Archbishop-designate Weisenburger gets 'warm welcome' after morning prayer at St. Aloysius; Archbishop Vigneron thanks curia
DETROIT — Archbishop-designate Edward J. Weisenburger gathered with members of the Archdiocese of Detroit's curia staff at St. Aloysius Parish in Detroit for mid-morning liturgy of the hours and a more formal introduction Feb. 12.
The archbishop-designate was named the sixth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit the day prior, and the gathering at the downtown parish was a chance for Archbishop-designate Weisenburger to pray with and for his new coworkers. Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, now Detroit's archbishop emeritus and apostolic administrator, also was in attendance and spoke.
Fr. Jeffrey Day, moderator of the curia, presented Archbishop-designate Weisenburger with a few gifts on behalf of the local Church, including a photo of Michigan Central Station with the motto of the city of Detroit, "Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus," which means, "We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes."
The motto was coined by pioneering 19th century Detroit priest Fr. Gabriel Richard after the city's great fire of 1805.
Eliciting laughter, Fr. Day also presented the archbishop-designate from Arizona with a pair of winter boots and a hat — critical apparel, he said, especially considering an impending winter storm.
Addressing the curia, Archbishop Vigneron thanked staff for their work and was glad to tell the group he would remain in the Archdiocese of Detroit, the Church he grew up in and the Church he said he’ll continue to pray for through all the future transitions.
Detroit's outgoing archbishop encouraged curia staff never to forget the reason for their work: Jesus.
“Think about the joy you give Jesus when you bring to him people that he longs to love and know," Archbishop Vigneron said. "That is why I get up every morning and am happy to be a priest. That’s my way of looking at where we are, where we’ve been, and the future you will have under Archbishop Weisenburger’s leadership."
Archbishop Vigneron said he's "very grateful" to Pope Francis for sending the Tucson bishop to Detroit "to be your principal pastor."
Archbishop-designate Weisenburger gave a few parting words to Detroit's curia staff as he prepares to head back to Arizona to finish his ministry in the Diocese of Tucson over the next five weeks, encouraging his new coworkers to boldly move forward with confidence and hope in their ministries.
“When John Paul II was elected pope, he stepped out, and his first words, I believe, were, ‘Do not be afraid,’” Archbishop-designate Weisenburger recalled. “Fear always takes us where we don’t want to go."
The answer to fear, he said, is love — a quality profoundly Christian and one he hopes to make a cornerstone of his ministry. "Perfect love casts out fear,” Archbishop-designate Weisenburger said, repeating a phrase he used in his press conference the day before.
As the Church moves forward in "new ways of living the faith," the archbishop-designate encouraged his new coworkers to keep this love, which comes principally from Jesus, in mind.
"This is a call that wells up directly from our Lord, and it's how we will lead the Church in the future," he said.
