Office for Ethnic and Intercultural Communities

Unity: Gathered as One

Our diocese’s Office for Ethnic and Intercultural Communities testifies so powerfully to the many gifts given to each culture and community, and how our Church is made stronger, better, richer and deeper by them.

The Office bears witness that we are stronger in the world when we stand together as One Body. And that we, the people of all lands, are brothers and sisters in Christ, and called to serve each other, respect each other, reach out to each other, accompany each other in this world.

This fellowship serves as a potent response to the corrosive forces in our society that seek to divide individuals, neighbors and countries. By fostering understanding and unity among all of our communities, the Office is serving not only our local Church but society as a whole.

Whether celebrating each community’s unique faith traditions or Gathering As One, the Office invites each Catholic to discover his or her own cultural roots and the many expressions of our truly universal Church.

– Bishop Robert W. McElroy

Mary, Mother of the Church

The statue depicts the Blessed Mother carrying young Jesus, who is holding St. Peter’s Basilica, a symbol of our earthly Church. As the annual Pentecost celebration gathers all of us as brothers and sisters, One in Christ Unum in Christi, her mantle embraces the diverse cultures of our local diocese, and several saints that accompany us on our spiritual journey.

Under the Blessed Mother’s mantle at the front are children representing the cultural families, as designated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: Asian-Pacific Islander, Euro American, African American, Hispanic and Native American.