Thirteen Inductees Revive Holy Name Society

Kneeling at the altar rail at Holy Trinity Church, and promising "to respect and love the Sacred Name of Jesus, and strive to promote the glory of God and the reverence due His holy law" thirteen men were admitted into the Holy Name Society on Sunday, May 21. The influx of new members is a crucial step in reviving an existing chapter which had been dormant for many years.

Rev. Father Harold Johnson, retired, of Regina Cleri, received the men into the Society. Raymond DiBona, President of the Holy Name Society at Sacred Heart Parish in Weymouth and a member of the Executive Board of the Archdiocesan Union of Holy Name Societies (AUHNS), served as moderator. Richard McLaughlin of Northborough, National Region 1 Vice President, and John Morrison, Executive Secretary , also represented the AUHNS.

All thirteen inductees, who range in age from their twenties to seventies, are members of the Latin Mass Community at Holy Trinity. In keeping with the charism of the community, the singing of the hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus" and the blessing of the Holy Name insignia and manuals were performed in Latin.

Under the leadership of Robert Quagan, 42, of West Roxbury; Samuel Doucette, 31, of Woburn; and Edgar Perry, 42, of Natick, monthly meetings, preceded by public recitation of the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, have been held at Holy Trinity since February. As a result, interest in the Society grew, and several men sought formal admission.

"The primary thing that attracted me to this group was the opportunity to further my formation as a Catholic with a group of fellow men who are serious about the Faith," explained Aaron Huberfeld, 23, of Quincy. To Cameron Bennett, 29, of Malden, the induction ceremony is only the beginning. "It’s going to be a lot of hard work," he observed. The group plans to continue public recitation of the litany and monthly meetings throughout the summer in preparation for a full agenda of activities in the fall. Planned are a lecture series, days of recollection, and an annual retreat.

The Confraternity of the Holy Name was founded in the thirteenth century by Blessed John of Vercelli, a Dominican. The Confraternity, known as the Holy Name Society, was brought to the United States in 1870. In 1947, the late Richard Cardinal Cushing authorized the establishment of the Society in all parishes of the Archdiocese and established the AUHNS.

Since 1990, the Traditional Latin Mass, also known as the Tridentine Mass, has been celebrated each Sunday at Holy Trinity. Bernard Cardinal Law authorized the weekly Mass in response to Pope John Paul II’s 1988 letter "Ecclesia Dei," which permitted local bishops to make the Traditional Mass more widely available to those faithful attached to the liturgical forms in force prior to the Second Vatican Council.