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2A ■ JUNE 2013 We Have A Bishop! NEWEARTH

“Then I saw a new heavenand a new earth.”

Revelation 21:1

NewEarth(ISSN # 10676406)

SERVING CATHOLIC PARISHESAS THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE

DIOCESE OF FARGO, N.D.

Member of theCatholic Press Association

Bishop John FoldaBishop of Fargo

Publisher

Tanya WatterudInterim Editor

[email protected]

Published monthly by The Cath olic SpiritPublishing Company, a non-profit Min-nesota corporation, 244 Dayton Ave., St.Paul, MN 55102. (651) 291-4444. Periodi-cals postage paid at St. Paul, MN and ad-ditional post offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes toNew Earth, 5201 Bishops Boulevard, SuiteA, Fargo ND 58104-7605. (701) 356-7900.

Personal subscription rate for 11 issues ofNew Earth per year: $9.

Photo by Dave Arntson, Milestones Photography

As people enter Sts. Anne & Joachim Catholic Church in Fargo June 18 for Solemn Vespers theevening before he is to be ordained a bishop and installed as Bishop of Fargo, then Bishop-electJohn Folda looks into the sanctuary.

ST. GREGORY THE GREAT SEMINARYThe Faculty, Staff and Seminarians offer their

prayers and congratulations to

Most Reverend John T. Folda

on his ordination and installation

as the Bishop of Fargo

And it begins

NEWEARTH We Have A Bishop! JUNE 2013 ■ 3A

Archbishop Samuel Aquila, who was the Bishop of Fargo until he was named Archbishop of Denverlast summer, said, in his homily during the Vespers Service before Bishop Folda’s ordination andinstallation, that he fell in love with the mission and the people when he served as Bishop ofFargo.

Representatives of civic, religious, cultural and ecumenical communities greeted Bishop Folda during the Vespers.

During the reception, Bishop Folda was able to greet the children and adults who participated in the SolemnVespers. Countless photographs captured images of the new bishop, a man who was chosen by God and appointed by Pope Francis to serve the people of the Diocese of Fargo.

Photos by Dave Arntson, Milestones Photography

Bishop Folda signed the Oath of Fidelity, pledging his fidelity to God, theCatholic Church, and the people of the Diocese of Fargo. At his side is BishopDavid Kagan of Bismarck, who served as the Fargo Diocese’s apostolic admin-istrator.

By Tanya Watterud

The two-day celebration of the ordina-tion of Bishop John Folda began withSolemn Vespers on Tuesday, June 18, atSts. Anne & Joachim Catholic Church inFargo. Bishop David Kagan, bishop of theBismarck Diocese and apostolic adminis-trator for the Fargo Diocese, presided atthe liturgy.

Archbishop Samuel Aquila, the formerbishop of the Fargo Diocese who wasnamed Archbishop of Denver last sum-mer, gave the homily. He began by thank-ing Bishop Kagan for serving as apostolicadministrator while the people of the dio-cese waited for a new bishop.

“Thank you for your ‘yes’ and thankyou for these 11 months of ministry forthe Diocese of Fargo,” he said, wordswhich were followed by a hearty applausefrom those present.

Archbishop Aquila spoke of Mary, themother of Jesus. “Just as she gathered

with the apostles in the upper room, sotoo do we gather this evening in prayer,and Mary is here with us interceding.”

He spoke of Jesus. “He who is the onewho commissioned the apostles to goforth and proclaim to all the nations . . .giving us the promise: ‘I am with you al-ways’ . . . He is the mystery that everybishop is called to proclaim.”

And he spoke of his love for the Dio-cese of Fargo. “This evening I pray foryou, Bishop Folda, especially. You will bemy predecessor and you are receivingwonderful and beautiful people . . . I wastruly blessed. I learned how to be abishop. I fell in love with the missionand with the people” he was called toserve, Archbishop Aquila said.

A reception was held in the church’sHoly Family Social Hall following Vespersand people were given the opportunityto greet, talk, and take pictures with theirnew bishop on the eve of his ordination.

On the eve of ordination: Solemn Vespers


Congratulations Bishop John Foldaand welcome to the Diocese of Fargo from the Number 1 Deanery

Rev. John AertsServing St. Patrick’s in Enderlin, Our Lady of the Scapular in Sheldon and Holy Trinity in Fingal

Rev. Peter AnderlServing St. Anthony’s in Mooreton and Sts. Peter and Paul in Mantador

Rev. Armand Brooks Serving St. Francis Convent in Hankinson

Rev. Jerald Finnestad Serving St. Aloysius in Lisbon and St. Vincent in Gwinner

Rev. William Gerlach Serving St. Charles Borromeo in Oakes and St. Mary’s in Forman

Rev. Loenard LoegeringServing St. John the Baptist in Wyndmere and St. Arnold’s in Milnor

Rev. Scott Sautner Serving St. Philip’s in Hankinson and St. Anthony’s in Fairmount

Rev. Bob Smith Serving St. Boniface in Lidgerwood, Sts. Peter and Paul in Cayuga and St. Martin’s in Geneseo

Rev. Jim TiuServing the Carmel of Mary

Very Rev. Dale Lagodinski and Rev. Greg Haman Serving St. John the Evangelist in Wahpeton

Msgr. Joseph HuebschRetired

Fargo Diocese welcomes Bishop FoldaMass of ordination and installation seen and heard by many near and farBy Tanya Watterud

With joy and prayers of thanks-giving, the people of the Dio-cese of Fargo welcomed Bishop

John Thomas Folda as the eighth Bishopof Fargo June 19.

