Ascent to Mount Tabor

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Día de la Independencia de Uruguay

I was able to celebrate a second Independence Day this year - today in Uruguay. Being a national holiday, there was no school. I concelebrated Mass in the Cathedral with Cardinal Daniel Sturla of Montevideo as principal celebrant. Then, Frs. Bernardo and Juan, and Ramon, the cathedral sacristan, and I went on a pilgrimage to the city of Florida, about 75 miles north of Montevideo. There, on August 25, 1825, Uruguay declared its independence from Brazil. In the Cathedral in Florida, there is a statue of "La Virgen de los Treinta y Tres" (The Virgin of the Thirty-Three). In 1825, thirty-three Uruguayan patriots placed the future of their new nation at the feet of the Virgin. Ever since, the image has been called "La Virgen de los Treinta y Tres." It is a baroque, wooden carving of the Assumption of the Virgin. Its cloak and robes seem to move because of their many pleats. In 1962 Pope St. John XXIII declared her the patroness of Uruguay.

Padres Juan, Bernardo, y yo

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Uruguay Arrival

What was supposed to be a 20-hour trip turned out to be 31 hours! The plane from Miami to Montevideo encountered mechanical problems after about three hours enroute, and had to return to Miami. We had to wait in the Miami airport for almost 6 hours for a different plane. When we finally got one, we had a nine hour flight. Needless to say, I arrived in Montevideo tired! But, thanks be to God, Fr. Bernardo was there at the airport to meet me and take me to the Cathedral rectory. He lives there with Fr. Juan Gonzalez, who is the pastor. I'm so grateful for the worldwide fraternity of Catholic priests. Wherever a priest travels in the world, he can always find a brother in a fellow priest. Frs. Bernardo and Juan have welcomed me into their home which is situated right next to the Cathedral, and across from the Plaza Matriz, named for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. I concelebrated Mass with Fr. Juan for the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. I walked about the city a bit today and down to the sea. I found my school, Academia Uruguay, located only two blocks away. Classes start Monday.