NEW YORK (PIX11)—
"Welcome everyone to Ash Wednesday Mass here at St. Patrick's Cathedral... You're off to a great start," and so was Timothy Cardinal Dolan.Fresh off his ascent in Rome, Cardinal Dolan reached the lunch hour crowd at St. Patrick's Cathedral with a message tied into his other great passion, "Good news, spring training for the Yankees has begun right?"
Cardinal Dolan's message began with a chuckle, but it never lost its focus. It was clear and on point, "Less you think the new cardinal has flipped his lid in talking about Spring training for the Yankees at Ash Wednesday. I simply point out that lent, Lent is spiritual spring training. For 40 days we get back to the basics of discipleship, said Dolan.
After applying fresh ash to the foreheads of many, Cardinal Dolan took a moment to entertain a different crowd, the city's media, and he shared his message to the Holy Father at the College of Cardinals last week in Rome, "You take it from me, there is a soul in New York and the faith is alive and I said if you have any doubt, you come to St. Patrick's Cathedral on Ash Wednesday."
They came. Thousands of them. None left disappointed, "He's just great all around," said Margaret Cunningham. When asked if she was glad to see him back home? "Delighted, we were thrilled."
Then there was little Emma from Newark. This one was barely out of diapers but she was a spark-plug. She wanted to show the PIX 11 crew the stained glass windows and tell them all about who she lit candles for she also Chimed in on the new Cardinal. In her eyes, Cardinal Dolan looked, "Good."
Cardinal Dolan has already hit home run with adults. Scoring with little kids? Well that's a Grand Slam.