His Mass of ordination and installa-tion was celebrated by Archbishop JohnNienstedt of the Archdiocese of St. Pauland Minneapolis. Archbishop SamuelAquila, former Bishop of Fargo, andBishop James Conley of Lincoln, Neb.,Bishop Folda’s home diocese, were theco-consecrators.

In his homily, Archbishop Nienstedtshared some of Bishop Folda’s historyof service.

“From the very first assignment youreceived after ordination, Your Excel-lency has served God’s people, striving,I am quite sure, to love as Christ wouldlove them. First, at the Cathedral parishof the Risen Christ, while also teachingreligion to the high school students atPius X High School in Lincoln. Aftergraduate studies, you became pastor ofSt. Paulinus Church in Syracuse andHoly Trinity Church in Avoca. And as ifbeing pastor of two parishes wasn’tenough to fill your day, you also taughtreligion and served as guidance coun-selor at Lourdes Central CatholicSchools, while at the same time beingan assistant to the diocesan Vicar Gen-eral.

Please turn to MASS on page 5A

Dave Arntson, Milestones Photograhy

Archbishop John C. Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis places a miter on the head of Bishop John T. Folda during his June 19 episcopal ordinationand installation Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo. Through the ceremony Bishop Folda, 51, became the 8th Bishop of Fargo.


The parishes of Deanery 2express our sincere congratulations

and a warm welcome to

Bishop John T. Foldaupon your ordination as the 8thBishop for the Diocese of Fargo.

We wish you God’s special blessings as you minister to the people of our Diocese.Be assured of our prayers and support as you serve Jesus Christ

through your work in His Church.

Cathedral of St. Mary St. Anthony of Padua NativityFargo Fargo Fargo

Holy Spirit Sts. Anne & Joachim St. Paul’s Newman CenterFargo Fargo Fargo

St. Leo St. Maurice St. BenedictCasselton Kindred Wild Rice

St. Thomas Blessed Sacrament Holy CrossBuffalo West Fargo West Fargo

Mass for new bishop draws overflow crowd

Dave Arntson, Milestones Photography

Priests, deacons, bishops and archbishops walk in procession to St. Mary’s Cathedral, Fargo, forthe ordination and installation of Bishop John T. Folda.

Continued from page 4A

“In 1995, while continuing with yourdiocesan duties, you were appointed totwo different, presumably larger parishes— St. Leo in Palmyra and St. Martin inDouglas. In 1997, you became diocesandirector of Religious Education, Co-Vicarfor Religious, the bishop’s Master of Cer-emonies and diocesan Censor Librorum.And in addition to these duties, you alsoserved as a member of the PresbyteralCouncil, the College of Consultors, theFinance Council, the Priests’ ContinuingEducation Committee, and the NebraskaCatholic Conference. In 1999, you werenamed rector of St. Gregory the GreatSeminary in Seward and eventually wereelected president of the National Associ-ation of College Seminaries. I am not surehow you did all this, but you must havehad a marvelous day planner!

“But my point here is that in all thesemany and varied ministries, concernedas they were in one way or another withthe spiritual and sacramental needs ofthe Lord’s flock, I have to believe thatyou have grown in your love for the LordJesus. How could you not?”

Present at the ordination Mass were 23bishops, including Bishop Folda, five ofwhom were archbishops. With more than180 priests, 38 seminarians and 57 dea-cons, the procession of clergy from FirstLutheran Church across the street, wherethe priests and deacons put on their vest-ments, to the Cathedral before Mass wasan historic sight.

Those in attendance were seated in thesanctuary and Cathedral basement, with

a few watching the Mass on a large screenat First Lutheran.

The Mass, and 30 minutes of commen-tary before it began, was broadcast onValley News Live’s KXJB-TV 4 and livestreamed on their website. EWTN-TV andCatholicTV picked up the satellite feed,and local news crews recorded the dayand shared its excitement through mul-tiple interviews.

Real Presence Live played the audio asit happened. Msgr. James Shea, presidentof University of Mary, Bismarck, servedas the commentator for the broadcast.The broadcast of the Mass was sponsoredin part by Bell State Bank and Trust, withCatholic United Financial also contribut-ing.

Following the Mass, Bishop Foldagreeted people through a receiving lineon the lawn of the bishop’s residence,next door to the Cathedral.

As Bishop Folda begins his episcopacy,the words of Archbishop Nienstedt willoffer inspiration and hope.

“It is the Lord who has called you, byhis own design, to this holy life. My dearbrother, never, ever allow the busyness ofyour schedule with all its demands to in-terfere with your daily life of prayer. Forwithout Christ, we are nothing,” he said.

“Moreover, never be ashamed of thetruth of the Gospel, no matter how com-pelling the secular world might pressureyou through its ridicule, scorn or outrightdisdain to make accommodations to thattruth. You know the one in whom youbelieve, be confident that he will guardyou until the end.”


We are grateful and proud to have you serve the peopleof the Diocese of Fargo.

May God Bless You

The parishes of Grand Forks:St. Michael St. Mary Holy Family St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center

CongratulationsBishop John T. Folda

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BISHOPJOHNFOLDAMay God

Bless YourWork

“The Sower went out to Sow”The parish families of

St. Paulinus, Syracuse&

Holy Trinity, Avocawish our former pastor

many blessings and graces.

