Below is the full text remarks made by Bishop-elect Michael Fitzgerald at this morning’s 10 a.m. press conference in Philadelphia.

Bishop-elect Fitzgerald | Source: St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

Praised be Jesus Christ!

With humility, joy and gratitude to God I accept the nomination of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI to become an auxiliary bishop to Cardinal Justin Rigali, the Archbishop of Philadelphia. In accepting this nomination I am conscious of the great responsibility that has been entrusted to me but I am even more aware of the providence of Almighty God in calling me to the priesthood and sustaining me happily in the priesthood these past thirty years. It is in that Providence that I continue to place my trust as I answer a new call of the Church to serve the People of God as a bishop.

I thank Pope Benedict XVI for the honor of calling me to the episcopate. As he daily leads the Church in wisdom, faith and charity I pledge to him my complete fidelity and loyalty, and thank God for the gift of his selfless pastoral ministry on behalf of the whole Church and indeed, of the whole world.

I thank Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy Father to the church in the United States of America for his wise counsel and fatherly support. When he called to inform me of my nomination he told me that my life would change when I become a bishop, but that I must follow the example of the first

Source: Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Another result of this morning’s Pennsylvania double, Monsignor Michael Fitzgerald has become the newest Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The bishop-elect graduated from Temple University in 1970 and received his Juris Doctor from Villanova University School of Law in 1973. Fitzgerald graduated from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 1980 with a Masters in Divinity.  He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on May 17, 1980.

Until this morning, Bishop-elect Fitzgerald has served as the Judicial Vicar for the Archdiocese, a position he was appointed to in 2007. Previously, Fitzgerald has served as Vice-Rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, a Judge on the Metropolitan Tribunal, and a member of the College of Consultors and Priests’ Personnel Board for the Philadelphia church. For a better look at Bishop-elect Fitzgerald, check out Rocco’s post. More to come after the 10 a.m. presser in Philly.

Source: Flickr

With this morning’s announcement, Bishop Joseph McFadden, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, becomes the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg. After graduating from St. Joseph University in 1969 with a degree in Poli Science, Bishop-designate McFadden coached and taught at West Catholic Boys High School. In 1976, McFadden entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, beginning his years in priestly formation. On May 16, 1981, Bishop McFadden was ordained a priest by Cardinal John Krol in the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philly.

Throughout his time as a priest, Bishop McFadden has served the people of Philadelphia in multiple capacities. McFadden has served on the Priests’ Personnel Board, Subcommittee for Clergy Renewal (serving as the Chairman), Diocesan Priests Continuing Formation Committee, and the Episcopal Board of Advisors for the Cause for the Beatification of Archbishop Fulton John Sheen–to name a few. He has also served as the president of a Catholic High School and as a spiritual director for young men discerning a call to priestly ministry at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

Okay, so I was close…just a little off. This morning, the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, made the following appointments here in the stateside church:

• Bishop Joseph McFadden as the 10th Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg.
• Monsignor Michael Fitzgerald as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The appointment of this new Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese comes only two weeks after the previous appointment, which saw Msgr. John J. McIntyre raise to the rank of Auxiliary Bishop.

A press conference with Justin Cardinal Rigali is scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. to make the announcements. Live feed will be available on the Archdiocesan website. An additional press conference has been scheduled for 10 a.m. in Harrisburg to announce their new bishop. More to come on the appointments shortly.

At Roman noontime today, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert P. Maginnis, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, in accordance with canons 411 and 401 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law. The Holy Father also named Monsignor John J. McIntyre to the office of Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia. The Bishop-elect was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1992. Since 1999, McIntyre has been serving as the Secretary to Justin Cardinal Rigali.

Here are the videos from the 10 a.m. presser held by Cardinal Rigali and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The first is the announcement of the retirement of Bishop Maginnis. The second is the new auxiliary bishop announcement. Below the videos are the Bishop-elect’s remarks.