t eanco~

FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPERFOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTSCAPE COD & THE ISLANDS

VOL. 36, NO. 31 • Friday, August 7,1992 FALL RIVER, MASS. Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly • $11 Per Year

\

~

Most Reverend Sean Patrick O'Malley, OFM Cap.Sixth Bishop of Fall River

ttThere was a man, sent'from God, whose name was John." John 1:6

There \Vas a tnan, sent frotn God

CNS-06-16-920848aET(

END

archbi shc.p of Hart fc.rd, CC'YIYI., last DeceMbet·. We wi I l have Ec story

later tc.d.ay.

Who Is He?Who is he, this sixth bishop

of the 88-year-old Fall Riverdiocese?

PATRICKO'MALLEYas a very young altar boy.

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

THE ANCHOR (USPS·S4S-020). SecondClass Postage Paid at Fall River, Mass.Published weekly except the week of July 4and the week after Christmas at 887 High·land Avenue, Fall River, Mass. 02720 bythe Catholic Press of the Diocese of FallRiver. Subscription price by mail, postpaid$11.00 per year. Postmasters send addresschanges to The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, FallRiver, MA 02722.

The first reaction of thepress, radio and televisionrepresentatives was ofsurprise,obviously expected by thebrown-robed Bishop O'Mal­ley. "As you can see from thesandals and the beard," hesaid in an oft-quoted comment,"Central Casting has not sentyou a conventional-lookingbishop.

"I am a Capuchin Francis­can friar," he continued. "It isour custom to wear a beard inimitation of Christ and St.Francis, our founder."

05-1E.. 0076

The news touched offexcite­ment, anticipation and mul­tifarious preparations in theFall River diocese, which hadbeen awaiting word of its newleader since the ann~uncementlast Dec. 10 of former BishopDaniel A. Cronin's appoint­ment as archbishop of Hart­ford, Conn.

Telephones rang, fax ma­chines shrilled and media con­verged on the Fall River dioce­san office of communicationsfor a hastily-called press con­ference.

ADVISORY-BISHOP June lE.., 1992 (50 words) xxxa

Editors~ Pope John Paul. II today naMed Bishop Sean P. O'Malley

clf St. ThOMas, VirgiY, Islands., tc, be the Y,e"J bishc.p c.f Fall Rivet·,

Mass. He succeeds Archbishop Day,iel A. Cronin, who was naMed

a0165r w ADVISORY-BISHOP

It began June 16 with aterseadvisory from Catholic NewsService in Washington, DC:"Pope John Paul II todaynamed Bishop Sean P. O'Mal­ley of St. Thomas, VirginIslands, to be the new bishopof Fall River, Mass. We willhave a story later today."

Bishop O'Malley is obeyinga papal assignment, thus canbe said ffsent from God,"since as Vicar of Christ thepope is seen as discerningGod's will.

ffThere was a man, sentfrom God, whose name wasJohn." Oohn 1:6)

It is appropriate to asso,ciate Fall River's new bishopwith the Gospel ofJohn. Seanis the Gaelic form of Johnand Bishop O'Malley's epis,copal motto, Quodcumque dix­erit /acite (Do whatever hetells you), is taken fromJohn'saccount ofthe wedding feastat Cana, where Mary initi,ated the miracle of watermade wine by giving thatcommand to the waiters.Before he left Washington,Bishop O'Malley told theCatholic Standard, the arch,diocesan newspaper, that hechose the motto ubecauseUohn] is my patron, becausehe was closest to the BlessedVirgin, because he was thebeloved disciple and becauseof his fidelity to the Lord atthe crucifixion. Also, theseare the last words ofMary inthe Gospel. The message ofMary is always pointing tothe Son and, as Franciscans,our lives are to be like hers,pointing to the Son."

In coming to Fall River,

~{J

"THE FUTURE BISHOP as a child and youth. In the first picture, his older brother Theodore is on the left.

There was a manThe son of retired Atty.

Theodore J. O'Malley, whonow lives in Point Clinton,Ohio, and the late Mary Louise(Reidy) O'Malley, he was bornJune 29, 1944, in Lakewood,Ohio. He knew from boyhoodthat he wanted to be a priest;in fact, he was an altar boy atage five or six, he said, although

he admitted that he didn'tshine 'at the Mass responses, .said in Latin in those days.

His older brother, TheOdore,recited the prayers, he ex,plained, while young Patrick(Sean is his religious name)mumbled companionably.

He attended Catholic gradeschools in Lakewood and, after

his family moved to Penn,sylvania, in Pittsburgh andReading. Following his sopho,more year in high school, hetold his unsurprised familythat he wanted to enter theCapuchin minor seminary.

"I've always loved the idealsof St. Francis, ,his 10veJor thepoor of Christ, his sense ofbeing a universal brother," hetold an interviewer years later,

in explaining his choice of theCapuchin way of life.

Hefollowed high school andcollege years at St. FidelisSeminary with theological stud,ies at Capuchin College, Wash,ington, DC, and was ordainedto the priesthood Aug. 29,1970.

As a seminarian,' BishopO'Malley had begun work withthe Hispanic community in

Washington, combining that. with advanced stUdies at Cath0'

lie University, also in Washing,ton. He holds master's degreesin religious education andSpanish and a doctorate in16th'CenturySpanish and Port­uguese literature and he speaksPortuguese, Spanish, French,Italian and German.

He took from his doctoralstudies a deep appreciation of

Saint LalVrence, MartyrChurchNew Bedford

welcomeand a

.,' ., .:,.

Bob Thayer photo counesy of Providence Journal-Bulletin

BISHOP O'MALLEY, right, leaves the June 16 news conference where it was announced he would head the Fall River diocese. At left, Rev.John F. Moore, diocesan director ofcommunications and editor of the Anchor; in background, Rev. Jay T. Maddock, judicial vicar for the diocesanmarriage court.

God's Blessings

fora

Spirit.-filled

Ministry

ST. BERNARD PARISHASSONET

St. Stanislaus

Parish Community,

Fall River

greets our "new bishop

with prayerful best wishes of

ttSTO LAT"

May he enjoy a hundred years!

There was a man

AT WASHINGTON'S Centro Catolico for Hispanics, Bishop,elect O'Malley,gets a farewell hug from Clara Collantes in this 1984 photo as he prepares for departureto the Virgin Islands. (Michael Hoyt photo courtesy of Catholic Standard)

Saints Teresa of Avila and'John of the Cross, naming St.'Teresa's commentary on theLord's prayer as "one of thebest books he has studied"and describing St. John's Spir,

, itual Canticle as "the mostbea4tiful poem in the world."

In '1973, then 29~year,0IdFather O'Malley was appointeddirector of the HispaniC apos,tolate forthe Washington arch,diocese. Among his initiativeswhile in that position was thefounding in 1977 ofaSpanish,language weekly newspaper,"EI Pregonero," with the aimof sharing' Catholic informa,tion and values with the His,panic community. Edited byOscar Reyes, its present circu,lation is 18,000. In 1978, Fa,ther O'Malley. added to hisresume the title of archdioce,san director for sodal servicesand yicar forSpanish,speakingministries.

Living in an apartment inWashington's Spanish CatholicCenter often shared by roachesand rodents, he was known asPadre SeaI).-and as the per;son to see if one were in anykind of trouble.

His "parishioners" num;bered some 100,000 LatinAmericans and the SpanishCenter's constantly expandingservices embraced medical and

dentalc1iniai, various socialand education programs, youthactivities, and assistance infinding jobs and housing.. Further insight into thenature of his work was sup'plied by' Mary Conway in aJune 7, 1984, 'feature story inthe Washington, DC; CatholicStandard. It was written afterhis appointment two days ear,lier to the diocese of St. Tho,mas in the Virgin Islands ascoadjutor bishop with right ofsuccession. It follows:

Dial 0 for O'MalleyIn the old movie Bells

of St. Mary's, Bing Cros,by, piaying a priest, toldIngrid Bergman that ifshe ever needed anythingat all she shou!d simplydial "0" for O'Malley.That line might have beenwritten for Capuchin Fa'ther Sean O'Malley, thenew bishop,elect for theVirgin Islands.

Whether I've beenlook,ing for facts about an

. immigration bill or emer,gency assistance for ayoung friend whose lifewas endangered, FatherSean has responded as ifmy problem were the onlything he had on his mind.Evidently, other people

, {

'Corpus Christi ChurchSandwich, Massachusetts

Welcome & mayGod's

Blessing & Grace bewith you.

St. Theresa's ChurchSagamore, Massachusetts

There was a man, sent from GodWhile the story a~

chieves its humor by exa~

geration, if only slight,the fact remains that Fa~ther Sean has inspiredgreat affection amongthose whom he has been

jected to having a manwith an Irish name ashead ofan Hispanic apos~

. tolate are now burningvotive lights in front ofstatues of St. Francis ­because the statues looklike Father Sean.

by taking away the appe~

tites of his hosts; he ap~

peals to generosity with~

out ba~geringwith guilt.

One of his fellowpriests has joked thatpeople who originally ob~

....THE BISHOP..ELECT distributes communion during a 1984 Mass at Wash~

ington's Capilla Latina. (Michael Hoyt photo courtesy of Catholic Standard)

hours of hearing corifes~

sions.

How could he possi~

bly keep his sanity withso many demands on him,I asked. "Don't worry,"he joked, "I plan to relaxwith a round of golf inmy free time." The linebrought to mind a ludi~

crous image of FatherSean in his worn sandalsand fraying brown robemaking a fourth with atrio ofappropriately cladgolfers.

Not that the habit isinappropriate to FatherSean. Like his simple liv~

ing quarters, which hehas been known to share,not without some wrycomments, with roachesand rodents, the habit isin keeping with the pov~

erty he has embraced as aCapuchin.

One of the reasons hehas become so respecteda spokesman on socialjustice issues is that heshares the life ofthe poor.At the same time heaccepts as graciou:sly agood meal as a meagerone. Somehow he man~

ages to advance the causeof the hungry withoutadding to their numbers

got the same impressionwhen they went to himwith difficulties.

Once, when we metfor an interview at theCentro Catolico; FatherSean suggested therewould be fewer interrup~tions if we talked overcoffee at the Potter'sHouse, an unpretentiouseatery/bookstore a cou~

pIe of blocks away. Ittook a long time to gothat short distance be~

cause a woman stoppedhim to ask about helpingher relatives in LatinAmerica; a man held outhis baby and asked forFather Sean's blessing;another man, evidentlyreferring to past 'helpsimply said, "Gracias,Padre."

If getting an interviewto talk about the needsof immigrants was rela~

tively easy, getting aprom~ise from him for somefree time just to talk wasanother matter..Once,when I invited him tolunch, he checked hisschedule for the day andfound two weddings,three baptisms, a coupleof families coming in forcounseling and a few

Warm wishes and

prayerful congratulations

Bishop Sean Patrick O'Malley

.....~

THE PARISH COMMUNITY

OF

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISINEW BEDFORD

8 THE ANCHOR - Dloc'ese of Fall River - Fri., Aug. 7, 1992 There was a nian

State11lent of Cardinal LatvIt -is good news -indeed that the Holy Father has

appointed Bishop Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap. as Bishopof Fall River. Bishop O'Malley has given outstandingpastoral leadership to the Catholic Church in the VirginIslands. He has been particularly attentive to evangeliza..tion and to ministry to the poor.

He brings to his new responsibility the richness of hisreligious community's tradition, a varied pastoral expe..rience, and the added gift of fluency in Portuguese and aknowledge and love of that culture which has shaped somany of the faithful in Fall River.

It is good to have him as a neighbor and as a co..worker inthe Province. I am confident that he will be receivedwarmly and that he will be extended prayerful support andcooperation by the priests, religious and laity of the dioceseof Fall River.

+ Bernard Cardinal LawArchbishop of Boston

serving. Certainly, he cancount on their prayersthat he receive all thegraces he needs, for hisnew responsibilities.

Would it be too much, to ask that he also be

given the gift of being intwo places at once, theVirgin Islands and Wash,ington?

Rice, Black BeansIn a second article, also'writ,

ten before the bishop,elect leftWashington, Ms. Conwayquoted him as expressing hisgratitude to the Spanish andPortuguese communities in thecapital city.

"I've learned so much fromthe people's faith," he said,"their generosity, their devo,tion to the Blessed Mother,their hospitality. I'm very grate­ful to them for everythingthey've given me."

Although Ms. Conway wrotefrom the Virgin Islands, whereshe now edits the monthlydiocesan publication, the Cath,olic Islander, that' 'rumors thatthe St. Thomas Pizza Hut willgive up and close on August11 are greatly exaggerated,"she noted that while the bishoplikes hamburgers, he loves riceand black beans and a Virgin

Islands photograph shows thathe also enjoys a snack atMcDonald's.

When cooking for himself,she said, "he fixes whatever ishandy and quick to prepare,"but when entertaining friends"he likes to make chili."

So popular in Washingtonthat when his departure wasannounced, scores of going,away parties were held, thenew bishop had made a lastingimpression in his 16 years inthe archdiocese.

He was outspoken in hisadherence to Gospel princi,pIes, so much so that on oneoccasion a group ofdiplomatswalked out of the archdioce,san cathedral during a homilyhe was preaching on humanrights.

His many,faceted ministrywas recognized by CatholicUniversity's President's Medalfor Distinguished CommunityService; and in 1974 he wasnamed a Knight Commanderof the Order of Prince Henrythe Navigator by the presidentof Portugal in recognition ofhis work with Portugueseimmigrants in the Washing,ton archdiocese., In addition to his work inthe archdiocese, Bishop O'Mal,ley was appointed in 1978 as

May God grant Bishop O'Malley wisdom and strength ashe fulfills his episcopal ministry

through many happy years to come.

THE PEOPLE AND PRIESTS

PARISH OF SAINT-MARK. ATTL·EBORO FALLS

Statem.ent of Cardinal 'HickeyWith much happiness, I greet the news that our and he leaves behind a record of solid accomplish,

Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has appointed Bishop' ments. He has worked tirelessly in service of the poorSean O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap., as the next Bishop of in the Islands, those whom tourists and vacationersFall River, Massachusetts. rarely encounter. He has attracted priestly vocations

Bishop O'Malley is well,known and well,loved in and strengthened parish life. Bishop O'Malleythe Archdiocese of Washington. Before his appoint, established a diocesan newspaper, The Catholicment as the Bishop 'of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islander, and he set up a television station offeringIslands, he served the Hispanic members of the solid Catholic programming to the Islands. Under hisArchdiocese with special love and dedication. He was leadership, the Church effectively responded to theactively involved in the Centro Catolico Hispano destruction caused by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.which offers .a clinic, counseling and so many other Bishop O'Malley helped to deliver relief services,needed services to our Hispanic brothers and sisters. quickly reopened the Catholic schools and repairedHe is the founder of El Pregonero, the Spanish damaged parish facilities.language newspaper of the Archdiocese of Wash, The people of Fall River will quickly discover thatington. Under Cardinal Baum, he also served as their new Bishop possesses extraordinary abilities ofDirector of the Office for Social Development. Most intellect and heart. He is an accomplished linguist, anofall, we remember the love, the fidelity and devotion insightful thinker and farsighted leader. Most of all,which characterized his service among us. he is a loving pastor and I pray that the Lord will

In 1984, Bishop O'Malley was appointed Co' abundantly bless his service to the Diocese of Falladjutor Bishop of St. Thomas and the following year River in the years ahead.he became the Bishop of St. Thomas. He brought that + James Cardinal Hickeysame spirit of willing service to his new assignment ' Archbishop of Washington

The Parish Of Saint ,Thom.as MoreIn Somerset Extends A Very WarmWelcome To Bishop Sean (J'Malley.

It Is Ou'r Prayer That Your YearsHere As Bishop Will Be Blessed,

Filled With JoyAnd Very Fruitful.

REV. MSGR. HENRY T. MUNROE, Pastor

REV. JOHN M. SULLIVAN, PaTochial VicaT

THE PARISH STAFF

AND

THE PARISH COMMUNITY

.. '

...

'there was'a man, sent from God

BISHOP b'MALLEY at a National Encuentro, a meeting called to plan U.S.pastoral ministry to Hispanics. In 1986, he was named board chairman of the NortheastHispanic Catholic Center in New York.

program director for the Mary·.land Catholic Conference.

The bishop served his Capu·chin community as a transla·tor at general chapters of theorder held in Rome in 1979and 1982 and at a 1981 pIe.nary council of the order deal·ingwith formation ofmembers.

Bittersweet OccasionKaki Roberts ofthe Catholic

Standardstaffchronicled Wash·

ington reactions to the depar.ture of "Father Sean" in thefollowing article:

As word of CapuchinFather Sean O'Malley'sappointment to the epis·copacy spread among hiscolleagues, parishioners,fellow Capuchin friars,family and friends, andhis beloved Hispanic com·munity, reactions to the

announcement reflecteda mingling of delight andsadness.

Ackowledgment ofBishop.elect O'Malley'squalifications for his newposition as coadjutor bish·op of St. Thomas in theVirgin Islands was uni·versa!. The bittersweetnotes were sounded bythose who recognized the

bishop.elect's departurefrom Washington as theloss of an exceptionalfriend and advocate.

"In sharing BishopO'Malley with the Vir·gin Islands, all of us inWashington are makingan extraordinary sacri·fice," Archbishop JamesA. Hickey said in a state·ment released Tuesday."For a number of yearshe has been a leader inworking for social jus·tice, especially in behalfof immigrants. Literallythousands ofour Spanish.speaking residents turnto him as guide, pastorand constant friend. Tothem and to the widercommunity in the Churchand the city, Padre Seanhas been a real inspira·tion."

"It is a big loss at thelocal level, but a big gainat the national level,especially at the level ofthe National ConferenceofCatholic Bishops," saidDominican Sister Marga.rita Velez, director of theArchdiocesan Office forHispanicCatholics. Bishop'elect O'Malley may makeimportant contributionsas a member ofthe NCCB,

she said, "because ofhisunderstanding of the La·tin American situation,which is one of the bigissues among bishopshere."

uln his early youth itwas quite apparent thathe was headed to thepriesthood, but I neverdreamed it would lead tothis," marveled thebishop'elect's father, retired law·yer Theodore J. O'Mal·ley, when reached by tele·phone at his Ohio home.

uWe're certainly verysurprised and happy andgrateful," said Mr. O'Mal·ley, who learned of hisson's episcopal appoint·ment in a telephone callfrom the bishop.electearly Tuesday morning."He sounded quite happyand almost in a state ofshock," Mr. O'Malleyreported.

"We're very proud ofSean and our prayers willbe with him in this impor­tant work he'll be under·taking," said Mr. O'Mal­iey. Asked ifhe would beattending his son's epis·copal ordination in Aug- ;ust, the elder O'Malleyreplied buoyantly, "I sure

'p'

Sincere Congratulationsand

Warm Best Wishes

SAINT JEAN BAPTISTE PARISH COMMUNITYFALL RIVER

There was a manhope so. I wouldn't missit for'the world."

ItI think it's just awonderful thing, and Ithink it will be a very lib~

erating thing for him,"said Capuchin FatherTom Russman, a profes~

sor of philosophy .at theUniversity ofSt. Thomasin Houston and a child~.

hood friend ofthe bishop~.elect since the days when

. the two were third~grade

classmates at St. GabrielSchool in Pittsburgh..

While in Washingtonto visit Capuchin CQllege,Father Russman spokein a telephone interviewabout Bisho~lectO'Mal~ley's qualifications for hisnew post. "I think he's awonderfully pastoral man,

. extremely intelligent andan exceptional linguist,"Father Russman said. "Hehas always had a strongreligious dedication, aThomas Merton kind ofspirituality characterizedby a desire for Ii strongprayer life that flows intoactive ministry."

Speaking in a telephoneinterview from Pitts~.

burgh, Father Robert L.McCreary, provincial ofthe Province of St. Aug~ustine of the Capuchin

F(iars, said it was anhonor and pleasure tolearn that Bishop~elect

O'Malley would ·be thenewest Capuchin bishop.."I believe that Sean is aman very devoted to theChu,rch and to workingwith people of diverse.cultures, as he has inWashington. He has averyspecial love f6rpeople ofbackgrou~ds differentthan his own.

"Sean is a very peace~ . ,ful person," Father Mc~Creary added. "He has a

. very great respect for theindividual, and he con~

sistently tries to live theideals of St. Francis. Healways has lived verypoorly and simply. He isa verydevout person andhas been a unifying forcefor people of Hispanic'background from manydifferent countries.' Hehas devoted himself tohelping people in situa~

tions of great disadvari~

tage."Father McCreary pre~

dieted that the new bishopwill maintain his simplic~

ity ofstyle as he takes uphis new responsibilitiesin the Virgin Islands. ItIreally feel Sean wants tobe a servant; I don't

believe it makes muchdifference in what form.I think. he is embracingthis as a special call tohim. I know that his willbe among the most sim~ .pl~ lifestyles ofa bishbp."

"In his personal pov~erty and simplicity oflife, .he might be a challengeto other bishops," SisterMargarita agreed.

"To me, Father Seanis the most committed ofpriests," said Sister Mar~

.garita. "He is completelydedicated to the Hispaniccommunity. When hespeaks' about Hispanics,he always says, 'our peo~pIe, my people' He doesn'tspeak of 'them.';'

"I would doubt thatthere is anybody in theHispanic community ofWashington who is bet~

ter known than Sean,"observed Capuchin Broth~

er Don Lippert as hetook a break betweenMasses at the CapillaLatina Sunday. "I don'tknow if even three peo~

pIe could take over all, the things he does."

The clients Bishop~elect O'Malley has servedas director ofthe SpanishCatholic Center and hisparishioners at Capilla

THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall Rlver-Fri., Aug. 7, 1992 11

A RELAXED BISHOP

j

~jj

II

II

.1

I

i

THE PARISH FAMILY OF

SANTO CHRISTO, FALL RIVER,

SERVING THE PEOPLE OF

GOD IN THE DIOCESE OF

FALL RIVER FOR 100 YEARS,

OFFERS A WARM WELCOME

AND LOYAL SUPPORT TO OURNEW SPIRITUAL LEADER,

BISHOP SEAN O'MALLEY.

- ... I

JtulI(}-&~~ !?Tanzify1<rg2-t2J2

- -I

.-

The priests and people

of ST. JAMES CHURCH

IN NEW BEDFORD

welc'ome with joy our,

new Bishop Sean Patrick

O'Malley ~nd pledge to

him our obedience, as

well as our prayers.

May God Bless your

endeavors as Shepherd

of the Diocese of Fall

River.

- St. James Parish·s:c;."",j,,' • -=.:.0.- ' ••-;..-,J ':":"

. . -- -~.

- ---:I

The parish community of

Our Lady of Victory,

Centerville, and O~r Lady.

of Hope, West Barnstable

extends best wishes to

Bishop Sean O'Malley on

his appointment as Bishop

of Fall River. Our prayers

and affection are always

with you.

'r'

There was a man, sent from God THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall River-Fri., Aug. 7, 1992 13, , " \ , . : " " ..... ,'" ,~~ \. " . " \. ", ~

' ....\'....._~. "I ..... ~. ;." '. '._~. ,,::•• 7 • .7.·.....

Latina and St. Matthew'sCathedral see him as oneof the family, BrotherDon added. "When theysay 'Father,' they reallymean it. They know he'sthere for them and theypick up the way he re~

sponds to them. Theyiove him very much."

In the Virgin IslandsNearly 100 Washingtonians

made the journey to St. Tho~mas in the Virgin Islands forthe Aug. 2, 1984, episcopalordination ofBishop O'Malley. .

Ms. Conway described theceremony for the CatholicStandard in an article writtenfrom St. Thomas:

The altar was bankedhigh with West Indianred lilies and the tradi~·

tional Veni Creator pulsedthrough the cathedral ona calypso beat when Ca~

puchin Father SeanO'Malley was consecrat~

ed last Thursday to serveas coadjutor bishop ofthe Virgin Islands.

The ancient rite ofpassing on the Apostolicoffice from one bishopto the next took place inthe CathedralofSts. Peterand Paul on the island ofSt. Thomas. According

to Anthony Olive, aThomian descended fromFrench settlers, it wasthe first time in l~ving

memory that an episco~

...pal ordination was cele~

brated in the Virgin Is~

lands of St. Thomas, St.Croix and St. John.

Archbishop Pio Laghi,the Papal Pro~nuncio to·the United States; Arch~bishop James A. Hickey,who as Archbishop ofWashington is the Met~

ropolitan Bishop of thesuffragan see ofSt. Thom~as, and other bishopsfrom the United Statesand the Carribbean is~

lands joined BishopThomas J. Harper of St.Thomas in the rite ofconsecration.

Among the congrega~

tion of 400 were some ofBishop O'Malley's rela~

tives, includinghis father,stepmother and sister;many of his Capuchinbrothers, the other halfof his family as he calledthem; a group of nearly100friendsfrom Washing~

ton and members of theCatholic parishes on St.Thomas and St. John.An overflow crowd inthe cathedral school

watched a telecast of theordination.

Because it was tooexpensive for most ofthe Catholics'on St. Croixto cross to St. Thomasfor the ordination, BishopO'Malley planned to cele~

brate a Mass on Sundayat St. Patrick's Church,the largest on St. Croix,where the Crucians pre~

pared a reception in hishonor.. .

One ofthe St. Thomasresidents told a Washing~ton visitor that he didnot mind not having aseat in the cathedral be~

causehe would have manyopportunities to see Bish~

op O'Malley "while thosefrom the mainland hadto say farewell to theirfriend.

That farewell was a dif­ficult one. Bishop O'Mal~ley, speaking in Spanishand Portuguese to thosehe had served in Washing~

ton, quoted from theclassic El Cid to describethe pain of parting asbeing worse than havinghis fingernails torn out.And Archbishop Hickeytold the islanders howhard it was for Washing~ton to lose the new bishop

and said, "We want youto know how we in Wash~ington honor and esteemBishop Sean.... We havegiven you one. of ourvery best."

Bishop Harper, whothanked ArchbishopLaghi and ArchbishopHickey for helping himto obtain a coadjutorbishop, assured them thatBishop O'Malley alreadywas warmly welcomedand that the people's lovefor him will deepen asthey come to know "hisgoodness, his gentleness,his compassion· and hiszeal."

Having lived with thenew· bishop for a fewdays before his ordina~

tion, Bishop Harper saidthat "even now we arelike father and son orlike brother to brother. Iam so happy that theHoly Spirit has sent Bish~op O'Malley to us, theChurch of the VirginIslands."

Bishop Harper, who is74 and suffering fromarthritis, will share whathe called "this wonder~

ful but burdensome of~

fice" with Bishop O'Mal~ley for the next year,

after whichBishopO'Mal~ley, who is 40, is to suc~

ceed him as Ordinary ofthe diocese.

The enthusiasm withwhich the islanders antici~

pated Bishop O'Malley'scoming was evident intheir preparations for hisordination. The night'before, workers decorated 'the cathedral with bright.flowers and banners, in~ .cluding pne appliquedwith his coat of arms.And the choir membersrehearsed the classicalpieces they sang for aprelude, the Spanishhymns and the Englishparts of the Mass whichthey performed to theaccompaniment of tam~

bourines and maracas.On the morning ofthe

ordination,workerscameto polish the mahoganypews and to do the finalsweeping of the marbletiled floor, on which afew hours later BishopO'Malley lay prone whilethe congregation sang alitany. His gesture ofhumility and abandon~

ment to the will of Godrevealed the brown hemof his Franciscan robebeneath the white litur~

WE PLEDGE BISHOP O'MALLEYOUR PRAYERFUL REMEMBRANCE

AS HE UNDERTAKES. . .

HIS NEW REPONSIBILITIES IN FALL RIVER4.

WARmESTCOnGRATULATions

SAINT WILLIAM PARISH • FALL RIVER

..".._~.,----------------------------------.I

Prayerful Congratulations

and Warmest Wishes

, ~.PRIESTS AND THE PEOPLE OF

ESPIRITO SANTO • FALL RIVER·

Conlinued2J.kssiny~and:7Jesl W.ishes 10

,BISHOP O'MALLEY

•OUR LADY OF THE CAPE PARISH FAMILYBREWSTER

DiQ's Muire dhtiit!(God and Mary be· with you!)

SACRED HEART PARISH FAMILVNORTH ATIlEBORO. MASSACHUSETIS

" 100,000Washington~areaHispanics to his new diocese'sapproximately 25,000 Catho~

lies, one~quarter ofthe islands'population."

A· youngster among U.S.dioceses, St.: Thomas wascreated in 1977 in unincorpo~

rated U.S. territory consistingof three large islands, St.Thomas, St. John and St.Croix, plus about 50 smallislands and cays. It is a suffra~

gan see of the Washingtonarchdiocese. .'

Racially 85 percent blackand 15 percen.t white, its majorethnic groups are of WestIndian, French and Hispanicextraction.

Succeeds Bishop Harper. After 14 months as coadju~

tor to Bishop Harper, the lat~

. ter retired at age 75 and wassucceeded Oct. 16, 1985, byBishop O'Malley. .

The apostolic zeal the newshepherd manifested in Wash~ington continl,led in the VirginIslands, where he oversaw es~

tablishment of a new com~

munity of women religious,the West Indian Franciscans,and invited three other com~munities to serve there: theMarist Sisters, the Missionariesof Charity and the Fatima Sis­ters. He also ordained sevenpriests and nine permanentdeacons.

He initiated two Catholictelevision stations and thediocesan newspaper, the Cath~

olic Islander. He opened di~

ocesan offices for religiouseducation and Catholic schoolsand a religious book and giftshop. .,

The bishop established twosoup kitchens, one on St.Thomas and one on St. Croix;

.. a program for. pregnant teen~

ag~rs and teen~age parents; aClub House for those suffer~

ing from mental illness; are~source center for· the handi~

capped; a corporation for low~income housing; and a hospice.

.Bishop O'Malley blessed thehospice, St. Francis House, onAug. 5, as part of his officialfarewell to the St. Thomasdiocese. Staffed by the Mis~

s.onaries of. Charity, it willaccommodate terminally illpatients, the majority of themAIDS patients, said Mary Con~way, who came to St. Thomasfrom Washington seven yearsago to found the CatholicIslander. .

In explaining the mission of.the hospice, a Catholic Islandernews story quoted BishopO'Malley as saying that expe~rience with Bethlehem Houseshelters for the homeless "hashelped us to realize that thereare people dying alone,thosewhose families are unable to

He also thankedCar~

dinal Patrick A. O'Boyle,Cardinal William A.B~um and ArchbishopHickey for their exampleand their kindnesses tohim. Of Pope John Paul;Bishop' 9'Malley said,"He makes feel us sogood about being.catho~lies" and he recalled thefirs,t time he saw the HolyFather, '. at Puebla.· "Hegave a stirring address to·the bishops there, urgingthem to be teachers ofthe truth about Jesus,about His Church, about .His person and to bedefehders of people'sdignity and humanrights," he said.

Addressing the pastoral .teamofthe Virgin Islands,he said, "I've come towork with you, to learnfrom you. Be patient Withme, but be frank. I'm not

, too fragile." He said helooks forw.ard to estab~

llshingrelarlons with lead~ers of other faiths and,referring to the seven flagsthathave flown over theVirgin Islands, he toldthe people,' "The onlyflag I bring to you is thatof my heart."

The congregation re~

sponded with anotherstanding ovation and,when the Mass was endedand the procession filedthrough the street in frontof the cathedral, thosewaiting outside closedaround their new bishop,callingoutgreetings, shak~ing his hand, wishing himwell.

The joyous crowd es~

corted him to the cathe~

dral school, where in anoPen courtyard and anupper room the diocesan

,.hospitality committee had. prepared a feast. After

removing his vestmentsin the rectory next door,Bishop O'Malley ap'"peared again dressed inhis brown robe and san~

daIs, exchanging hugs andhandshakes until the starscame out· to light. thetropical night. '

. Differences, Similarities., '

In his new diocese, the 'co;adjutor bishop found differ~

ences, but also similarities tothe teeming capital city ofWashington. A Catholic Stan~

dard backgr<?und report point~":ed out that he encountered a

different physical setting, withsun~drenched islands takingthe place of Washington'scrowded Hispanic area withits many crumbling buildings~

and that his flock shrank from·-,;'.

.He spoke of the debt ..he owes to his family forg~ving him an appre~ia~

tion ofthe importance'of 'prayer, of devotion tothe sacraments, to theChurch, to the Motherof God and to the HolyFather. He spoke also of,the Capuchins and oftheirteaching hi~ the ideai ofuniversal brotherhood ofChrist's peace. ItI assureyou that my greatest joyin life is being a Capu~

chin friar," he said.

The ring was a loanfrom another bishop,Bishop O'Malley's ownchoice not being ready intime for the ceremony.The crozier was a giftfrom the Capuchins andfeatures the crossed armsof Christ and St. Franciswhich are carved to fit inthe crook of the woodenstaff.

The congregation gaveBishop O'Malley a stand~

ing ovation when he waspresented to them andthey laughed' when heparaphrased Pope John

, Paul's remark on becom~ing pope. Any man canbecome a bishop, Bishop.O'Mall~y said, the proof

,being that he had becomeone.

There was a man, sent from G~dgical .garb· and, on hisotherwise bare feet, thesandals of his mendicantOrder.

When' he rose fromthe floor of the ~ainaisle and went to kneelbefore the altar, BishopHarper, in the ancientgesture of consecration,placed; his hands on theCapuchin's bowed headand prayed silently. Bish~op Harper was followed

. by Archbishop Hickey,Bishop Eugene A. Marino,Archbishop Laghi, Arch~bishop William Bordersof Baltimore and all thebishops present down tothe most recently conse~

crated, Josephjte BishopJohn Ricard ofBaltimore.

After the laying on ofhands, a silver~bound

book of the Gospels washeld over Bishop O'Mal~

ley's head while BishopHarper invoked God'sblessing on him, prayingthat he may always bepleasing in God's sight.He then anointed BishopO'Malley with the sacredchrism ofo~dinationandpresented him with three'symbols ofhis new office:the ring, the ~itre andthe crozier.

\ ,

Witlt Prlll/erllliHest Wisltes .

IroJH

OUI' ·fJest Wiskes~ Provers

Ollr Best Wisltes~ Prlll/ers

from

HOLY FAMILY PARISHEAST TAUNTON

COME TO ME

Cead mlle failter

'" BISHOp·O'MALLEY '"from the parishioners of

St. Joseph ParishNorth Dighton

~:

There was a man, sent from God THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall River-Fri., Aug. 7, 1992 15

give them adequate care intheir last weeks on earth. Intheir special time, we need tohelp people who are facingtheir last weeks of this life toprepare for new life in eter­nity. We have to help them todie with dignity, surroundedby love and concern, in anatmosphere of prayer andhope."

In addition to providingresidential care for the termi,nally ill, the diocese also plansan out-patient component.

During his years in his islanddiocese, the bishop often re,turned to the mainland, offi,ciating at Hispanic ceremoniesin various dioceses and arch­dioceses as part of his respon,sibility as board chairman forthe Northeast Hispanic Catho,lic Center in New York. Hewas elected to that post in1986.

One special occasion cameonly weeks after he left Wash,ington, when he returned tothe capital city as homilist atthe 75th annual Pan AmericanMass, celebrated at the Na,tional Shrine of the Immacu,late Conception. Attended byrepresentatives ofSouth, Cen,tral and North American na,tions, it was offered in Span,ish, Portuguese, French andEnglish. The bishop, reported

the Catholic Standard, tookthe occasion to condemn abor,tion, saying it is not a topic onwhich there can be legitimatedissent in the church.

"Abortion is not a women'sissue, it is a human issue," hedeclared, suggesting that it becombated "by a vigorous cate,chesis at all levels, energizednot by self,righteousness butby prayer and fasting." Everycommitted Christian shouldfeel called upon to participatein some way in the effort to ridsociety of the "new slavery"of abortion, he said.

Bishop O'Malley said manyparallels exist between abor­tion and slavery. "Both arelucrative industries," he said.Just as slavery was in 19th,century America, "abortion isnow often accepted by manyrespectable and seemingly in­telligent citizens as an unfor,tunate but necessary practice."

Addressing the large con,gregation of diplomatic per,sonneI and others, BishopO'Malley expressed his hopethat Mary, the patroness ofthe Americas, "be our inspira­tion. . . in the construction ofa world of peace, justice, andlove for all . . . from the firstmoment of life. "

Another honor came in Sep,tember, 1987, when Bishop

O'Malley was invested as aKnight ofthe Equestrian Orderof the Holy Sepulchre ofJeru'salem in ceremonies in Pen,_sacola, Fla.

The Order of the HolySepulchre was founded in the11th century during the timeof the First Crusade to helpprotect the Holy Land fromMoslem invaders. Today ithelps maintain a Christianpresence in the Holy Landthrough prayer and financialsupport of church, convents,seminaries, schools and or,phanages. Franciscans have hadcustody of the Holy Places inPalestine and the Middle Eastin general since 1342.

A time of trial came for thebishop and his diocese in Sep,tember 1989, when HurricaneHugo struck the Virgin Islands,with the eye of the storm pass'ing through St. Croix, destroy,ing 90 percent of its buildingsand leaving every tree leafless.

On the island of St. Thorn,as, less severely hit, BishopO'Malley's residence was de­stroyed and the cathedral hadextensive water damage.

In an interview with theCatholic Standard, the bishopdescribed the damage on St.Croix, where he was when thehurricane struck, as tlapoca,lyptic," with food rotting for

lack of refrigeration, the hos,pital collapsed and people "liv,ing in the rain."

The bishop spearheaded re,lief and rebuilding efforts inthe diocese, aided by contri,butions from the Washingtonarchdiocese and other main'land donors.

Bishop O'Malley's last actsas shepherd ofthe St. Thomasdiocese are to come Sunday,Aug. 9, when he will offer 11a.m. Mass in the Cathedral ofSS. Peter and Paul in Char,lotte Amalie, the capital cityof the U.S. Virgin Islands. Itwill be followed by a come,one,come,all fiesta, fromwhich the bishop will departfor the airport and his newduties in the Fall River diocese.

Reflecting the bittersweetemotions that accompany end,ings and new beginnings, hesaid he felt "great sadness atthe prospect of leaving_ theVirgin Islands, which havetruly become a home to me."

He said his eight years therehave been "the happiest yearsofmy life. . . [but] at momentslike this, we must say 'yes' toGod and to his Church."

But, as he said at his June 16press conference upon his firstvisit to Fall River, "When Iarrived [in St. Thomas], I cameto have the firm conviction

that it was God's providencethat brought me there and it'swith the same peace in myheart that I come here askingfor God's blessing as I take upthis new challenge and re,sponsibility to serve the churchof Fall River.

"When I come in August,"he added, "I will come as anovice to listen and learn. Iask you to be patient as I learnthe ropes. I ask for your pray­ers so that I might be guidedby the Holy Spirit in this awe,some task of ministering toGod's people. I am anxious tomeet with the various groupsin the diocese to get to knowyou, to listen to your ideas. Ilook forward to being yourbishop and I will try to do mybest for you."

Deep gratitude is expressed tothe family of Bishop O'Malley;to Mary Conway, originally ofthe Catholic Standard of Wash­ington' DC, and now~itaroftheCatholic Islander; to' Joseph Sic­cardi, editor, and Kaki Roberts, astaff member, of the CatholicStandard; to the Capuchin Fran­ciscan Prownce of St. Augstinein Pittsburgh; and to Sally Ben­ninger of the Catholic UniCleTseBulletin of Cle"eland, 0., fartheir generous assistance by wayofphotographs, stories and back­ground material far this specialissue of the Anchor.

WELCOME, BISHOP SEAN!

........ In the words of St. Francis,

we pray that under your

leadership the Church of Fall River may continue to grow­

in God's gifts of "right faith, sure hope andm-ature-love."

.Sf. Jolin 1M 'ErJtinadist ~arisn !FamUiJJLttfe60r0J !MJt

.....

.~ ..

DURING THE CEREMONY of episcopal ordination, a silver' Bishop Harper invokes God's blessing on him, praying that he mightbound book of the Gospels is held over the new bish<;>p's head while always be pleasing in the sight of the Lord. (Catholic Standard photo)

WE WELCOMEBISHOP SEAN P. O'MALLEY, O.F.M., Cap.

"WE ARE THE PEOPLE HE PASTURES,THE FLOCK THAT HE GUIDES."

(PSALMS 95:7)

ST. JACQUES PARISH

TAUNTON • MASS.

".....,#