(308) Is the Fire and Restoration of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris Stimulating a Revival of the Faith in France?

 AMDG

The great 13^th Century Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris) in flames on April 15, 2019.  Little was left of the roof and spire.

       On the night of April 15, 2019 the world gasped in horror as it watched live on television the magnificent mediviel cathedral in flames……perhaps the most famous cathedral in the world, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris.  People all over France were praying –many for the first time in years-- that the firefighters save the iconic cathedral, which was close to collapsing.  In fact a spire did collapse before the eyes of the world. 

It is amazing how the people of the 12^th century could build such a magnificent cathedral with their rather primitive tools.  No tourist leaves Paris without visiting this classic cathedral with its Gothic architecture and exquisite stained-glass windows.  Notre-Dane is the most visited site in Paris, far exceeding the Eiffel Tower, with 13 million visitors per year.  

The 12^th Century Cathedral of Notre Dame fully restored in its original splendor, reopened on December 7, 2024, the eve of the great feast of the Immaculate Conception after a devastating fire five years earlier.  It was in 1858 that Mary herself revealed the doctrine to St. Bernadette.  Over 1500 people, including 40 heads of state attended the reopening ceremony.  Once again the huge bells of the jewel of Paris could be heard through much of Paris.  A few weeks earlier on November 15, the 14^th Century statue of Our Lady of the Pillar, miraculously untouched by the flames of April 15, 2019, was brought back in a torchlight procession, partially organized by the Knights of Columbus, through the streets of Paris to her proper place in the cathedral.    

The original construction was a labor of love that gives glory to God.  It took almost a century to build (1163-1260).  While in the Army stationed in Orleans two hours south, I was blessed to visit it more than once in 1962.  Using similar medieval tools and methods, the five year restoration was a painstaking labor of love at a cost of $800 million and a brother knight, a French craftsman and manager, had a significant part.  All of that funding and more was supplied by 340,000 donors from 150 countrues all over the world.  Some 240 companies and hundreds of craftsmen participated.

A view of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris from the Seine River

       The restoration is rekindling a religious fervor “This moment of joy confirms the vitality of Christianity in old Europe, which is only waiting to follow its Christian vocation more intensely in France and beyond” said Arnaud Bouthéon, territorial deputy of France.  Pope Francis himself called upon “all the baptized who will joyfully enter this cathedral to feel a legitimate pride and reclaim their faith heritage…..May the rebirth of this admirable church be a prophetic sign of the renewal of the Church in France.”  And to think that the faith in secular France had been in decline for the previous 75 years.  

Will this tragic fire and the unifying restoration stimulate a religious revival?  About the same time in 2023, across the ocean, little Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia near Washington D.C. dedicated its magnificent neogothic chapel to Christ the King and renewed its mission to “restore all things in Christ”.  There was a time when the word “Christendom” was almost synonymous with Western Civilization because of the prevailing Christian culture before the Protestant Reformation. 

May the Church in France return to the days when they had a Catholic culture, as during the reign of King St. Louis IX (1226-1270).  It was King St. Louis IX, who placed the precious crown of thorns of Christ in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.  It survived the persecution and desecration during the French Revolution in 1789.  May France again be faithful to its calling as the eldest daughter of the Church.                                             

One of the many stained-glass windows of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris

       Jean-Baptiste Bonhoure, a member of Blessed Noël Pinot Council 18406 in Béhuard, France, was present at the restoration inauguration in his capacity as president of Ateliers Perrault, the company entrusted with the reconstruction of the nave, choir, as well as the north and south belfries of the 850-year-old cathedral.  Membership is growing in France to 1250 since the first five French councils of the Knights of Columbus were chartered in 2016. What attracted Bonhoure to join the Order in 2022 was seeing members put their faith into action through service.  “I joined the Knights to help serve the community,” he said, “while strengthening my Catholic faith with a group of men from all generations.”

A view of the Seine River and Paris from the tower of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.  Notice the flying buttresses at the bottom of the photo.

      Many see the tragic fire and restoration as an opportunity for the re-evangelization of France and the Knights of Columbus have taken a part in that most noble undertaking.  Observers can see that “From a cultural and existential point of view, people today feel lost, which reinforces the attraction effect toward Notre-Dame.”  According to Fr. Amar, “We can turn every trial into a source of strength.  This is the direction Christ points us in, through his death on the cross and his resurrection in glory.”  The influx of tourists to the restored cathedral must be directed to prayer and reverence in this holy church……not simply herded through a museum.     

