by Marc and Julie Anderson
mjanderson@theleaven.org
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A beautiful evening.
That’s how Bridget Holton, a member of the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Kansas City, Kansas, described the inaugural Cathedral Gala held Feb. 10 in the cathedral’s parish center. Holton was among 250 who attended the fundraiser, which had a goal of raising $100,000 for the cathedral and the archdiocesan shrine of St. Maria Soledad.
The formal evening began with Mass celebrated by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and concelebrated by among others, Msgrs. Raymond Burger, Mike Mullen and Tom Tank. They were joined by Father Karl Good, CMOP, chaplain of Villa St. Francis Catholic Care Center in Olathe; Father John Cordes, senior priest in residence at the cathedral; and Father Anthony Saiki, the cathedral’s rector.
After Mass, a social hour, dinner and a keynote speech by Msgr. Tom Tank, who was assigned to the cathedral on four separate occasions, rounded out the evening. Additionally, the evening featured the comedy of Dan Carney, who served as master of ceremonies.
At age 65, Holton has been a member of the cathedral parish for her entire life. She, along with her sister Kathleen Holton, attended the gala not knowing what to expect. The two said they thoroughly enjoyed themselves, especially as they learned more about the cathedral’s construction and viewed photographs from the cathedral’s past on the screen behind the speakers.
“I just loved hearing some of the history,” Kathleen said.
Bridget agreed, saying, “[The evening] brings back a lot of memories.”
The two have deep ties to the parish. Their father was among its founding families. They celebrated all of their sacraments at the church and attended the grade school run by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. Finally, Bridget sent all of her children to St. Peter’s. Now her 10-year-old granddaughter is at the parish’s grade school (now called Resurrection), solidifying the family’s ties to a fourth generation.
And that was exactly the gala’s purpose — ensuring that the cathedral will continue to bring together Catholics for generations. And not just members of the parish itself, but everyone throughout the archdiocese because, as Archbishop Naumann noted, “The cathedral is really everybody’s parish.”
In opening remarks, Susan Carroll who, along with her husband Mike, served as gala chairpersons, said she was thrilled to welcome everyone.
Married for more than 60 years, the Carrolls both graduated from Bishop Ward High School and Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas, and were members of the parish for decades. Additionally, Susan graduated from St. Peter Grade School.
“Wow! How exciting is this, the first . . . gala celebrating the Cathedral of St. Peter, the motherhouse of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and the recently dedicated shrine of St. Maria Soledad, the foundress of the Sisters, Servants of Mary?” she asked the crowd.
Noting at least a dozen priests in attendance, Carroll said she wished “there was time to introduce them all. They are all my friends. They are all your friends. They bring us the Eucharist. They make us Catholic.”
However, Carroll noted, there were three who needed to be recognized — Msgr. Tom Tank, who spent 15 years at the parish over four different time periods; and two native sons of the parish — Msgr. Mike Mullen, the archdiocese’s retired vocations director; and Father Mike Hawken, pastor at Church of the Nativity, the cathedral’s sister parish, who later offered the opening prayer.
As she concluded, Carroll welcomed everyone in attendance and called them “friends of the cathedral,” saying, “Welcome to the celebration of your cathedral and your beautiful shrine. This is the next chapter in our history. The best is yet to come.”
In his opening remarks, Msgr. Tank said, “It’s kind of strange that I’m being associated with the cathedral because I grew up in St. Agnes Parish (in Roeland Park), and there was a huge rivalry between St. Agnes and St. Peter.”
That rivalry, at times, he said, included how many registered parishioners there were, which parish won the Catholic Youth Organization football title, how much money was brought in during the year and which parish contributed the most to Catholic Charities.
“I grew to love this parish community, and it is a beautiful community of faith. And it has a beautiful history behind it as well,” he said.
“It was built as a parish church,” he explained. “It wasn’t built as a cathedral, except that then-Father [John] Ward (who later became Bishop Ward), was chancellor of the diocese at the time.
“And chancellors kind of look forward to the future.”
“I think he knew he was building a cathedral,” added Msgr. Tank.
The cathedral’s style, he continued, is French Gothic, and “has those interior spaces that really lift your eyes up to heaven and invite you to consider the immensity and beauty of God within that tremendous architecture.”
One of the cathedral’s traditions, he concluded, is to pray for a different archdiocesan parish every week, a beautiful tradition that brings together the entire archdiocese’s 107 parishes.
“We have received a beautiful gift in this cathedral,” he concluded, “and it’s a gift not just for us, but it’s a gift that we pass on for future generations.”
