birthplace of religious freedom in the United States. Lord Baltimore, a Catholic, established the Maryland colony as a haven for religious tolerance and freedom of conscience for the colonists of many different faiths who first arrived there from England in 1634. “All of us, as spiritual descendants of those intrepid women and men, can rejoice and take pride in their vision and courage,” the cardinal said at the June 28 Mass. The original chapel had been ordered locked in 1704 by order of the royal governor, and during a 2009 ceremony, Cardinal Wuerl helped push open the doors of the rebuilt chapel.

June 29, 2014 – Continuing his pilgrimage to Southern Maryland, Cardinal Wuerl celebrates a Mass at St. Clement’s Island, near the spot where on 1634, Jesuit Father Andrew White celebrated the first Mass in the English-speaking colonies, for settlers arriving there on two boats, the Ark and the Dove. The cardinal noted that Catholics marking the Archdiocese of Washington’s 75th anniversary had come that day to St. Clement’s Island “to recognize, and pay homage to our roots, our Catholic heritage, which began in this corner of the world, on this island.” The altar for the Mass was set up near a 40-foot white cross erected on the island in 1934 to mark the 300th anniversary of the establishment of Maryland. Later, Cardinal Wuerl said the most moving moment of the day for him came as his boat approached the island, and he reflected, “And to think, it all started here.”

Sept. 21, 2014 – Cardinal Wuerl celebrates a 75th anniversary Mass for the Archdiocese of Washington at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in downtown Washington, on the feast day of St. Matthew, a tax collector who became an apostle and evangelist and who is the patron saint of civil servants. Following the Mass, Cardinal Wuerl presented Cardinal’s Awards to 25 prominent local Catholics, and also to the cathedral. In his homily, the cardinal said, “As we celebrate our 75th anniversary as an archdiocese, we do so with gratitude for the past, with resolve for the present moment, and with confidence as we look to the future.”