Monday, April 27, 2015

John Wester: new Archbishop of Santa Fe

Yesterday was my last day serving at The Cathedral of the Madeleine. It was a tough day emotionally, but a wonderful day too. If that isn't enough, I awoke this morning to the news that Pope Francis, upon accepting the resignation of Archbishop Michael Sheehan of Santa Fe, New Mexico, who is 75, which is the mandatory retirement age for bishops, appointed our bishop, John Wester, as the new Archbishop of Santa Fe. All I can say is, WOW!

I am happy for (Arch)bishop Wester, but sad for him to leave. I had the great privilege of serving alongside him in our beloved Cathedral of the Madeleine many times and worked on various diocesan committees and commissions, even serving on a few ad hoc committees. He baptized our youngest son and has simply been wonderful to me and to my family. I can call him both my bishop and my friend.



On Friday I met with my new pastor on the very day Bishop Wester signed the document incardinating him as a priest of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, meaning, instead of being "Parish Administrator," he is now canonically and formally our Pastor. Prior to his incardination in our diocese, he was a member of the Society of the Divine Word. While excited to be a priest of our diocese, I think he was a little sad to formally leave his order, which is how I feel about leaving the Cathedral and moving to St Olaf's, and how I feel about (Arch)bishop Wester's appointment to Santa Fe- excited for him, but a bit sad. He is scheduled to be installed in Santa Fe on 4 June 2015.

From the Diocese of Salt Lake City's press release:
His Holiness, Pope Francis, has named Bishop John C. Wester the twelfth Archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Bishop Wester, the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City and a native of San Francisco, California, has led Utah’s Catholics since March 2007
According to the diocesan press release, the Holy Father did not name an apostolic administrator to see our diocese through this interregnum. Bishop Wester will serve as Apostolic Administrator of our diocese until he is formally installed in Santa Fe. So, at some point, our Diocesan Consultors will meet to elect a priest who will serve as our diocesan administrator until the appointment and installation of our new bishop.

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