      In 2017 and again in 2018 the French knights organized a sound and light show on the façade of the cathedral to commemorate the centenary of Worlld War I under the title, “Queen of Hearts” before thousands of people.  During the Year of St. Joseph in 2021, the knights organized a procession with his statue through Paris, climaxed by a vigil of thanksgiving and Eucharistic Adoration in front of the cathedral. 

Even more ambitious, the Knights organized a 590 mile walking pilgrimage over 70 days from Paris to Southern France.  During the processions the knights distributed images of the statue of St. Joseph and the Christ child.  All of this is an answer to the emptiness of post-modern materialism.  The whole world can adopt this missionary spirit of evangelization.

This is in addition to the annual three day 60 mile walking pilgrimage from Paris to the great medieval cathedral of Chartres to the south.  The 2025 pilgrimage broke a record with some 19,000 participants, mostly youth.

A statue of one of the many saints of France, St. Joan of Arc in the center of Orleans.  She commanded the lifting of the siege of the English on May 7-8 1429.

      In fact there were 10,000 adult Baptisms at Easter 2025, a 45% increase over 2024, in itself a banner year in the French Church.  Perhaps the tragedy of the fire that nearly destroyed on April 19, 2019 and recent restoration is indeed stimulating a revival of the Faith in secular France.  Certainly, the army of saints that France has produced over the centuries are praying for that…..St. Joan of Arc (her feast day was yesterday May 30), St. Margaret Mary, St. Catherine Labore, Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, St. Bernadette, St. Louis IX, St. Louis de Monfort, St. John Vianney, St. Dennis, St. Theresa of Lisieux, and many more.  See

https://www.returntoorder.org/2025/05/the-unexpected-rise-in-adult-baptisms-in-france-should-encourage-and-challenge-all-catholics/.

For more details go to  https://www.kofc.org/en/news-room/columbia/2025/march/resurrection-notre-dame.html  

(307) THE NEW POPE: HE’S AMERICAN; ES PERUANO; BLACK TOO; HE NOW BELONGS TO THE WORLD!

 AMDG

HABEMUS PAPAM!   He received more than the required 2/3 of the votes cast by the 133 Cardinals that participated on May 8, 2025, the Feast of Our Lady of Pompeii.  As the 267^th Pope, he gave his first greeting and blessing to the world!  He spoke in Italian and Spanish, but not English to show that he is the Pope for all.  He appealed for the intercession of Mary by reciting the Hail Mary prayer.  Over the weekend he visited the Augustinian Shrine of Our Lady of Good Council, an hour drive from Rome.

As kids in the late 1950s, his older brothers played cowboys and Indians; little Rob Prevost, the youngest of three boys (no sisters), played priest.  From that early age, God had a special mission for little Rob; He has a special mission for each one of us.  But who would even dream what mission little Rob had?

God does not choose the qualified; He qualifies the chosen.  God prepared Robert Prevost for an awesome mission and that preparation over his 69 years made him ready when the time came on May 8, 2025.  His father of French descent was a Navv veteran of the Normandy Invasion and a district public school superintendent while his mother of Haitian descent was a librarian, both college graduates and very faithful Catholics in the working-class neighborhood of South Chicago.  They were active members of St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church and sent their children to its school.  There Rob was an altar boy and member of the choir.  Thus Robert Prevost grew up in an intellectual and faith environment, good for nurturing a vocation. 

After eighth grade, he entered St. Augustine High School Minor Seminary in Michigan.  While excelling academically, his activities included student council, editor of the yearbook, and debate, balanced to this day by swimming and tennis. 

In 1977 he graduated from the Augustinian Villanova University in Philadelphia with a degree in Mathematics.  Then he formally entered the Augustinian novitiate, taking his final vows in 1981, and accepting priestly ordination in 1982.  

The Augustinian Order took notice of his talents and encouraged him to continue his studies…...Master of Divinity from the Catholic Theological Union in 1982 while teaching Math and Physics at a Catholic high school.  He obtained a doctorate in Canon Law in 1987 from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, becoming fluent in Italian and well versed in Latin.  Along the way he   became fluent in Spanish and a good grasp of French, Portuguese, and German besides his native language of birth.  

Now Fr. Prevost served the Diocese of Chulucanas in Northern Peru 1985-86.  After serving as Vocations Director and working with the novices in the U.S. he returned to Peru in 1988.  Apparently, Fr. Prevost found his niche, teaching Canon Law at the diocesan seminary and heading the Augustinian Seminary in Trujillo, serving as a judge on the ecclesiastical court, and doing parish work which included even traveling on horseback.  At that point he was probably resigned to spending the rest of his life as a missionary priest in Peru.  Little did he know!         

