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

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.