Through a Millennial’s
Eyes: A Latin Mass in a Catholic Colonial Williamsburg
By Meghan Ferrara
Photos by Susan K. Hurt and Ali Cavanaugh
n 1803, the Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the fledgling United States
and ushered in an age of expansion and exploration. Part of the territory that America acquired was the French town of Sainte Genevieve. It was a village teeming with Catholic life – residents from five Native American tribes, France, Spain, and Africa lived under the colonial governments of both France and Spain before 1803.
The town’s focal point was the parish, founded in 1759. Fifteen years after the Louisiana Purchase, on January 1, 1818, Bishop William DuBourg stopped at Sainte Genevieve to celebrate a pontifical high Mass before continuing on to Saint Louis to begin his role as the head of the soon-to-be-formed Diocese of Saint Louis.
This year, on New Year’s Day, in the same church that welcomed Bishop DuBourg, a special Mass was offered to commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of his visit. The Mass was celebrated in the extraordinary form by Monsignor C. Eugene Morris and the homily was delivered by Monsignor Michael Witt. The local Juventutem Saint Louis group provided the music for the occasion, which attracted many young Catholics.
Regina Magazine recently spoke with millennial Blanche Kern, who attended the Mass with her brother, Gabriel.
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