May the seeds you now plantin the good soil of Fargobear fruit a hundredfold.

With our love and prayers.

Interview: Bishop Foldaaims to help faith flourish

Editor’s note: Among Bishop Folda’s manypre-ordination interviewers was Carl Bun-derson of Catholic News Agency. This ex-cerpted telephone interview took place twodays before he was ordained Bishop of Fargo.

By Carl Bunderson

Monsignor John T. Folda, the bishop-elect of the Fargo Diocese, looks forwardto promoting the Catholic faith in east-ern North Dakota following his episco-pal consecration June 19.

“My challenge will really be how toimplement the new evangelization herein the Diocese of Fargo, and to help thefaith to flourish,” Msgr. Folda said.

“I hope I can . . . positively promoteand share the faith with others,” he said,noting the example of his own long-time bishop, Fabian W. Bruskewitz ofthe Lincoln Diocese.

“I just look forward to meeting thepeople of the diocese,” he said. “I’ve hadan opportunity to meet quite a few ofthe priests already, and I want to get toknow them better as soon as possible. . . they’re the people I’ll work with mostclosely, so that’s a priority.”

“Visiting as many parishes as I can,and different institutions of the diocese,really just getting to know the Dioceseof Fargo — that’s going to be my firstpriority, and that’s what I’m looking for-ward to.”

“I think that’s always really enjoyablefor a bishop, to first just travel around alittle bit” and get to meet the people ofhis diocese, Msgr. Folda added.

“I'm kind of in my learning, myhomework stage; I have to do my re-search and meet people.”

He said that the new evangelization“is certainly on everyone’s mind rightnow, and on mine,” and that it will bean emphasis of his episcopacy.

As a seminary rector for so many years,Msgr. Folda said that Catholic educationand priestly vocations will be particular

“areas of interest” to him, but that“those are just two of the facets of a verybig project.”

His years as rector of St. Gregory's has“helped me to understand the priest-hood better,” he reported. “I think I havea much better understanding of theneeds not just of seminarians, but ofpriests themselves,” having seen manyseminarians move towards priestly life.

“Certainly I think I have a better un-derstanding of priestly vocations now,and that is something that any bishophas to be not just interested in, but di-rectly involved with.”

“I think I'll be able to hit the groundrunning when it comes to the prepara-tion of our future priests,” Msgr. Foldasaid, and in “inviting men to considerthe priesthood.”

Msgr. Folda served as a priest underBishop Bruskewitz for 20 years, and saidthat he admired his example of energyand joy in teaching the faith.

“He certainly wasn’t afraid to defendthe faith or respond to challenges to thefaith, but he always did so with greatgood humor and with a good spirit, areal positive spirit.”

“I hope I can imitate that in my owntime as bishop, just to positively pro-mote and share the faith with others.”

“I hope I can also have an opportunityto meet with young people and justspend some time with them, get to knowthem and be a part of their lives,” headded.

“They are the future of the Church . . .so really to work with them closely andto get to know them, what’s on theirminds, where their lives are headed —that’s going to be very important forme.”

Msgr. Folda wants to emphasize “thepresence of Christ among us,” both inthe sacraments and in “the people inthe Church.” His motto, a Latin phrase

Please turn to BISHOP on page 7A


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from the Gospel of John meaning “TheWord was made flesh,” is meant to re-mind us “clearly of the dignity of everyhuman being” since Christ took on “ourhuman nature.”

“We need to look reverently on ourbrothers and sisters and appreciate theirinnate dignity, and realize they sharethis same humanity with Christ ourLord, and that I think hopefully imbuesour relationships with a higher level ofrespect and mutual support,” he re-flected.

He noted appreciatively that NorthDakotans already have a culture of life,which he said he hopes to support andbe involved with. Furthermore, those ofhis flock he has already met have “a realdown to earth quality” with a “clear un-derstanding of what's important, whatmatters.”

“That’s similar to the people I’veknown in Nebraska as well, and so I feela real affinity for the folks I’ve met uphere.”

“I’m very happy to be here,” Msgr.Folda concluded. “I was very happy tobe given this call to serve, and you can’thelp but be nervous about the chal-lenges of such a large responsibility, butat the same time, I put my faith in God.”

“I trust his grace is always there. Forwhatever calling he gives, he gives thegrace to carry it out — I put my trust inthat.”

Bishop Folda in his‘learning phase’


Doing double duty as a bishop


Congratulations, Bishop Folda!“The Funeral Home Family

& Friends Recommend.”

St. James Basilica

Jamestown, ND

the first Cathedral

when the Diocese was

first established as the

Diocese of Jamestown,

welcomes BishopJohn T. Folda

With thanks and prayersto Bishop Folda!

— The members of the Lincoln Chapter of Legatus

A warm welcome and heartfeltcongratulations to you

Most Reverend John T. Folda.We are very excited for your

fatherly leadership and presence.May Our Lady protect and guide

you as our Bishop!

Third Order Franciscans of Mary ImmaculateFr. Joseph Christensen, FMIWarsaw, North Dakota

By Tanya Watterud

For 11 months, Bishop David Kaganoversaw both of the Catholic diocesesin North Dakota. As bishop of the Bis-marck Diocese, Bishop Kagan also tookon the role of apostolic administratorfor the Fargo Diocese when it was with-out a bishop.