From 1998-2013 he was elected to serve as Prior Provincial and later Prior General of the order worldwide.  By then he was noticed by the Vatican and was appointed Apostolic Administrator in 2014 and then Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru the following year.  He was elected Vice President of the Peruvian Bishops Conference. In accordance with a concordat, Bishop Prevost became a naturalized citizen of Peru.  

In 2023 Pope Francis appointed him as Prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops despite his preference to remain in Peru after 20 years there and a few months later made him a Cardinal.  At that point Cardinal Prevost became known among those close to the Vatican.  He was responsible for advising Pope Francis on the appointment and evaluation of Bishops around the world.  He was also appointed to be a member of seven additional dicasteries.

Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) and Pope Leo XIV (2025- )

What’s in a name?  Cardinal Prevost and everyone else were taken by surprise. An American Pope was out of the question for fear of domination by the superpower.   He didn’t have much time to think of a name and his opening greeting.  The name he chooses serves as a vision and direction of his Papacy, a model to follow and continuity.  Pope Leo XIII was his inspiration.   

      On May 15, 1891 this pioneer of social justice   published his landmark encyclical, Rerum Novarum: On the Condition of Labor in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution.  His ideas were revolutionary at the time, applying biblical Christian principles to the social problems of the day, a time of rampant abuses and exploitation of the working man in gross violation of his human dignity.  The Pontiff condemned child labor, sweat shop working conditions often unsafe, unjust wages, long hours, etc.  He asserted the right of workers to organize.  He promoted the concept of the just wage for an honest day's work.......sufficient to modestly support a typical family without the mother having to work because of poverty. 

He condemned Socialism (excessive government ownership and control of the means of production and the economy at the expense of individual freedom) as well as the abuses of unrestrained Capitalism while asserting the right to own private property.  However, the owner has the duty to use his property (wealth) not only for himself, but also for the common good because God created the riches of the world for all. He espoused the Principle of Subsidiarity.......that decisions should be made as much as possible at the level of the community and family, not Big Government.   The popes were really the precursors of social change, having stimulated reforms and labor laws around the world to correct the abuses.  Succeeding popes followed with new social encyclicals to update Rerum Novarum to new conditions and problems on May 15 of 1931, 1961, 1971, 1981, and 1991 without contradicting their predecessors.  See www.usccb.org/resources/foundational-documents-catholic-social-teaching. 

Fast forward to the 21^st Century and we have “a new challenge for the defense of human dignity, justice, and the worker”……artificial intelligence and robotics, a second industrial revolution, a digital revolution.  "AI must be in the service of truth."  Furthermore, Leo XIII was a Marian Pope, having written numerous encyclicals on Mary.  Pope Leo XIV has a devotion to Mary, praying the rosary every day.  Thus the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, chose his new name as Pope Leo XIV.

      What can we expect of the new Pope?  Based on prior statements, he is conservative on Church doctrine gender, and pro-life issues, but progressive on social justice, immigration, and ecology.  Yet he wants the Church to be welcoming to all.  He will be an ardent peacemaker as all the Popes have been.  Like Pope Francis, he follows the simple life of service and is a unifier that advocates dialogue and bridge building where Christ is the bridge between God and man.  Being a humble and excellent listener, he will continue the synodal movement, but he will have the last word. 

    We can expect him to be welcoming to the participation of women in the Church, but wth limits.  As Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru the nuns were very helpful.  As prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops, he included a couple of women.  Being more intuitive and right brained, they can pick up on things that left brained men will often miss.  Women have been invaluable in schools and hospitals, for example.  Great entrepreneurs in the Church include St. Mother Cabrini, Mother Angelica, and St. Mother Drexel, among others.

Pope Leo is controlled, pastoral, down-to-earth, gentle, soft-spoken, calm, modest, and serene in his dealings, but firm, a low key yet determined style with self-assurance.  He is a man of deep faith rooted in prayer.  He knows the inner workings of the Vatican bureaucracy.  He's committed to the 2^nd Vatican Council and greater participation for women.  His math background helps him to be methodical with clarity in his pronouncements.

Interesting is his first audience with the media.  He emphasized the role of journalists……to serve truth and promote peace by disarming words that can incite and divide.  “Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred.”  See

 https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-05/pope-leo-xiv-media-professionals-audience-conclave.html.

