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May 26, 2016The diocese will be blessed with the presence of Cardinal O’Brien at the 2016 Thirst Conference on Oct. 28-30 in Bismarck.
His Eminence, Edwin Frederick Cardinal O’Brien will deliver the keynote address on Sunday, Oct. 30. He will also be the main celebrant and homilist at the 2 p.m. Mass to close out the conference.
About Cardinal O’Brien
Cardinal O’Brien was born in the Bronx, New York, son of Mary Winifred and Edwin Frederick O’Brien, Sr. He was one of three children. He attended St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of New York in 1965.
His priestly assignments include civilian chaplain at the United States Military Academy at West Point, a military chaplain and Army Chaplain with the rank of Captain. From 1971 to 1972, he served a tour of duty in Vietnam. In 1973, he left the military and began his doctoral studies at Rome’s Angelicum University.
He returned to continue his service to the Archdiocese of New York and in 1986 was elevated to Monsignor, in 1996 named Auxiliary Bishop of New York and co-adjutor bishop for the Archdiocese for the Military Services in 1997. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI installed him as Archbishop of Baltimore. In 2011, he was appointed the Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and in 2012 to the College of Cardinals.
About the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
The origins of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem are thought to date back to the First Crusade that liberated Jerusalem. As a component of this re-organization of the religious, military and public bodies of the territories newly freed from Muslim control, the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre was founded.
The Order began to decline as a cohesive military body of knights after the Muslim military regained Jerusalem in 1182, and completely ceased to exist in that format in 1291. With the exception of events in Spain, it was only rarely that the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre ever took part again in military action to defend Christianity.
In 1847 the Patriarchate was restored and Pope Pius IX reestablished and modernized the Order, issuing a new constitution, which placed it under the direct protection of the Holy See and assigned its government to the Latin Patriarch. The Order’s fundamental role was also redefined: to uphold the works of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, while preserving the spiritual duty of propagating the faith.
Since then, several papacies have reorganized and revitalized the Order. Essentially, the Order’s role today revolves around the support and preservation of the faith and to uphold the rights of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.
Source credit: holysepulchre.net