Thursday, 17 December 2020

The journey to my installation as diocesan bishop of "the Soo"

Today I was installed as the new bishop of the diocese of Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario. It was the culmination of a journey that began on October 12 of this year, when I got the phone call from the Apostolic Nuncio informing me that the Pope wanted to appoint me to this diocese. I still remember how the Nuncio opened the conversion: "Thomas, I have good news! At least, I hope it is good news!"

Indeed, it was! What the Nuncio did not know was that I had been in the diocese of Sault Ste. Marie just the weekend before. A friend had invited me on a deer hunting trip on Manitoulin Island, which is situated within the diocese. I arrived there on the Friday, and left the Sunday morning. It was a beautiful sunny day as I drove the 8+ hours back to Montréal. Realising I was in a diocese carrying the name of Mary as part of its title I took the rosary off my rear-view mirror. I knew this diocese was waiting for the appointment of a new bishop, so I decided to pray for the people here, as well as for the next bishop, "whoever he might be". The next day, I learned that it was me!

The Nuncio suggested that the first thing I needed to do was set a date for the announcement of the nomination. I called up the diocesan administrator, a priest named Monsignor Jean-Paul Jolicoeur. (For those who don't know French, his family name means "beautiful heart", and would later learn that it was absolutely true.) Msgr. "JP" suggested that the announcement be made on October 22, the feast day of his namesake, Saint John Paul II. On my side I wasn't so keen on the idea, as that was the day I got a call 5 year previous that led to an investigation of a priest who would come to be accused of sexual abuse of minors. While I was proud of that work, that day was honestly one that lived somewhat in infamy for me, so I asked if we could do it a couple of days earlier.

The next step was for me to write a letter to the Pope formally accepting the nomination as diocesan bishop. In my email to the Nuncio, I also mentioned my hope that the announcement could be made on October 20. He called me later that evening to say that the date did not work for technical reasons. Would I be open to doing it on October 22? he asked. I laughed and said OK. After hanging up I looked up towards the Lord and said, "You're having some fun with me, aren't you?" But I reconciled myself to the idea. After all, perhaps this was God's way of redeeming the day for me.

October 22 came quickly. The announcement was first posted on Vatican News in Rome, followed by something on the website of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Of course, we also put up posts on the web sites of the archdiocese of Montreal and the diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. These latter posts included a couple of letters I wrote to the faithful of each diocese (one for Montréal, and one for SSM). Messages of congratulations began to pour in. It was quite overwhelming.

I had my first meeting with the diocesan team on October 22 itself, in the afternoon, via video. It was just an initial call, a chance to say hello. People were very welcoming! I then had a video call with the College of Consultors and the regional chairs on October 26, again just to make a first contact.

My first real chance to say "hello" to the people of the diocese of Sault Ste. Marie came on October 30, when I was interviewed by Fr. Daniele Muscolino, our diocesan vocation director, as part of a video series entitled "Called to Serve". He did a great job putting this video together:

I headed to the diocese of Sault Ste. Marie on November 2 for a week of orientation in Sudbury with the diocesan staff. I stayed at Saint Jean de Brébeuf parish, where I was welcomed by the pastor, Fr. Roch Martin. Our days were kept full with meetings upon meetings as I attempted to understand the situation of the diocese. It was like drinking from a firehose! Of course, I think it was just as demanding on the staff as it was on me. After all, I had sent them a 10-page list of questions to which I was looking for the answers. I knew it would not be possible to cover everything, of course, so I left it to the team to determine what our focus needed to be.

My week in Sudbury also included some other key elements. There is no official residence for the bishop here, so I explored a few possible places to live. I was also advised that my 2009 Ford Escape was not going to do the trick given the rigours of the many hours of driving I'd be doing, something that was confirmed when my car suddenly started giving signs of electrical problems, so we went car shopping as well. Finally, I had some time of fellowship with the priests of the diocese: a couple of video calls, in both English and French, as well as a fraternal gathering over coffee and a dinner out with some francophone brothers.

I drove back to Montréal on November 7, as I still had lots of dossiers I needed to wrap up. Still, I kept in touch with my new diocese. I was interviewed one again, this time in French, for a local television program called "Église diocésaine". The show was recorded on November 9 and broadcast on November 25, on the subject of gratitude and the Eucharist:

Of course, I also needed to start to organize my move! I had never done anything so long distance before, so I got a couple of moving companies to come in and give me estimates later that same week. With that, the packing process began!

I did a second interview with Église Diocésaine on November 16. This time the topic was much simpler, just a "get to know you" kind of discussion. It was broadcast on December 5:

At this point we were also well into the planning of the ceremony of installation. This firstly involved curating a guest list, as the COVID-19 pandemic meant that we needed to know in advance exactly who would be present. I had to review the ritual of the ceremony itself, of course, and in particular I had to pick readings and write intercessions for the mass. One thing I definitely wanted was to include some expression of the Anishinaabe spiritual traditions. My ancestors of my father's side are Irish, and I grew up knowing the story of Saint Patrick and his evangelization of the ancient celtic people of Ireland. He had a genius for recognizing and welcoming the spiritual traditions of the native people, finding the harmony between those customs and the gospel of Jesus. Personally I am very open to a similar approach, and so I was delighted that I would be first welcomed into the diocesan Pro-Cathedral with a native smudging ceremony.

My final weeks in Montreal included the wrapping up of many loose ends. I was able to celebrate my last confirmation, my last baptism, and my last anointing of the sick in November. I also tied up loose ends with regards to different foundations and organizations I was a part of. A big moment was the release of the Capriolo Report concerning former priest Brian Boucher -- the same priest I had investigated, starting 5 years previous. It was the conclusion of a long process for me, one which I pray will lead to a conversion in the way we do things in the Church (and I don't just mean Montréal). I'm very grateful for the work accomplished by Mrs. Pepita Capriolo, with whom I had the chance to work very closely.

The residents of the cathedral in Montréal held a special dinner for me on December 2, which was very touching. The centrepiece of my table was a very special mitre they made for me, which got a few laughs:

The big moving day finally came of December 10. Everything was loaded onto a truck within half a day. From there, I drove to Sudbury with a friend and co-worker who very generously offered to help me get settled. I arrive on December 11, and my stuff came on December 12. It turned out that unpacking took longer than packing -- probably because we had a massive blizzard! Welcome to northern Ontario, I guess! :-)

I stayed at Saint Jean de Brébeuf parish once again, where I had a chance to celebrate my first Sunday mass in the diocese. The long drive back to Montréal started soon after. Fortunately, the blizzard had passed and the roads were perfect. We also had a few stops along the way, including at the Pro-Cathedral of the Assumption where we had a short practice for the installation mass. I find I am getting to know where all the key rest stops can be found!

The diocese of Montreal held a final going away event for me on December 15. I had the chance to preach our pre-Christmas mass for the diocesan staff, and then we had an "office Christmas party" via video. I was deeply touched by the various tributes from people. It made the process of letting go so much easier. I also received a lovely gift as part of the send-off:

I finished packing up the last of my stuff in Montreal (I had left a few items behind from the big move), and soon we were heading back to the diocese of Sault Ste. Marie for the big day on December 17.

The Mass of Installation and surrounding events were a magnificent experience which warrants its own blog post, but for now I'll happily share the video of the event here. Let me just say how grateful I am to all those who worked so hard to make it such a beautiful and meaningful celebration. I'm here now, and here to stay. Please pray for me, and for all those I'm called to serve!

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