Parishioners at St. Mary’s Cathedral celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday, May 3, by thanking Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone for his pastoral care, waving signs and cheering him after Mass.

Cathedral pastor Father Arturo Albano, who organized the event, said he had “been looking at the TV, how people show their appreciation for first responders and doctors and nurses, and it occurred to me, maybe we could do something for our spiritual leaders.”

Fr. Albano asked Alexei Lukban, grand knight of the cathedral’s Knights of Columbus, to organize on short notice a show of support for Archbishop Cordileone.

Knights and other parishioners gathered at the foot of the cathedral steps May 3, holding handmade signs and printed banners to greet Archbishop Cordileone after he celebrated the 11 a.m. Mass.

As he exited the cathedral doors, shoots of “hooray” and “Viva Guadalupe” met him. “There was so much joy in his face, I could see he really felt appreciated,” Father Albano said.

Father Albano said parishioners appreciate the archbishop’s celebration of daily and Sunday Mass at the cathedral. “The people feel the archbishop is with them during moments of uncertainty, fear and doubt. They see there is a spiritual leader who is with them,” he said.

The above comes from a May 8 story in Catholic San Francisco.