Cloaked with red capes, about 30 lay people were invested as “lay associates of the canons of St. Martin” during a Vespers service Nov. 1 at the Shrine of St. Martin of Tours, 639 S. Shelby St.
When Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre designated the church as a shrine in May of 2023, he also created a chapter of canons — a group of four priests — and a group for lay associates of the canons to support them, said Father Paul Beach, rector of the Shrine of St. Martin of Tours and judicial vicar and director of the Metropolitan Tribunal.
The canons — Father Paul Beach, Father David Carr, Father Dennis Cousens and Father Frederick Klotter — are priests who have connections to the shrine and prayerfully support and minister there.
The lay canons are an “extension” of the chapter of canons. They commit themselves to “praying and supporting the works of the shrine” both temporally and financially, Father Beach said.
“Martin, in cutting his cloak in half, gave not from his excess, but from his need.”
— Father Paul Beach, rector of the Shrine of St. Martin of Tours
Lay canons also commit themselves to following in the example of St. Martin of Tours, the shrine’s namesake.
One of the most common stories of St. Martin took place when he was a soldier, said Father Beach.
“He encountered a beggar along the roadside, and he had nothing to offer the beggar financially, but he took his military sword, cut it (his cloak) in half and gave it to the beggar,” he said. That night, St. Martin had a dream in which Christ appeared to him, wearing the half of the cloak he had given to the beggar.
“Martin, in cutting his cloak in half, gave not from his excess, but from his need,” Father Beach said, adding, the witness of the saint calls the laity to “charity to the poor and openness to service to the church.”
When the lay canons were invested into the association by Archbishop Fabre on Nov. 1, each received a red cape, which is “a symbol of that cloak of St. Martin,” he said.
The cloak, which the lay canons will wear at liturgical functions, bears the crest of the shrine and is patterned on what a military cloak might have looked like during St. Martin’s time, he said. One hem of the cloak is frayed, symbolizing the cut St. Martin made to his cloak.
Lay canons “formalize the adoption of the spirituality of St. Martin and commit themselves to putting into practice the ideals that are portrayed in his life.”
Brooke Heitz, who has been a member of St. Martin for 13 years, was among the laity invested in the association.
For Heitz, who serves on the shrine’s finance council and helps lead its annual #iGiveCatholic campaign, saying “yes” to becoming a canon was a natural next step in her faith life, she said.
Becoming a canon encourages her to a “deeper commitment to the church and to the faith,” she said. “I think the most powerful thing is really to be a witness.”
Those interested in becoming lay canons can reach out to the shrine’s office at 582-2827.
