Another Side of "Sin City"

 Dear Parishioners,

This past week I was in Las Vegas, Nevada—a.k.a., Sin City.  However, as I have explained for the past four decades, I have a friend there from my seminary days, Auxiliary Bishop Gregory W. Gordon.  The bishop and I attended St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia for college and we have remained friends ever since.

The occasion for this recent visit was the 90th birthday of his mother Carole.  His mom and mine are approximately the same age. The last time I was in Vegas was to attend his Episcopal ordination two years ago. He was the first auxiliary bishop ever appointed in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas is a part of the country where the Catholic Church is growing in leaps and bounds. A number of years ago, I stood with the then Fr. Gordon as we surveyed the desert land that would become his future parish, St. Francis of Assisi in Henderson, NV.  He had to build it from the ground up. Today it proudly boasts of a parish family in proximity of 10,000 families!  There is also a newly established Catholic school in the parish.  The area has grown so large that another neighboring Catholic parish will be established in the immediate future.

Proof of the continued Catholic growth there is the fact the Las Vegas has recently been elevated to the status of Archdiocese. On June 29th, Archbishop George Leo Thomas, the current Ordinary (head bishop) for the archdiocese, will be presented with the pallium (a symbol of his office) from the Hoy Father. Las Vegas was once part of the Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas.  Subsequently, it became its own diocese.  Now it has been elevated to the status of archdiocese and has its own auxiliary bishop.  The rapid growth continues! 

Over the years I have attended various ceremonies within the diocese.  I saw confirmation classes too large to be held in parish churches, necessitating the use of the Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer on the south part of Las Vegas Boulevard (the strip). I have offered Mass and heard confessions for huge congregations from many cultures and backgrounds. There is a sizable Latino community.

Vegas has morphed from a small gambling oasis to a large metropolitan vacation destination in a little more than a century! Having personally observed the tremendous growth of Las Vegas over the years, I see how this city and its archdiocese now rivals particular parts of the country where the Catholic parishes have become mega-parishes.  (The state of Florida comes to mind.)  While the northeast part of the country is in noticeable church decline (recall the mergers, closures and sale of church property), other areas are experiencing the need for considerable expansion.

Incidentally, as my plane was landing, the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup.  Who would have ever thought that an ice hockey team would win a championship in the desert of Las Vegas?

Only in Vegas!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor 

Our Episcopal "Uber" Driver

 

Bishop Gregory W. Gordon (right) and me

Dear Parishioners,

This past week I had the privilege of attending the episcopal ordination of one of my good friends from my college seminary days.  On July 16, 2021, Bishop Gregory W. Gordon became the first auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Las Vegas, Nevada.  We had studied together at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary (Overbrook) in Philadelphia.

At the Mass were eighteen archbishops/bishops and one cardinal of the Catholic Church together with many priests, deacons, religious and laity of the diocese.  The Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer was the chosen location for the ceremony since it could hold more people than the smaller Guardian Angel Cathedral.

My life and Bishop Gordon’s life have had some interesting parallels over the years.  We were both born in Philadelphia.  We are both one of five children, four boys and a girl.  Our families both had homes in the Wildwoods, NJ.  Both of our fathers sadly died of heart attacks around the same age, in their early sixties.  Both of our mothers are approximately the same age.  He began his priesthood in the former Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas (now the Diocese of Las Vegas)—THE gambling mecca of the country.  Similarly, I am a priest for the Diocese of Camden, which until more recent years, was the only other place with legalized casino gambling (in Atlantic City).

That’s where many of the similarities end.  After college he went on to the Pontifical North American College in Rome, while I studied at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD.  He has had various diocesan positions including Vicar General, while I spent a majority of my priesthood involved in Catholic education.  Notably, if you put us side by side you will notice another significant difference:  I stand about a foot taller than him.  Unfortunately, even with his episcopal miter on, he does not reach my height.  Fortunately, we remained friends over the years and I was happy to have been invited to share this joyful occasion with Bishop Gordon and his family.

One thing that struck me and my brother priests whom I was travelling with, was the warmth and hospitality that both Bishop Gordon and his Ordinary, Bishop George Leo Thomas showed us.  In the midst of all that he had to do, Bishop Gordon frequently acted as our chauffer, taking us from location to location in his own car.  I referred to him as our episcopal Uber driver.  Moreover, Bishop Thomas warmly received us as his guests in his diocesan office and took time to talk with us and make us feel at home.  I compliment both of them for their cordiality.

Speaking to Bishop Gordon about a month before his ordination, he called and asked me to pray for him.  I wondered what was wrong.  Was he sick?  “No, I am being made a bishop,” was his reply.  Oh!  Subsequently, I would ask when his execution date was.    

Please pray for Bishop Gordon and all of his brother bishops.  When Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, his Metropolitan Archbishop, made some remarks at the end of the Mass, he began with “Congratulations and condolences.”  Being a bishop in today’s world will have many joys, but will also involve picking up a cross and following the Lord Jesus daily.  St. John Neumann, the fourth bishop of Philadelphia, used to say that for him every day it felt like he was going to the gallows, as he never really wanted to be a bishop.

Bishop Gordon is now one of the Successors of the Apostles.  Every day I realize more and more the Catholic Church’s rich tradition encapsulated in the phrase from the Nicene Creed: one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

God bless our episcopal Uber driver!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor