Dear Parishioners,
Last week Rev. Dr. Billy Graham passed away at the age of 99.  Dr. Graham was known as "America's Pastor," crossing denominational lines and inviting all to turn to Christ.  Graham reached multitudes around the globe through  public appearances and his pioneering use of prime-time telecasts, network radio, daily newspaper columns, evangelistic films, and satellite TV.
 
He was a counselor to U.S. presidents of both parties from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.
 
Ordained a Southern Baptist, he later joined a then-emerging movement called New Evangelicalism that abandoned the narrowness of fundamentalism. Fundamentalists excoriated him for his new direction and broke with him when he agreed to work with more liberal Christians in the 1950’s. As the civil rights movement took shape in the mid 1950's, Graham was no social activist and never joined marches, however, he ended racially segregated seating at his Southern crusades in 1953, a year before the Supreme Court’s school integration ruling, personally removing the ropes that segregated blacks from whites at his preaching crusades.  
 
I had the privilege of meeting Rev. Billy Graham when he came to Syracuse back in April 1989 when he came to the Carrier Dome for a rally.  During his "crusades,"  his helpers would hand out cards to everyone, asking them to indicate whether they belonged to a particular denomination.  After the rally, his organization would deliver those names and addresses to the various local Christian denominations in the Syracuse area.
 
Graham was truly "ecumenical."  When he preached around the country, he would usually call on the Catholic bishop in the location of his crusade.  During his 1989 rally, he stopped at our chancery office in Syracuse and had a great conversation with then Bishop Joseph O'Keefe.  By his final crusade in 2005 in New York City, he had preached in person to more than 210 million people worldwide. No evangelist is expected to have his level of influence again.  May he rest in peace.

Many thanks. God Bless You,  Fr. Paul J. Alciati