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03/15/10
Bagpipes to Resound in the Baltimore Basilica
Accompanied by the glorious skirl of bagpipes, the St. Andrew's Society of Baltimore will hold its annual Kirkin' (Blessing) of the Tartan on Sunday, April 11, 2010 at the Baltimore Basilica's 10:45am Mass.
Cardinal William H. Keeler, Archbishop Emeritus of Baltimore, and a Chaplain of the Society will celebrate the Mass and bless the tartans. The ceremony is in honor of Tartan Day named the national Scottish American holiday by the United States Senate in 1998, and by the House of Representatives in 2004, and by Presidential proclamation in 2007. This date (April 6) was chosen because on that day in 1320 a group of Scottish noblemen petitioned His Holiness, Pope John XXII to recognize the independence of Scotland. The document became known as the Declaration of Arbroath, The Pope recognized Scotland's independence in 1329. It holds several parallels to the American Declaration of Independence, especially the God-given right of self determination for all nations. Almost half of the signers of the American Declaration were of Scottish birth or descent.
