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.”

Archbishop Wenski's Coat of Arms

Word on the street is that Archbishop-Designate Thomas Wenski packed up his car on Saturday and headed down south to Miami. Tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m., the Most Reverend Thomas G. Wenski will be installed as the fourth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami. Because of the limitations in seating capacity at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Miami, attendance at the Installation Mass is by ticket-only. For those of us who are unable to be in attendance, the Mass of Installation will be aired live on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and CatholicTV.  Coverage begins on both channels at 2:00 p.m. For those of you who will be away from a television at that time, there are several other ways to view or listen to the Mass.

Catholica Omnia will have full coverage tomorrow. Coverage will be included on my Twitter and Facebook pages: for those of you on Twitter, please follow @thomaspringle; for those of you on Facebook, “like” Catholica Omnia.

Simply put, tomorrow is going to be awesome for the people of the Province of Miami. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: At the Mass of Installation of Archbishop Wenski, Sean Cardinal O’Malley and some 40+ other bishops. There will be a delegation from the Catholic hierarchy of Cuba and most of the bishops from Haiti. There is expected to be over 400 priests in attendance for the Mass, including most, if not all, of the priests from the Archdiocese of Miami and a delegation from the Diocese of Orlando.

PHOTO SOURCE: Archdiocese of Miami

Archbishop Wenski processes out of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe following the Farewell Mass

Earlier this evening, the people of the Diocese of Orlando bid farewell to their chief shepherd, Archbishop-Designate Thomas G. Wenski. As you may recall, Pope Benedict XVI appointed the Most Rev. Thomas Wenski as the fourth Archbishop of Miami on April 20, 2010. The Mass of Farewell was celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. Archbishop Wenski told those in attendance that the Mass was a “Last Supper” of sorts.

During the homily, the Archbishop-Designate spoke about the most memorable events of the Diocese in the seven years of his episcopacy. Included in that list were the first-ever diocesan synod (“Starting Afresh From Christ”), the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Diocese and the beginning of the first diocesan capital campaign (“Alive in Christ”). Remarking on these achievements for the Diocese, Wenski stated: “If this local church has grown stronger in its faith, more confident in its hope and more ardent in its charity — and I believe it has — it has done so only because we have done it together, in a collegial way and in a collaborative way.”