Pope Leo has a great appreciation of the importance of the 23 Eastern rites in the Church, which has its origins in the East.  Someday the rest of the Orthodox, separated by the schism of 1054, will return to Rome and the path will be via the Eastern rites.  The apostles adapted the liturgy and traditions to their rich cultures without compromising doctrine.  Only a few days into his pontificate, Pope Leo spoke at the Jubilee of Eastern Churches.  “It is vital, then, that you preserve your traditions”.   See the Meeting With Pope Leo XIV: A New Hope for the Eastern Churches.  He opened his talk with the traditional greeting of Eastern Catholics: “Christ is risen” and the reply is “Indeed He is risen”.  

 

                                The Coat of Arms of Pope Leo XIV

    The Coat of Arms of Pope Leo XIV is quite illustrative of the man.  The traditional keys at the top remind us of Christ’s words to St. Peter:  “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt. 16:19).

The upper half of the shield is blue with a fleur-de-lis, or lily, indicates purity, the Holy Trinity, devotion to Mary, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The lower half of the shield presents the figure of a closed book beneath a pierced heart aflame. The symbol refers to the conversion of St. Augustine, who described his experience as a personal encounter with God, about whom he wrote: “You have pierced my heart with your Word.”

Beneath the shield on the coat of arms is Pope Leo’s episcopal motto in Latin, “In Illo Uno Unum.”  As St. Augustine explained,  “Although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.  We are many and we are one — because we are united to him”. 

The Pontiff explained that “unity and communion are truly part of the charism of the Order of St. Augustine, and also of my way of acting and thinking…..I believe it is very important to promote communion in the Church, and we know well that communion, participation, and mission are the three key words of the Synod. So, as an Augustinian, for me promoting unity and communion is fundamental.”    

 Pope Leo XIV will be greatly influenced by the charism of the Augustinian Order formed in the 13^th Century and inspired by its patron, St. Augustine of Hippo…..a mendicant order (living like monks but  out in the world serving).  Their way of life promotes unity, community living, contemplative spirituality, humility, simple living, and poverty for its members, attuned to the emotional needs of the people, utilizing the power of love in service and evangelization.  Pope Leo XIV is committed to the poor and disadvantaged, building community among them.

       

World Dignitaries at the Installation Mass of Pope Leo XIV in front of the St. Peter’s Basilica on May 18, 2025.  An estimated 200,000 pilgrims attended.

            The new Pope told a group of Peruvians after his Installation Mass: “I can honestly tell you, it never crossed my mind that what then happened, would have happened.  I think that our God of surprises sprang a really big one this time.  As I have often said, one must know how to accept the will of God".

(306) Brother Knight Dr. Mel Simon (1935-2025) Achieved the American Dream….. and Generously Gave Back to the Community

AMDG 

Dr. Mel Simon

      Family and friends celebrated the life of brother knight (4^th Degree) Dr. Mel Simon before saying good-bye to him as he joined his dear son, Paul in the beautiful mausoleum at the Ohio Valley Memory Gardens.

      Mel Simon grew up in the Philippine Islands during the Second World War and the Japanese occupation.  Born in 1935, little Mel was there when General Douglas MacArthur had to leave, but promised “I shall return”.  Little Mel was there when MacArthur did indeed return.  We study history; Mel lived it.

      He graduated from the University of Santo Tomas Medical School in the Philippines in 1959.  A classmate of his was Dr. Anthony Sola, the father of Tony, Mel’s godson, who is here with us.  Dr. Simon went through six years as a resident doctor in the Cook County Hospital in Chicago where he obtained his specialization in surgery and urology.  Resident doctors work very hard for little pay and long hours during their residency and deserve to be amply rewarded later.

      In 1966 Dr. Charles Holzer invited Mel to work as a doctor in the hospital he founded here in Gallia County.  Soon Mel excelled in his own practice and became a prominent doctor in our community.  He became prosperous and achieved the American dream.  Don’t tell me there’s no opportunity in our country.  Mel proved that one who is intelligent and resourceful, studies hard, and works hard can indeed achieve the American dream.  

       Immigrants have made this country great over the years.  They are willing to accept jobs nobody wants, work hard, take risks, and start new businesses that provide jobs for others.  Europe and Asia have given America their best human resources.  Accepting low wages provided big profits for corporations that invested in expansion and the economic takeoff of the United States in the 19^th Century.  Today legal immigrants from Latin America are doing very well.  The timid and the lazy don’t immigrate.

