ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Praise be Jesus Christ! Now and forever.  It is with these words that I greet you this  morning on my appointment by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI as the 10th Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg.  I am deeply humbled by the confidence that Pope Benedict has placed in me in appointing me as the new shepherd of this particular Church.  I thank Almighty God for the many blessings that He has bestowed upon me throughout the course of my life.  I thank God first and foremost for the gift of life itself.  I thank Him for giving me the privilege to share in the sacred priesthood of Jesus Christ for the past twenty-nine years.  I thank Him for calling me to the office of Bishop in His Church and today for the opportunity to shepherd His people in the Church in Harrisburg.

I thank Pope Benedict for entrusting to me the responsibility of leading the good people of Harrisburg in their pilgrimage of faith as we journey together toward the fullness of the Kingdom of God that continues to unfold each and every day for  all those who are willing to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

I am deeply grateful to Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, for his solicitude and support in recommending me for this particular assignment.  I am grateful to His Eminence, Justin Cardinal Rigali, who has been a wonderful mentor and father to me in the episcopacy.  I have been privileged to be his Auxiliary Bishop in Philadelphia and now look forward to working together with him as my Metropolitan Archbishop.

I am excited and very happy to be coming to Harrisburg.  I look forward to building on the wonderful work that Bishop Kevin Rhoades has accomplished during his tenure as the Bishop of Harrisburg.  I had the opportunity to speak to Bishop Rhoades last week while we were together for the Spring Meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  He expressed how much he loved being the Bishop of Harrisburg and the great respect he has for the deep faith of the people of this Diocese.  I pray that I may be as effective in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus and encouraging all people of good will to come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

I am especially happy to have been named the new Bishop of Harrisburg during the Marian Year that Bishop Rhoades convoked last October and which continues until this coming October.  When I was named Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia six years ago, I took as my Episcopal motto, "Mary the Model, Jesus the Center".  In his Pastoral Letter initiating the Marian Year, Bishop Rhoades exhorted the faithful of the Diocese to follow the example of Mary as the model disciple in following the Lord.  I strongly urge the Catholic community here in Harrisburg to embrace Mary the Mother of Jesus as the model for being open to and doing the Lord's will in one's daily life.

I am anxious to begin to get to know all of the faithful of the Church in Harrisburg.  I look forward to meeting and working with the good priests of this Diocese.  The clergy of Harrisburg have an excellent reputation as being loyal, devout and generous men who love their people.  I look forward to collaborating with them in being God's servants to all the people of this region.

I know that in the days ahead I will have a lot to learn and I am eager to listen and to learn.  I do not come to you with any preconceived plans or ideas.  I come with only one agenda and that is to share with you my faith in Jesus Christ.  I will encourage you to embrace Jesus and to open your hearts to the God who loves us so much that He sent His only son, Jesus, to die for us so that we might have life and have it to the full.

I would be remiss if I did not say a word of gratitude to the Church in Philadelphia that has nurtured my faith from my infancy and has been such a blessing to me.  I am especially grateful to all the people that I have had the privilege of serving as a priest and a Bishop.  Their faith has been a source of great strength for me throughout the course of my priesthood.  I am eternally grateful to the priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  They have been supportive brothers and friends and I will sorely miss them as I now move to this new vineyard.

Finally, I thank Father Chester Snyder who has been the Diocesan Administrator during the time of the vacancy in the Office of Bishop.  He has been most helpful in this time of transition and I look forward to collaborating with him as we begin this new moment for the Church in Harrisburg.

I ask for the people of the Diocese of Harrisburg to pray for me that I may be a good Shepherd so that together we may be effective in helping to build the Kingdom of God here in Harrisburg and that others will say to us what they said about the disciples in the early Church B See how they love one another.