Archbishop Lori’s Homily: Whitemarsh Cemetery Service of Remembrance

Whitemarsh Cemetery Service of Remembrance
Sacred Heart Parish, Bowie
February 25, 2023

Last week, Carolyn Fugett, a beloved member of our Baltimore community, the mother of Reginald Lewis, went home to the Lord at the age of 89. Let us pause to thank God for her life and blessing she was to so many, and ask that she may share forever in the light and joy and peace of heaven.

I am Archbishop William Lori and I serve as Archbishop of Baltimore, the first Roman Catholic diocese in the United States.

This afternoon, we gather in remembrance of a shared history. We gather to remember the formerly enslaved who are buried here – formerly enslaved because the Lord in his love has set them free – from the shackles unjustly placed upon them. The remembrance of these women, men, and children is a living memory – living because their immortal souls are living, living because their descendants are keeping their memory alive, living because public officials, parishioners, and representatives of the church embrace our solemn, shared responsibility, not only to curate this history but to learn from it.

Here at Whitemarsh, foundations for the Church in the United States were laid. While that history has been recounted many times and celebrated, it cannot distance itself from the cruel and inhumane institution of slavery. Until 1947, Whitemarsh was part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

This living history that we respectfully remember today is a shared history – a history we share first and foremost with you who are descendants, a history we share as a church – the Society of Jesus, as well as the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Archdiocese of Washington, and parishioners here at Sacred Heart Parish. It is a history shared with public officials and lawmakers, and ultimately, it is a history we must all own and learn from.

There is no healing without remembrance, no conversion with remembrance, there is no holistic path forward without remembrance. Without it, injustice flourishes. With remembrance, we pray, a new day will dawn. I am honored to be with all of this afternoon, and pray that God will abundantly bless our gathering. Thank you!

Archbishop William E. Lori

Archbishop William E. Lori was installed as the 16th Archbishop of Baltimore May 16, 2012.

Prior to his appointment to Baltimore, Archbishop Lori served as Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., from 2001 to 2012 and as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington from 1995 to 2001.

A native of Louisville, Ky., Archbishop Lori holds a bachelor's degree from the Seminary of St. Pius X in Erlanger, Ky., a master's degree from Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg and a doctorate in sacred theology from The Catholic University of America. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Washington in 1977.

In addition to his responsibilities in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Archbishop Lori serves as Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus and is the former chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.