---

With the major renovations to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany coming to an end, Rev. William Pape, rector, sees a new age for the Cathedral in its often-overlooked role as a parish of the Albany Diocese.

Displaced for much of the past year by the construction, the number of parishioners regularly attending Mass at the Cathedral had lessened in the past few months.

However, with an updated look and more room for the congregation, the Cathedral will soon welcome its parishioners again, as well as fresh faces. A rededication ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 21.

"These renovations are like a renewal of the Church," said Deborah Williams, a parishioner and eucharistic minister at the Cathedral for 10 years.

Mrs. Williams, who had been attending Mass at St. James Church in Albany (a worship site of St. Francis of Assisi parish) during the renovations, said she was thankful to be welcomed at other parishes, but happy to be back at the Cathedral.

In the early days of the circa-1848 Cathedral, more than 3,000 households were counted on the parish rolls, said Father Pape. But in the mid-1960s, the construction of the Empire State Plaza in Albany reduced the congregation to about 300 households.

Today, that number has climbed back to approximately 700 households. The statistics mirror the problems of the Church on a larger scale, said Mary Ellen Stewart, a parishioner at the Cathedral since 1966: With the trend of populations moving out of the city into the suburbs, many inner-city churches have seen declines.

Mrs. Stewart believes the Cathedral's renovations could draw a whole new group to the parish. "It's going to take time," she predicted, "but people will reassemble."

Even with all of the renovations, for Mrs. Stewart, the parish family of the Cathedral is one of its best traits.

"The people at the Cathedral are a marvelous mix and a group which you wouldn't always be able to find in the suburbs," she stated. "It's multicultural and is enriching for all of us, because it's a mirror of God's family."

Said Mrs. Williams: "I'm so happy to be back; it's a feeling like coming home. This Cathedral is a place of worship, but it's also like being a part of an extended family."

Father Pape noted that, while the Cathedral has always been a sanctuary for the arts, music and public discussion, it is a place of worship first and foremost.

"People come here because they love the building, the awe and the sacredness of it," he said.

Even when Mrs. Williams and her family travel home to South America to visit, they miss their Albany parish. "Nothing compares to when you're worshipping in that Cathedral," she said. "I wouldn't want to worship anywhere else."

It is Father Pape's hope that more people will now find their niche as Cathedral parishioners.

"Every Catholic has two churches: the parish and the Cathedral. It belongs to everyone in the Diocese," he said. "This rededication reminds us that the Church is not just a building, but it is also the people. This is where we come together to praise, serve and preach the Gospel."

Rededication of the Cathedral will take place Nov. 21 at 3 p.m. Due to limited seating, attendance is by invitation only; representatives from parishes across the Albany Diocese will be present.

[[In-content Ad]]The rite of the dedication of a church echoes the rite of baptism, said Rev. William Pape, rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany.

Just as a person renews his or her baptismal vows, he explained, the Cathedral will be renewed in its mission as a place of worship and a home for the faithful when it is rededicated Nov. 21.

At the beginning of the service, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard will bless both the church's walls and the congregation with holy water, mirroring the blessing of a candidate with the water of the baptismal font.

After the homily, just as the head of one being baptized is anointed with sacred chrism oil and clothed with a white garment, so the altar will also be anointed and covered with a white altar cloth.

Finally, in the rite of baptism, the pascal candle is used to light the candle of the candidate with the words of the priest, "Receive the light of Christ." In the same way, candles for the Cathedral's altar will be lit from the pascal candle in the rite of dedication. (CN)

---