      Dr. Mel not only achieved the American dream; he gave back to the community on his own, through the Rotary Club and through the Knights of Columbus.  Two of our brother knights, Bruce Davison and Mike Dressel served as honor guards.  

      In collaboration with the Rotary Club, Dr. Simon organized some 35 medical missions to the Philippine Islands as “Operation We Care”.  He recruited many doctors and nurses to work with him.  Our own Jaga Sebastian, Pam Dovyak, and others from our parish were among them.  His wife Lydia was part of every one of these missions.  Upon his return Dr. Mel would share experiences with different community groups, including our own Knights of Columbus, of which he was a 4^th Degree member.

Paul Sebastian and Betty Horan are on the left and Dr. Mel Simon is on the right with Alina Colwell, the one thousandth patient served at the French 500 Free Clinic which coincided with its third anniversary.

      While working as a Catholic lay missionary in Peru for 14 years.  I noticed that the Maryknoll Fathers often had parish clinics with volunteer nuns to serve the medical needs of the poor.  Wondering whether that idea would work here, I shared the concept with Dr. Mel.  He took the ball and ran with it.  Thus we had the French 500 Free Clinic with volunteer doctors and nurses going for about four years until Obama Care ran us out of business.  Lydia was there for every session and so was Mel’s “baby sister”, Remy Simon.

Four nurse volunteers of the French 500 Free Clinic from left to right: Evangeline Gugacus, Debbie Beegle, Beverly Voss, and Lydia Simon, his wife of 66 years who was at his side during every project.

      Dr. Mel was instrumental in the restoration of the Ariel Opera House under the leadership of Lora Snow.  Paul, his son, served on the Board of Directors until his tragic death.  The Ohio Valley Symphony Orchestra had five performances every year and if they were in town, Mel and Lydia were sure to be there.  The Symphony Orchestra includes internationally known soloists and professional musicians from three states.  His daughter-in-law was a candidate for “Maestro For a Moment”.  Each dollar donated was one vote.  Mel stuffed the ballot box and Dr. Agnes Simon won in a landslide.

      Dr. Mel served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Rio Grande.   He was also a man of faith.  Mel and Lydia were right there, first row left side at the 10 o’clock Mass every Sunday dressed in their Sunday best.  Sometimes he served as lector.  He was generous with our parish, helping with improvements such as major renovations and a new Parish Hall.

      Mel Simon loved his adopted country and was a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps Reserves.  He was ready to serve on active duty if called.  Lydia was a major part of Mel’s success through 66 years of marriage.  She was his top assistant and financial secretary.  She kept the home going as well.  They worked together beautifully as a team.

      He had a zest for life.  As a young doctor, Mel Simon, took up motorcycling, downhill skiing, and boating.  He even had a passion for flying as an instrument-rated pilot of his own airplane.  However, Dr. Mel suffered a lot in his twilight years, but his daughter Dr. Maria Simon provided for the best care.  The care givers included Filipinos who gave Mel the opportunity to speak the language he learned as a child.  I hope that Mel offered his crosses, i.e., suffering to the Lord as a dynamic prayer for the Church, for his adopted country and for his loved ones.  That is a most effective prayer and a path to sanctity.

      Mel, left a legacy.  In 2010 the State of Ohio recognized his contributions by naming him to the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.  Thank you for giving back so much to the community.  May we follow his example by serving the Church and the people of our community.  Good-bye to our friend and brother knight until we meet again in eternity.  Let’s make sure that we all make it to Heaven for that great reunion by being faithful to God and His people.  That’s what life is all about.

      At the internment at the Ohio Valley Memory Gardens, several people paid tribute to a life well lived.  They included Paul Sebastian representing the Knights of Columbus, Lora Snow Director of the Ariel Opera House, and Judge Margaret Evans representing the Rotary Club for which he served as a District Governor for a time.  Three of his grandsons, Joshua, Zachary, and Jacob gave beautiful tributes.  Our pastor, Fr. Thomas Hamm gave the final blessing.     

      Since his Funeral Mass was in Chicago, where his American adventure began, but is interred in Gallipolis, his home on the shore of the Ohio River for 59 years, the intention of the Knights of Columbus Fifth Sunday Mass on March 30 was for the repose of his soul.  Fr. Thomas Hamm, a knight himself, celebrated the Mass and Mel's godson Tony Sola was an altar server.  Much of Dr. Simon’s extended family sat in the first two rows on the left side and his parish family attended as well.  Brother knights served as honor guards, altar servers, lector, Eucharistic Minister, and ushers.  The Jose Reyes Family brought up the gifts at the Offertory.