Bishop blesses new Maine Maritime Academy ship

Before the arrival of a new crew of students, the Maine Maritime Academy’s new training ship, the T/S State of Maine, welcomed aboard Bishop James Ruggieri for a blessing of the ship. The bishop, Father Seamus Griesbach, and Father Erin Donlon, who is a Maine Maritime Academy graduate, visited the state-of-the-art ship on April 21 while it was docked at the Maine State Pier in Portland. The three were given a guided tour by Engineer Nate Boyan, a parishioner of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Bangor. They were also warmly greeted by Captain Gordon MacArthur, the ship’s master.        

Built by Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania, the $330 million ship is the third of five commissioned by the United States Maritime Administration to ensure future mariners are well trained.

A new altar and ambo are built for the cathedral chapel

A new altar in the chapel of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland was blessed and consecrated by Bishop James Ruggieri during a Mass celebrated in March.        

Father Seamus Griesbach, rector of the cathedral, says the former altar was in disrepair, and when he mentioned his desire to get a new one, a parishioner generously donated the money to have one built, along with an ambo to match.        

Father Griesbach, whose father was a carpenter, says he approached M.R. Brewer, a Portland-based company, about the project because of their reputation for quality work.        

“We looked at all the different kinds of architecture of the chapel because we wanted to match that. They made it out of quarter sawn oak. They put over 250 hours of work into it. It’s just a really wonderful piece,” he says.       

 During the Mass, the bishop prayed the Prayer of Dedication, asking the Lord to “pour forth from heaven your sanctifying power upon this altar, built in the house of the Church, that it may be an altar dedicated for all time by the sacrifice of Christ.”        

He then anointed the altar by pouring sacred chrism on it and rubbing it into the surface. Burning incense was then placed on the altar, an act of purification and a symbol of prayers rising to heaven.        

“The altar, as the Church teaches in the Rite of Dedication, is a sign of Christ Himself. That is why, in this rite, the altar is anointed with sacred chrism. Just as Christ is the Anointed One, so this altar becomes a sign of Him. And it is upon this altar that the sacrifice of Christ becomes present,” Bishop Ruggieri said.        

During the rite, the bishop was presented with a relic of St. Patrick, a secondary patron of the diocese, which was inserted into the altar.        

“When relics are placed within an altar, we are not adding anything to Christ’s sacrifice. Rather, we are proclaiming the power of Christ’s sacrifice. The saints are the fruit of the cross, the fruit of that one, saving sacrifice,” the bishop said.        

March 19 was chosen for the dedication Mass because it is the Feast of St. Joseph, who is the patron saint of carpenters.