The bishop in our Diocese recently retired. The new bishop was announced a few weeks ago and we learned all about him. He came from a parish in Nebraska and is one of 10 children. He worked as a volunteer for Native American Missions before deciding to become a priest. His ordination was today and we were able to watch the livestream. The celebration was beautiful with probably a hundred deacons, priests, and bishops in attendance. A friend of mine was one of the priests who escorted the new bishop. It was good to see him and I thought about what an honor it must have been for him. The Apostolic Nuncio representing Pope Francis read a letter confirming the appointment. The letter was then handed to the new bishop who walked around the church and showed it to everyone in attendance. One of the things I love about the Catholic faith is the traditions such as that. Also, the day chosen for the ordination was the Solemnity of the Apostles Peter and Paul. St. Peter was given the commission to build the church and the new bishop was being commissioned into a higher level of that same responsibility. At the end of the celebration, the new bishop asked the members of his family to stand. Needless to say, it was a large number of people. Then he asked those visiting from his previous Diocese to stand. Again, it was quite a bit. Then he asked all those from our Diocese to stand. That was still the vast majority of the people in the church. He noted that his family just grew exponentially. I thought that was a beautiful way of thinking. The whole celebration was just beautiful and we were glad we were able to see it.

I Found God today in the new bishop’s ordination.