“What I would usually do is set asideFridays each week and make that myday to be in Fargo, weather permitting,”Bishop Kagan said. He remembers onlyone day in December when he couldn’ttravel due to ice.

“It has been a very good experience,”he said. “I’ve enjoyed it. It was kind of anice way of learning a little bit moreabout the state of North Dakota.”

Suzanne Nelson, assistant to thebishop, would usually have a full calen-dar of meetings scheduled for him. Oncein a while, Bishop Kagan would foregodriving and ask Father James Cheney,pastor at St. Paul’s Newman Center inFargo, to fly him to events for the dio-cese. Bishop Kagan said, “It’s a lot fasterthan driving, I’ll tell you that.”

Serving as apostolic administratorhelped Bishop Kagan see the similaritiesin the dioceses of Bismarck and Fargo.“A lot of people are related to each other,

either by birth or by marriage,” he said.“That’s refreshing. It makes for more ofa tight knit Catholic community in thewhole of North Dakota.”

Msgr. Joseph Goering worked closelywith Bishop Kagan during his time asapostolic administrator. “He’s very clear.He’s easy to talk to and very quick tounderstand what the issue is and providedirection,” Msgr. Goering said of BishopKagan. Even when he was not in Fargo,Bishop Kagan “made himself present tous at a distance” by telephone and email,he added.

Now that he no longer travels to Fargoon Fridays, Bishop Kagan finds his cal-endar is still full that day each week, butwith Diocese of Bismarck meetings andevents. Bishop Kagan said he told BishopFolda, “Don’t worry what you’re goingto do from day to day. Your schedulefills up,” and “Don’t think that after thefirst six or nine months it lightens up. Itjust keeps going.” Bishop Kagan knewBishop Folda before he was appointedas Bishop of Fargo. “He’s a great fellow,a superb priest and an excellent choice,”Bishop Kagan said. “I’ve known him forseveral years from my time as vicar gen-eral in the Rockford Diocese.”

“Just like with priests, bishops buildup a great fraternity,” Bishop Kagan said.

DVDs of Bishop Folda’s ordination Mass will be available• For more information go to www.fargodiocese.org• More will be communicated in parish bulletins as soon as it is available

To purchase a DVD, email [email protected] or write to: DVD Order, Diocese of Fargo, 5201 Bishops Blvd. S., Suite A, Fargo, ND 58104-7605.


We are Pleased to WelcomeBishop John T. Folda

The Faithful of the Diocese of Fargo are honored to have Bishop Folda,

the first priest in the U.S. to be appointed Bishop by Pope Francis.

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Words alone cannotexpress my thanks

For my first column as Bishop of Fargo,I share with you the message of gratitude Iexpressed at the end of my Mass of ordina-tion and installation.

Praised be Jesus Christ! Now andforever! Your Excellency, Arch-bishop Nienstedt, Archbishop

Aquila, Bishop Kagan, and dear brotherbishops, dear brotherpriests, deacons, semi-narians, consecrated re-ligious, and dear friendsin Christ:

I am overwhelmedby the many blessingsthat have come to methis day. I must firstgive thanks to God forthe gift of faith and hisloving invitation toshare in his divine life.And not only did he seefit to bless me with thisfaith, but he also calledme to the sacred priest-hood, and now inexpli-cably to the office ofBishop. For such a gift,I can only bow in humble gratitude.

Archbishop Nienstedt, thank you forbeing with us today and celebrating thisbeautiful liturgy of ordination. Yourwords will always remain with me as Ireflect on this day and on the awesomeresponsibility of being a successor of theapostles.

Archbishop Aquila, you served theDiocese of Fargo faithfully and zealously

for over 10 years, and we are all thankfulfor the blessing of your time in Fargo. Iam personally grateful for your kindnessand support over these last weeks as Iprepared to begin my own service asbishop here. And thank you in particularfor your beautiful homily last night atthe Vespers service. I am touched byyour brotherly encouragement for a very

new brother bishop!Bishop Kagan, you

have also served theDiocese of Fargo as ad-ministrator for the last11 months, generouslysharing your time afteronly recently becomingBishop of Bismarck.Thank you for the careyou have given this dio-cese and for the manyways you have assistedme in these last weeks.

And to all my newbrother bishops whoare here today, all theway from Pennsylvaniato Alaska and NewMexico, and many

points in between, thank you for beinghere and honoring us with your pres-ence. Please keep me in your prayers.

I must offer a special word of thanksto Msgr. Jean Francois Lantheaume, the chargé d’affaires of the ApostolicNunciature. Monsignor, we are honoredto have you with us representing

Please turn to BISHOP’S on page 10A

Bishop’s MessageBishop John T. Folda


Bishop John Folda

The Sisters of MercyWest Midwest Community offers our congratulations and prayers for many blessings as you begin your role as

Bishop for the Diocese of Fargo

www.mercywestmidwest.org

Prayerful Best Wishes,

Bishop Folda, on your

installation as BishopVilla Regina Motherhouse Lincoln, NE cksisters.org

Bishop’s message, cont’d.Continued from page 9A

Archbishop Vigano, and by joining ustoday, you unite us in a special way withour Holy Father, Pope Francis. Thankyou, and please convey our greetingsand assurance of prayers to the Arch-bishop and to the Holy Father.

I cannot neglect to offer thanks forthose who have joined us in such greatnumbers today from my own Dioceseof Lincoln.

