Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat told nearly 2,000 faithful that “we should be like Mary and proclaim the greatness of the Lord; holy is His name. In these times, more than ever, we must proclaim the greatness of the Lord.”
Bishop Espaillat served as principal celebrant of the January 15 annual Our Lady of Altagracia Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Our Lady Altagracia is the protectoress of the Dominican Republic.
“¡Que viva La Virgen de la Altagracia!” (“Long live the Virgin of Altagracia”) Bishop Espaillat, who is of Dominican ancestry, proclaimed at the start of the homily, which was greeted with loud applause. Celebrating the Mass in Spanish, he alluded to the statues of saints in the cathedral, he said, “These are saints who came before us and who have left for us an inheritance, a treasure that is our faith. We must not forget this.” He told the faithful that Cardinal Dolan, who could not be present, sent his greetings and affection.
“Please, educate your children, educate your grandchildren; give them the message of salvation, that we have a Living God,” the bishop said. “In these times, when Covid began, the Lord told me very clearly, and I listened: these times are for us to be saints.”
He spoke of the importance of realizing how God is working in our lives, of the significance of proclaiming His greatness, and of the need of “bringing people to have an encounter with Christ Jesus…Mary understood this.” He also spoke of God’s great mercy and noted, “And I will say it here publicly: we are not Republicans; we are not Democrats. We belong to Jesus Christ!”
He warned that we must not give in to tyranny, “not here, not in the Dominican Republic, not anywhere…We need to allow Mary to take us by the hand, to take us to her Son, Jesus.”
Bishop Espaillat delivered the homily in his trademark charismatic, tell-it-like-it-is approach, tinged with humor but very serious in messaging; such as when he passionately urged the faithful, citing Cardinal Dolan, not to allow politics to influence them, but instead to rely on their faith to influence politics.
He gratefully acknowledged the presence of his parents in the front pews, as well as politicians and diplomats of Dominican/Latino ancestry in attendance.
Father Ambiorix Rodriguez, the pastor of St. Elizabeth parish in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, who is Dominican-born, gave closing remarks of gratitude, noting that the annual Our Lady of Altagracia Mass began at St. Patrick’s Cathedral 50 years ago.
The Mass concelebrants included Auxiliary Bishop Edmund Whalen, Father Enrique Salvo, rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Father Lorenzo Ato, communications director of the Archdiocese of New York's Hispanic Ministry.
Griselda Del Rosario, 63, was among the faithful in the pews. She told The Good Newsroom after Mass that she was grateful for the liturgy and the bishop’s homily message, adding that her Catholic faith “is everything to me; my parents taught me about Our Lady of Altagracia.” Del Rosario is Dominican-born and a parishioner at St. Margaret Mary parish in the Bronx.
Luis Martinez, 45, also attended the Mass. He told The Good Newsroom afterward that the homily message “was very good, very direct about conversion, about having faith in Mary and Jesus Christ.” Martinez was born in the Dominican Republic and is a parishioner of Christ the King parish in the Bronx.
The Mass featured a replica of the original painting of Our Lady of Altagracia. The replica came in 2021 from Church leaders in the Dominican Republic as a gift to the New York archdiocesan Committee of Our Lady of Altagracia.
Our Lady of Altagracia is a portrait of the Virgin Mary in a Nativity scene painted circa 1500 and kept in the Basilica Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia in the city of Higüey, Dominican Republic. Her feast day is Jan. 21.
The original portrait was crowned twice: on Aug. 15, 1922, during the pontificate of Pius XI; and by Pope John Paul II (now St. John Paul II), who personally crowned the portrait with a golden silver tiara during his visit to Santo Domingo Jan. 25, 1979.