It was a very damp and cloudy morning, and we hoped that the rain would hold off until after Mass. However, it started to rain right after the Gospel was proclaimed, and we were completely drenched. Yet, it was a most memorable and holy day that I will always cherish.
So after I read about the beatification mass for Sister Miriam Teresa Demjanovich at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, I knew that it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This time, Janet came with me, and it was a very rainy morning once again. Camera trucks from all of the television networks, including EWTN were on Central Avenue, and it was fairly empty outside. We thought that we were early. Once we entered, though, we found that the cathedral was filled to capacity. We were lucky to find two chairs in the back along the side wall.
At 9:30 the procession began, and it lasted for at least 15 minutes. The Sisters Of Charity were well represented and processed down the middle aisle followed by the deacons, priests, bishops, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, and the celebrant, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints. During the rite and formula of beatification, the cathedral was silent, but then it erupted with such joy and celebration. Blessed Miriam Teresa’s portrait was then uncovered as Michael Mencer—whose boyhood recovery from macular degeneration is attributed to Sister Miriam’s intercession—carried her relics, which were placed next to her portrait.
I cannot find the words to describe how I felt during the beatification rite. It was amazing and spirit-filling to witness the beatification of a woman from Bayonne, New Jersey and a sister from the local congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth.
Two one-of-a-kind spiritual events within twenty years!
Richard Michalowski is RENEW International's Controller and proud father and grandfather.