Patroness and Intercessor

Did you know that Mary Immaculate is the patron saint of the seminaryand that December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, is the seminary's patronal feast day?

It would seem obvious and reasonable that the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus would be the seminary's grand day of celebration instead of a Marian feast day. (The solemn feast of the Sacred Heart falls nineteen days after Pentecost, on a Friday. The earliest possible date is May 29; the latest July 2).

But during the early years of the seminary, the leadership decided to designate another commemorative day. The reasoning? A proper liturgical celebration could not be conducted in May, June, or July since seminarians already would have returned home for summer break or begun their summer ministry duties in the parishes.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception was thereby chosen as the patronal feast day. Of the many reasons why is the rightness of honoring Mary's puritybeing conceived without Original Sin in the womb of her mother, Anneand because of the intercessory role Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces plays in the life of every seminarian .

Another enduring tradition at Sacred Heart is for the archbishop of Detroit to commemorate the feast day of Mary Immaculate with his seminarians. This custom continued on December 8, when Most Rev. Allen Vigneron met with Sacred Heart's seminarians for a private conference in the morning and then was the main celebrant and homilist at solemn Mass in the main chapel. Archbishop Vigneron joined the men for informal conversation at a luncheon afterward, attended by the Sacred Heart faculty and staff.

Linked to the feast day this year was an additional liturgical observance. December 8 marked the first day of the Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis. The Holy Father asks each member of the Church to open themselves up more fully to the mercy of the Father as a means of interior renewal, forgiveness of self and others, and as inspiration to carry out greater acts of charity. The Jubilee Year of Mercy ends on November 20, 2016, the Feast of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

Do not forget that God forgives all, and God forgives always. Let us never tire of asking forgiveness, says Pope Francis in his announcement of the Holy Year. He is truly rich in mercy' and extends it abundantly upon those who appeal to him with a sincere heart, especially, the Holy Father says, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.