It has been my privilege to serve as apriest for 24 years in the Diocese of Lincoln, and they have been wonder-ful years. To my brother priests, my reli-gious sisters, my beloved seminarians,and to so many dear friends who arehere, you have been a family to me.Thank you for all you have done for methrough these years, and know that youwill always have a special place in myheart.

In particular I thank the bishops whohave been our shepherds in Lincoln,Bishop Bruskewitz, who for 20 years wasa wonderful bishop and teacher, andBishop Conley, who for many years wasa friend before he became my bishoplast November. I will always owe a greatdebt to so many who have taught mehow to be a priest, and who in somemysterious way have prepared me nowto be a bishop.

And even more profoundly, I mustalso thank my own family, where I firstreceived the gifts of life and faith.

To my dear mother who is with ushere today; my father, James, who hasalready gone to the Lord and for whomI pray in a special way today; mybrother, Jim, and sister, Mary, and theirfamilies; and for my aunts, uncles, andcousins who made the trip to supportme on this day, I thank you and I assureyou of my love.

Words alone cannot express mythanks to the people of the Dio-

cese of Fargo for their welcome and theirloving embrace of me, their new bishop.

From the first moment of my arrival,I was touched by your kindness, yourpromises of prayers — keep those upplease — and for your deep faith. I amtruly looking forward to our journey to-gether, as we make our way through thejoys and challenges of this still new cen-tury and millennium and strive to drawalways closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.As I said on the day of my appointment,I am all yours, and I promise to give allthat I have and all that I am in yourservice.

No one can know how many hoursof work it takes to prepare and bringabout an event like this, and I especiallywant to thank the many people —priests, deacons, seminarians, diocesanstaff, Cathedral parishioners, musicians,servers, volunteers, and anyone at allwho contributed to this beautiful occa-sion. You have truly given glory to Godthrough your efforts and your love forthe Church.

Perhaps you noticed the beautifulhymn sung by our choir today, “TheGlory of the Father,” which is actually amusical setting of the Prologue from theGospel of John, and it includes thewords we know so well and which arepart of my episcopal coat of arms: “TheWord was made flesh and dwelledamong us.”

These words remind us of the simpletruth: It’s all about Jesus Christ. He mustbe the center of our lives. All that we doand all that we are as Christians, asCatholics, must have its origin fromhim, and return to him.

On the day after his election, just afew short days before my own appoint-ment here, Pope Francis addressed theCardinals gathered at Mass, and I can dono better than to draw upon his wisdom.

He said that we as disciples must walkwith Christ, we must build with Christ,and we must proclaim Christ. We mustwalk with Christ in a relationship oflove, accepting the cross, but also draw-ing from him the joy and the hope andthe life that he came to share with us.He calls us to walk with him and to behis friends. We must build with Christand never try to build apart from him,for without him, we can do nothing,and with him, all things are possible.

And finally, we must proclaim Christ.In season and out of season, by ourwords, whether vocal or written orblogged or tweeted or in any othermedium available to us, we must shareChrist with our brothers and sistersaround us. And not only with ourwords, but with our actions, indeed byour very lives, we must be a livingproclamation of the good news that Je-sus is our Savior, he loves us, and hecontinues to dwell among us.

This I think is what the New Evange-lization calls us to. The message is asancient and as new as it has ever been,but we are each called, whatever ourstate in life might be, to live it morevividly in our own day, so that all mightshare in the treasure that we have, thetreasure of Christ, who is the Wordmade flesh, dwelling among us.

As your bishop, I look forward to join-ing everyone here in walking withChrist, building with Christ, and pro-claiming Christ to all. I cannot think ofa more wonderful privilege, or a morejoyful adventure. May the Lord be al-ways among us, and may he bless uswith his grace and his peace.

By Roxane B. Salonen

Sheet music shuffled and cameras rus-tled in the choir loft at St. Mary’s Cathe-dral in Fargo the afternoon of June 19.

It was an historic moment, and I, withthe rest of the media and musicians, satattentive, wide-eyed and readied heart,to wait it out one last time.

Finally, after a succession of proces-sions, angelic melodies, prayers and asolitary vow of obedience, the spiritualworld aligned.

It was around 3 p.m., one of the otherreporters said. “Fittingly, the hour ofgrace and mercy,” I noted.

With the laying on of hands, the na-ture of a man named John was changedforever. And soon after, our shepherd,Bishop John T. Folda, walked among usfor the first time as bishop, greeting uslike a groom turning to his new bride.

Our joy overflowed into exuberantapplause. And as he made his waythrough the audience — crozier inhand, golden episcopal garments inplace — his joy, too, was palpable.

Wait was lengthyThe wait has been long for the

Catholic faithful of the Fargo Diocese,and not without some consternation.

We first faced the uncertainty of anunknown future while waving goodbyeto our former bishop. Afterward, the in-evitable speculation began over whenour new shepherd might come. Wouldit be six months, two years?

And just as most of us began to findour bearings, a one-two punch camewith the news our worldwide shepherd,the Vicar of Christ, had been unexpect-

edly called to new pastures, too.For a time, we were like orphans, ex-

isting only on grace and the abiding as-surance God alone can give throughfaith.

But now, finally, the time of exhalehas come.

So much more than what met the eyetook place during both the episcopal or-dination and installation at the cathe-dral and the preceding solemn vespersservice at Sts. Anne & Joachim Churchthe prior evening.

