Basilica of St. Peter, Vatican | Source: Wikipedia

It has been quite a couple of months, some of the busiest the blog has ever seen. In all, we have seen ten holy men appointed Archbishops or Bishops to various dioceses throughout the United States since April. Three liturgies of either welcome or installation have already been celebrated; these include, the welcome ceremony for Coadjutor Archbishop Jose Gomez in Los Angeles, the installation of Archbishop Thomas Wenski in Miami, and the installation of Bishop Thomas Paprocki in Springfield, IL. In the upcoming months, we will see the remaining seven ordained and/or installed in various celebrations:

• Bishop-elect Timothy Doherty will be ordained to the episcopacy and installed as the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana on July 15, 2010.
• Bishop-elect David O’Connell will be ordained to episcopacy and welcomed as the Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton on July 30, 2010 in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption.
• Bishop-elect John J. McIntyre will be ordained to the episcopacy and take over the office of Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on August 6, 2010 at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.
• Bishop-elect Michael Fitzgerald will be ordained to the episcopacy and take over the office of Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on August 6, 2010 at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.
• Bishop-designate William Patrick Callahan will be installed as the tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Lacrosse on August 11, 2010.
• Bishop-designate Joseph McFadden will be installed as the tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg on August 18, 2010.
• Bishop-elect F. Richard Spencer will be ordained to the episcopacy and take over the office of Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services during a 2:00 p.m. celebration at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC on September 8, 2010.

Here is the full text of Bishop-designate Joseph McFadden‘s statement from this morning’s press conference that announced him as the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg.

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.

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.

This year has been quite a year for me in seminary formation. The 2009-2010 year started way back during the second week of August as the new seminarians arrived at St. John Vianney College Seminary for New Student Experience. When the returning seminarians arrived back for the year on August 20th, we met a LARGE group of new men who had already bonded and congealed. The first few months were a bit difficult adjusting to the large number of seminarians, the largest sized house in some 35 years. However, once the returning men and the new men came together, walking on the same journey of discovering the Lord’s love for each one of us, we were able to bond as a house of brothers. It was going to be an interesting, grace-filled 50th Anniversary Year for the seminary community!!

On Thursday, September 17, 2009, the seminary community welcomed Christopher West, who came to share a bit about John Paul II‘s Theology of the Body. At the time of his visit, Mr. West had been receiving criticism of many people stating that his commentary on the JPII’s work had been misrepresented by the Theology of the Body Institute. However, the seminarians here can attest to the powerful ministry of Christopher West and the institute he founded. The day after his visit, Justin Cardinal Rigali (Archbishop of Philadelphia) and the Most Rev. Kevin Rhoades (then Bishop of Harrisburg) issued a joint statement in support of Christopher West. They wanted to “express strong support for the important work of the Theology of the Body Institute and, in particular, that of Christopher West.” They continued by saying: