Archbishop Wenski during June 1st Mass of Installation

On the afternoon of June 1st, Archbishop Thomas Wenski took the reigns of the Archdiocese of Miami. Emerging from outside the Cathedral of St. Mary after  the customary three knocks on the front door, Archbishop Wenski processed into the cathedral of the archdiocese to applause from the congregation. The Mass, which began shortly after 2 o’clock, was aired live on EWTN, CatholicTV, and the Archdiocese of Miami website.

At the beginning of the Mass, Archbishop John C. Favalora welcomed those in attendance, including some 500 priests, 40+ bishops, a Prince of the Catholic Church (Sean Cardinal O’Malley), religious men and women, seminarians, and lay faithful. In his remarks, Archbishop Favalora stated: “Today we all welcome Archbishop Wenski back home.” Favalora shared, “I can attest Archbishop, God does provide.”

So, to begin, I would like to simply apologize for finishing this “Year in Review” a bit later than even I anticipated. Over the last several days, I have been resting, relaxing and even doing yard work outside. It seems that when I left home for the seminary in Miami my parents had no one to work on the yard. So, they let it go by the wayside. That is going to change over the next couple of weeks. Okay, so…where were we? Oh yes, Spring VAW.

The spring semester’s Vocations Awareness Weekend was so much more profound than the fall semester’s VAW. This time around, the seminary capped the number of young men who could attend to at about 70. Each of the seven dioceses of the Province of Miami brought priests and young men discerning God’s will for the their lives. The quality of guys that attended the weekend was a lot better than I had previously experienced. The men who came down know that there is something tugging at their hearts; they know that the Lord is calling them to do something special with their lives. In an increasingly materialistic world, the courage these young men exhibited in simply coming on the weekend was incredible. The Lord was working in so many ways!!

Well everyone, the last couple of days have been, to say the least, quite interesting for this seminarian who tries to keep all of you informed on the important news affecting the Catholic Church in the United States. My only hope for this site is that it can reach someone and develop in them a deep love for the Church, a love that, for me, grows more intensely every day.

Yesterday, with my Bishop appointed as the Archbishop of Miami, I have not even truly begun to think about the implications this has for my own Diocese of Orlando. We will be vacant beginning June 1, 2010 and we could be vacant for some time. With the diocese in the midst of a $150 million capital campaign project to fund the outcome of the first ever diocesan synod that was called by Bishop Wenski back in 2004-2005, my prayer is that the Holy Father will send us a new ordinary as soon as possible.

I have also not even begun to think of the implications the appointment of the Most Rev. Thomas G. Wenski as the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Miami has for the Province of Miami (Catholic Church of Florida). Archbishop-elect will have a good fifteen to sixteen years at the helm here in Florida. With his qualifications and his enduring work for the poor and less-fortunate, Wenski has now been given a platform to bring a message to the whole of the United States. Let me tell you, that message needs to be heard now more than ever.

Please keep Archbishop-Designate Wenski, Archbishop Favalora, the future Bishop of Orlando (whoever that may be), the people of the Archdiocese of Miami, and the people of the Diocese of Orlando (clergy, consecrated religious, and laity) in your prayers over the next few weeks.

Time for a little breather. Final exams are next week and I haven’t started studying for them yet and, well, academics reign supreme over the next few days. Do not expect to see a post until the beginning of May, folks.

Thank you for reading! Peace to all of you!

PHOTO: cartoonworks.net