This time in history carries not onlysignificance for Catholics of the prairiebut those throughout the world. It’sbeen our great honor to usher in thefirst United States bishop to be ap-pointed by our new pontiff.

Sometimes when you’re inside historyit’s easy to lose your place, but seeingthe television cameras and the satellitetruck beaming the broadcast out for theworld to see helped jolt me awake tothe largeness of it all. Whether seatedin the church that day, receiving itthrough media or tending to God’s workin other ways, we were all spirituallyconnected through this glorious mo-ment in time.

Connected anewIt seems now an invisible, indelible

line runs not only from Nebraska toNorth Dakota, but from Rome to theRed River Valley.

Archbishop Nienstedt referenced theconnection when encouraging the newbishop to “always be attentive to theneeds of the poor, the sick, the margin-alized, the stranger in our midst,” and

to “allow the tremendous witness of ournew Holy Father to serve as a model foryou . . . these are the lambs you arecalled to feed.”

I met our shepherd-to-be in a receiv-ing line post-vespers and found his re-sponse gracious, telling. I’d come at thelong line’s end, and yet he’d somehowsustained his warmth and calm energy.

After a few moments of conversation,however, he stopped me. “Tell me yourname,” he asked. In my eagerness I’dmissed it, and in his question, I learned

that the small things matter to our newbishop.

If first impressions are any indication,we are in exceptionally tender and at-tentive hands.

There seemed, however, one elementof bittersweet emotion in the welcom-ing. Having zeroed in on the bishop’smother with the help of a reporter fromNebraska, I wondered how it must be,pride aside, to watch your son step


Dave Arntson, Milestones Photography

Bishop John Folda, eighth bishop for the Diocese of Fargo, poses with his mother, Mabel Folda, onthe steps of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fargo after his June 19 ordination Mass.

With bishop’s arrival, we can finally exhale

Please turn to WAIT on page 15A

CongratulateBishop

John Folda


Congratulations,Your Excellency!

Your former flocks thank God for your Episcopacyand pray that Our Mother Mary, Queen of Apostles,

will be your constant companion in your role asthe shepherd of the Diocese of Fargo.

St. Leo St. Martin

The Parishioners of St. Leo in Palmyra and St. Martin in Douglas, Nebraska

Congratulations

Bishop John Foldaon your appointment to the Diocese of Fargo

from our seminarians, priests, faculty, staff and graduate students

Bishop Folda’s calendar

June 30 9 a.m. Mass at Holy Spirit CatholicChurch, Fargo

July 6 10:30 a.m. Mass for 25th anniversary of Sister Elaine Lang, SMP, ValleyCity

July 8 5 p.m. Catholic United Financial ClergyGolf Dinner, Rose Creek, Fargo

July 17 11:30 a.m. Mass at Presentation Center,Fargo, followed by lunch

Connections to bishops of the past and presentMichelle Branson of Baker, Mont., contacted the Diocese of Fargo via email to

share this news about the first bishop and the eighth bishop of the diocese. It hasbeen edited for New Earth.

“I have always wanted to stop and visit the old St. James Cathedral [Basilica of St.James] in Jamestown, knowing my grandfather’s aunt’s husband’s brother was thevery first Bishop of Jamestown (Bishop John Shanley). I was finally able to do sotoday on a return trip from the Schoenstatt Monastery in Delafield, Wis.

“It is a beautiful old [church], but the biggest surprise was reading the bulletin andknowing you have a new bishop, Bishop John Folda! He is my late father’s half-cousin.

“It is an amazing God-incidence that the first Bishop of Jamestown (later Fargo)was related to my father’s paternal side and the newest Bishop of Fargo is related tomy father’s maternal side. Bishop Folda’s late father was my grandmother’s youngerhalf-brother.

“I just thought I would let you know this as I am not sure Bishop Folda is aware ofthis connection. God bless you!”

Editor’s note: The first and eighth bishops of Fargo also have the same first name: John.The second and seventh bishops of Fargo had the same first name, too — Bishop JamesO’Reilly and Bishop James Sullivan.

Bishop Folda

Thank you to Valley News Livefor doing the broadcast productionwork for the ordination and installation of Bishop John Folda.Your expertise and attention to detailhelped us share the joy of this special daywith people in the diocese and throughout the world.

Thank you also to Msgr. James Shea,University of Mary President,for your insightful commentarybefore and during the Mass.May God bless you!Diocese of FargoCommunications Office

Photo by Dave Arnston / Milestones Photography

DIOCESE OF FARGO

OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS / ANNOUNCEMENTS

Most Rev. John T. Folda, Bishop of Fargo has made the following appointments,announcements, and/or decrees:

Very Reverend Phillip Ackerman has been reappointed as dean of Deanery III,effective June 20, 2013, and continuing ad nutum episcopi.

Very Reverend Longinus “Al” Bitz has been reappointed as dean of Deanery VII, effective June 20, 2013, and continuing ad nutum episcopi.

Very Reverend Paul C. Duchschere has been reappointed as dean of Deanery II, effective June 20, 2013, and continuing ad nutum episcopi.

Very Reverend John Kleinschmidt has been reappointed as dean of Deanery IV, effective June 20, 2013, and continuing ad nutum episcopi.

Very Reverend Ross Laframboise has been reappointed as dean of Deanery VIII, effective June 20, 2013, and continuing ad nutum episcopi.

Very Reverend Dale Lagodinski has been reappointed as dean of Deanery I, effectiveJune 20, 2013, and continuing ad nutum episcopi.

