St. Patrick's Day Mass - March 16

On Friday, March 16 at Noon a special St. Patrick's Day Mass will be held at Old St. Patrick's Church in Pittsburgh's Strip District at 17th Street and Liberty Avenue.

Our presider will be Archabbot Lambert Reilly, O.S.B. who is a native Pittsburgher and the retired Abbot of St. Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana.

Parking and seating is at a premium so be sure to arrive early!

Here is a brief backgrounder of Archabbot Reilly (courtesy of St. Vincent College's Web site):

Archabbot Lambert served as the archabbot of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana from June 2, 1995, to Dec. 15, 2004. He was the eighth abbot and fifth archabbot in the monastic community's 150-year history.

Following his resignation as archabbot, he has returned to his work of preaching and retreats. For more than 40 years, Archabbot Lambert has distinguished himself as a retreat director and speaker on issues of spirituality and prayer. He has given countless retreats, especially to bishops, priests and sisters, and has conducted parish missions throughout the nation. He has been a frequent retreat master for Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in the United States and India. Archabbot Lambert is also an educator. He taught Latin and education courses at Saint Meinrad College, Mount Sacred Heart College in Hamden, CT, and Penn State University; he served as principal of St. Elizabeth High School, Pittsburgh, (1976-1978). He also served as a consultant to the Diocese of Peoria’s Office of Education. The 71-year-old native of Pittsburgh professed vows as a Benedictine monk in 1956 and was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1959. During his 50 years of monastic life, Archabbot Lambert has held a variety of assignments within the monastery. In addition to his retreat work and teaching, Archabbot Lambert has assisted in parishes, worked in public relations, and served as guest master, assistant oblate director and assistant to the novice master. In the fall of 1993, Archabbot Lambert served the monastic community as pro-prior during the prior-s sabbatical.

Archabbot Lambert earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Saint Vincent College, in 1955. He also holds master of divinity and master of religious education degrees from Saint Meinrad School of Theology, as well as a master of science in education from Duquesne University. In addition, he has undertaken graduate studies at The Catholic University of America, Georgetown University, University of Evansville and Arkansas State University.

He is the author of “Because There Is Jesus” (Abbey Press, 1997) a collection of his homilies and conferences; and “Latin Sayings for Spiritual Growth” (Our Sunday Visitor Press, 2001), which offers spiritual reflections on some of Fr. Archabbot’s favorite Latin sayings and New Testament quotes.