Loyal reader, commenter, and friend of this blog, Bill
Sandoval and his wife Suzie, attended a confirmation Mass celebrated by
Archbishop Alexander Sample in the Archdiocese of Portland. He shared his
experience with me, along with a few photos.
Of the Mass itself, Bill said:
The confirmation service was a
pleasant surprise. We had a large confirmation group. The church was at about
90% full. We can seat about 800. Archbishop Sample gave a wonderful homily. We
had two deacons and two priests in attendance. The music was much better than I
expected. No bongo drums. I still can’t believe that one. There were a few
rough edges, but over all a good service.
Just a quick aside here: it has now come to the point where
we can say the music is “better than expected” when there are no bongo drums!
Aaack!
Bill and Suzie were able to spend a few minutes talking to
the Archbishop, who asked Bill about the origins of his family name, Sandoval.
I told him if you go back far
enough, there was a Sandoval that was a captain on one of Cortez's ships. He
was in prison, and they released him if he would take on the job. He got a big
laugh out of that. He said, "So that’s your claim to fame.”
And, Bill told me, there was a movie about his ancestor: Captain from Castile!
Bill added:
The Archbishop is a very kind
and holy man. He is so easy to talk to. We were able to talk for about 5
minutes. Someone else asked him how he was settling in to his new position; he
told her that he had a lot of work to do but with the Lord's help he would
accomplish what needed to be done.
The Archbishop's mother was in
attendance. She has moved to Portland. She is in her 80’s and the Archbishop
looks after her.
Bill’s general assessment of the new archbishop is that “This
man is going to rock the boat out here. It needs a good rocking.” Indeed!
I love these photos! Archbishop Sample always looks so vibrant! Having met him in person myself, I know these photos capture his essence.
For some great photos of the confirmation I attended with my
friend LouAnn, go here – the parish hired a professional photographer for the entire
event. While most of the 715 photos are of the confirmands, you can find quite
a few of the Archbishop celebrating Mass as well.
Other posts about Archbishop Sample on this blog:
4/5/12 Good News
10/22/12 Bishop Sample: Crossing the UP
10/12/12 A “Sample” of What a Bishop Can Do
10/11/11 More Bishops with Backbone
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