Very Reverend Frank Miller has been reappointed as dean of Deanery VI, effectiveJune 20, 2013, and continuing ad nutum episcopi.

Very Reverend Chad Wilhelm has been reappointed as dean of Deanery V, effectiveJune 20, 2013, and continuing ad nutum episcopi.

Reverend Msgr. Joseph P. Goering has been appointed to serve as Vicar General,Vicar for Clergy, and Moderator of the Curia. The appointment to these offices iseffective on June 20, 2013, and continues ad nutum episcopi. This appointment isin addition to his current appointment as rector of the Cathedral of St. Mary inFargo.

Very Reverend Luke D. Meyer’s appointment as Chancellor of the Diocese of Fargohas been recognized and confirmed and will continue ad nutum episcopi. He alsocontinues to serve as Priest-Secretary to the Bishop and Master of Ceremonies.

Very Reverend James S. Goodwin’s appointment as judicial vicar for the Diocese ofFargo has been recognized and confirmed and will continue until June 26, 2015.

Reverend Monsignor Jeffrey L. Wald’s appointment as Vice Chancellor for the Dioceseof Fargo has been recognized and confirmed and will continue ad nutum episcopi.

The mandates for Very Reverend James S. Goodwin and Very Rev. Luke D. Meyer toprocess marriage dispensations and permissions have been granted by BishopFolda. Therefore, marriage files will continue to be processed as usual.

OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS / ANNOUNCEMENTS

Please note the following changes to the spring assignments, which were published inthe April 2013 issue of New Earth.

Reverend Jerome Hunkler will continue as pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish inSteele, St. Mary’s Parish in Medina and St. Paul’s Parish in Tappen completing hissecond six-year term.

Reverend Arogyaiah Gadagotti has been appointed administrator of St. Bernardof Clairvaux Parish in Oriska, St. Agatha’s Parish in Hope, and Sacred Heart Parish inSanborn, effective June 26, 2013, and continuing ad nutum episcopi.

Reverend T. Thomas Paulraj will continue to serve as parochial vicar at St. Anthonyof Padua Parish in Fargo, continuing ad nutum episcopi.

Reverend Troy Simonsen has been appointed parochial vicar at Sts. Anne &Joachim Parish in Fargo, effective June 26, 2013, and continuing ad nutum episcopi.


Go Knights!

CongratulationsBishop John Thomas Folda!

from all the alumni ofArchbishop Ryan High SchoolOmaha, NE


Coat of Arms depictssymbolically aspectsof Bishop Folda’slife and heritage

In designing the shield — the central element inwhat is formally called the heraldic achievement — abishop has an opportunity to depict symbolically as-pects of his life and heritage, and to highlight ele-ments of the Catholic faith that are important tohim.

Every coat of arms also includes external elementsthat identify the rank of the bearer. The formal de-scription of a coat of arms, known as the blazon, usesa technical language, derived from French and Eng-lish terms, that allows the appearance and positionof each element in the achievement to be recordedprecisely.

A diocesan bishop shows his commitment to theflock he shepherds by combining his personal coatof arms with that of the diocese, in a techniqueknown as impaling.

The shield is divided in half along the pale or cen-tral vertical line. The arms of the diocese appear onthe dexter side — that is, on the side of the shield tothe viewer’s left, which would cover the right side(in Latin, dextera) of the person carrying the shield.The arms of the bishop are on the sinister side — thebearer’s left, the viewer’s right.

The blazon for the combined coats of arms ofBishop John Folda and the Diocese of Fargo is:

Azure, a cross Or charged with a horseshoe of the field,in dexter chief a garb of the second, impaling Argent on apale gules a Chi-Rho and from base a demi-eagle displayedOr, on a chief azure to dexter a star of six points and tosinister a dove volant argent.

Central to the arms of the Diocese of Fargo is theCross of Christ. The colors of the shield, gold andblue (Or and azure), are traditional attributes of theVirgin Mary, who is invoked as patron of the dioceseunder the title of her Immaculate Conception. In thecenter of the Cross is a horseshoe, alluding to WilliamGeorge Fargo (1818–81), the namesake of the See cityand co-founder of Wells Fargo & Co., whose stage-coaches carried express mail, bank funds and settlersthroughout the Midwest. At the top left (dexter chief)is a wheat sheaf (garb), which recalls the importantagricultural product of North Dakota, as well as thebread that becomes the Body of Christ in the cele-bration of the Eucharist.

The arms of Bishop Folda incorporate the colorsand layout of the arms of the Diocese of Lincoln (Ne-braska); the bishop was ordained a priest of that dio-cese in 1989. In the blue band at the top of the shield(the chief azure) is a star to represent Our Lady, alsotaken from Lincoln. Next to the star is a dove, a sym-bol of the Holy Spirit and an attribute of St. Gregorythe Great, the pope and Doctor of the Church, whois often depicted with the dove hovering at his ear ashe writes. Bishop Folda served as rector of St. Gregorythe Great Seminary in Seward, Neb., from 1999 to2013.

On the red vertical stripe (the pale gules) is a Chi-Rho, the ancient monogram for Our Lord composedof the first two Greek letters in the name Christ.Rising from the base of the shield is an eagle, whichhas been used from ancient times to allude to St.John the Evangelist, the author of the fourth Gospeland Bishop Folda’s baptismal patron.

