Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Brunch at Le Grande Boucherie

New year, new archbishop of New York, so we'll continue with the revival of this meetup group with a return visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral, America's Parish Church.

The Mother Church of the Archdiocese of New York and symbol of religious freedom in the New World, St. Patrick's Cathedral was conceived by then Archbishop Hughes way back in 1853 when he announced plans “to erect a Cathedral in the City of New York that may be worthy of our increasing numbers, intelligence and wealth as a religious community, and at all events, worthy, as a public architectural monument, of the present and prospective crowns of this metropolis of the American continent.”

Hughes knew the future of New York was uptown and so the new cathedral's cornerstone was laid, not in New York's bustling downtown, but on the site of the old St. John's Church, between 5th and Madison Avenues, 50th and 51st Streets on Aug. 15, 1858. James Renwick was the architect of the new cathedral. The Civil War, funding challenges, manpower shortages and the death of Archbishop Hughes all delayed construction of the cathedral, which wouldn't formally open until May 1879 under the leadership of Cardinal McCloskey.

The spires were added in 1888, the Lady Chapel in 1908, then finally in 1910, the Cathedral was free from debt after the Archdiocese spent more than $4m on its construction. Then Archbishop Farley formally consecrated the cathedral in October of that year.

Multiple renovations and restorations were carried out over the next 100 years. In April 2008, Pope Benedict XVI became the first Pope to celebrate Mass here. Nearly a year later, Cardinal Timothy Dolan was installed as the 10th Archbishop of New York. Pope Francis led evening vespers here in September 2015. Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks is due to be installed as the 11th Archbishop of New York here on February 6 so this will be our first meetup under his archbishopric.

St. Patrick's Cathedral is an international landmark, with more than 5 million people from around the city, country and world visiting each year. According to its website, the Cathedral "has been a wellspring of hope and solace in times of peace and plenty and war and sorrow. In a city and nation of immigrants, it has greeted countless waves of peoples seeking freedom."

Mass is at noon, in English this time. Brunch to follow a few blocks away at French brasserie Le Grande Boucherie. The grand art nouveau space at this restaurant is an attraction in itself.

See you there!