The Bishop’s motto, on a scroll below the shield, istaken from the Prologue of this Gospel: Verbum carofactum est — “The Word was made flesh” (John 1:14).As the Chi-Rho draws the viewer’s eye to Christ atthe center of the shield, so the motto draws theviewer’s heart to contemplate the Incarnation, thecentral mystery of the Christian faith.

The shield is ensigned with external elements thatidentify the bearer as a Bishop. A gold processionalcross appears behind the shield. The galero or “pil-grim’s hat” is used heraldically in various colors andwith specific numbers of tassels to indicate the rankof a bearer of a coat of arms. A bishop uses a greengalero with three rows of green tassels.

This is Bishop Folda’s coat of arms.

A diocesan bishop shows his commitment to the flock by combining his personal coat of arms with that of the diocese.

This is the coat of arms — also called the diocesan crest —of the Diocese of Fargo.

By Tanya Watterud

Dave Wallis, a professional photogra-pher since 1977, has photographed fourof the eight bishops of the Fargo Dio-cese, making him, undoubtedly, the “of-ficial bishop photographer” for ForumCommunications Company and itsNorth Dakota newspapers.

His favorite picture from the June 19ordination Mass for Bishop John Folda,the eighth Bishop of Fargo, was the oneprinted on Page 1 of The Forum on June20. It showed Bishop Folda leaving theCathedral and blessing the people as hewalked by them.

Wallis also photographed the ordina-tion Mass for Bishop Samuel Aquila,now Archbishop of Denver, who wasthe seventh Bishop of Fargo.

“I just barely got the picture of BishopAquila,” Wallis said. “He took that letterfrom the pope, opened it up and turnedto the congregation . . . He was reallybeaming. You could see the pride on hisface.”

Both Bishop Justin Driscoll, the fifthBishop of Fargo, and Bishop James Sul-livan, the sixth, were also subjects of hisphotographs for newspapers over theyears.

A photographer’s eye and skill withthe camera help people see history inthe making in new ways.

For Bishop Folda’s ordination, pho-tographers, other than Dave Arntson ofMilestones Photography who was hiredto record the Mass in photos for the dio-cese, were restricted to the Cathedralbalcony so as not to distract people fromthe liturgy.

Sandwiched between the choir mem-bers and the back wall of the balcony,with his line of vision impeded by theCathedral’s pillars, Wallis had to be cre-ative to get pictures that varied.

“I didn’t want everything to look thesame,” he said.

He stood atop a metal folding chairhe found in the balcony and snappedphotos of the action below from hisperch above the heads of the singers.

Technological improvements in pho-tography have led to assurance regard-ing quality, Wallis said.

“In film days, you never knew for surewhat you had. With digital, you havethat instant feedback.”

So does the public.Wallis’ Canon camera has a Wi-Fi

memory card.“I can tag my photos and they go

right to my iPhone,” he said. He thenTweets the photo and a message out tothe world, so they can see what is hap-pening while the Mass or event is stillgoing on.

“I got hooked on newspapers when Iwas in grade school,” Wallis said.

“It all started with the space program.I saved all of the front pages of the spaceshots.” It’s always a special honor for aphotographer to have a photo placedon a newspaper’s front page, he said.

“Now that I’m actually part of creat-ing those front pages, it’s even more ofa thrill. I feel like I’m part historian,” hesaid. “It’s my job to make sure I get those

images for that special front page peopleare going to want to keep.”

Wallis said he expects to retire in fouryears or so, after hitting the 40-yearmark as a newspaper photographer.

With that in mind, he probably won’tphotograph the ninth Bishop of Fargo,whomever that might be, but his recordof photographing half of the diocese’sbishops will likely stand for quite sometime. Possibly forever.

Wallis is a member of Sts. Anne &Joachim Catholic Church in Fargo andworks from the offices of The Forum news-paper in Fargo.

Long-time photographer records another historic day

“I feel like I’m parthistorian. It’s my jobto make sure I get

those images for thatspecial front page

people are going towant

to keep.”Dave Wallis

Dave Wallis visits with Katie Wise, diocesancommunications assistant, as they wait fornewly ordained Bishop John Folda to changeout of his ordination Mass vestments andcome out side to greet people on the bishop’sresidence lawn.Photo by Dave Arntson, Milestones Photography

into a new and largely unknown mis-sion far from home.

Could she have fathomed such athing when he was a tot being rockedto sleep at her bosom?

Stay close to MaryI took solace in noting the color of

her dress — blue, like the garments as-sociated with another mother who alsohad to let go, and with conflicted emo-tion, watch her son accept his God-given calling.

Archbishop Nienstedt addressed thistoo, challenging Bishop Folda to “neverforget that behind every successful manis a better woman,” and to “follow theBlessed Virgin Mary to be that source ofstrength in you.”

He also noted the bishop had chosento prominently display the star repre-senting Mary’s Immaculate Conceptionon his Coat of Arms, and said his motto,“The Word Was Made Flesh,” “resoundswith praise for the Virgin Mother whogave flesh for the Father’s Son.”

“Stay close to her, seek her guidance,”he said. “She will always lead you closerto her divine son.”

And as you follow where she goes,Bishop Folda, God-willing, we will beclose behind.

Salonen, a freelance writer, is a memberof and cantor for Sts. Anne & JoachimCatholic Church, Fargo.

Wait is over for FargoDiocese Catholics



june new earth 2013 - section a

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