Detroit's new archbishop a caring leader who listens, coworkers and friends say

Clergy and lay leaders praise Archbishop-designate Weisenburger’s preference for collaboration and humanizing decisions

TUCSON — Priests, bishops and lay leaders across the Southwest attest to Archbishop-designate Edward J. Weisenburger’s synodal approach to leading the Church in Tucson, Arizona.

Archbishop-designate Weisenburger has a history of building relationships with diverse faith communities, collaborating with other Catholic bishops on pastoral priorities related to the common good and care for the vulnerable, and intently listening to priests, lay leaders and experts while discerning the good of the Church.

On Feb. 11, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop-designate Weisenburger, who has served as Tucson's bishop since 2017, as Detroit's sixth archbishop. He will be installed on March 18.

Detroit's future shepherd is known as a leader who listens, empathizes with people and communicates the reasoning behind his decisions, said Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the metropolitan of the Santa Fe ecclesiastical province, which includes the Diocese of Tucson.

“Archbishop Weisenburger's style kind of coincides nicely to Pope Francis' synodal vision for the Church,” Archbishop Wester told Detroit Catholic in a phone interview. “Archbishop Weisenburger always wants to know what people are saying, what the priests are saying, what the deacons and their wives are saying, and what the religious and the lay faithful are saying. He listens to them, discerns their input and discerns what the Holy Spirit is saying.”

When the bishops of the Southwest get together to discuss the Church’s priorities, particularly the plight of migrants and immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and the work of various Catholic organizations to resettle immigrants, Archbishop-designate Weisenburger always feels it is important to frame the Church’s position in the Gospel's care for the vulnerable, Archbishop Wester said.

“In our meetings, it is very clear he’s concerned with unity,” Archbishop Wester said. “Unity has always been close to Archbishop Weisenburger’s heart, that sense of people coming together and breaking down the walls of division. When issues came up in the province or in the Church in the United States, he always attends those issues with a sense of how we can work together, how we help others, and how we come together in the community.”

A leader who listens

When Archbishop-designate Weisenburger arrived in the Diocese of Tucson after previously serving as bishop of Salina, Kansas, from 2012-17, he didn’t know anyone in Tucson, but quickly went to work getting to know his priests and the various leaders of the Church in Arizona, said Bishop Emeritus Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Archbishop-designate Weisenburger’s predecessor, who still lives in Tucson.

Bishop Kicanas expects it will be similar when he arrives in Detroit.

“He is someone who has a deep interest in building good and positive relationships with his priests,” Bishop Kicanas said. “He’s very attentive to the priests here, especially those who are struggling or having some challenges, be it illness or anything else. He’s very present to them, very interested and concerned for them. He sees his brother priests, deacons, religious and laity as coworkers. He doesn’t make decisions unilaterally, but only after discussion and reflection.”

Bishop Kicanas said Archbishop-designate Weisenburger’s greatest strength as a leader in the Diocese of Tucson has been an openness to the ideas of others.

Archbishop-designate Weisenburger has a knack for taking in information, assessing a situation, making a decision and being able to communicate that decision in a clear manner, building consensus and inviting people to a greater understanding, Bishop Kicanas said.

“When he came to Tucson, he respected what was going on and began to explore ways the diocese could continue to enhance its mission,” Bishop Kicanas said. “For instance, the diocese has always been a border diocese; we’ve always had ministries for asylum seekers and people fleeing violence and escaping poverty. He understood the work that was already happening, and in the past seven and a half years, it's an issue that has become near and dear to his heart."

“I think Bishop Weisenburger is the kind of leader who will look at the Archdiocese of Detroit, see what’s already happening, and then roll up his sleeves and continue the work,” Bishop Kicanas added.

Elizabeth Bollinger is the executive director of the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson, the fundraising arm of the diocese that takes on capital campaign projects and the Annual Catholic Appeal in the Tucson diocese.

Over the past several years, Bollinger has worked closely with Archbishop-designate Weisenburger on capital campaigns to support parishes in very poor areas of the diocese and on renewing the Newman Center at the University of Arizona.

“Archbishop Weisenburger is a really easy person to work with; he’s very easy to contact whenever we needed something for the campaign,” Bollinger said. “He was always available, very professional and yet very approachable. We worked closely to get a project off the ground for the Newman Center, and he had such a great communication style that was open, frank and honest, convincing our donors why the Newman Center was so important and a cause worth supporting for our Church."

Bollinger also appreciates Archbishop-designate Weisenburger’s leadership style, putting trusted people in key positions and letting them handle whatever task is needed for the Church.

“Archbishop Weisenburger makes really good hires,” Bollinger said. “He gets good people, puts a good team around him, and has the faith and trust in those people to get the job done.”

A heart for those in need

Priests across the Diocese of Tucson credit Archbishop-designate Weisenburger with being a good listener and understanding of the joys and challenges a priest experiences in daily ministry. When a priest is in the hospital or is very sick, Archbishop-designate Weisenburger often personally visits, even if it means driving for hours across the vast diocese.

“He’s got a shepherd’s heart. He really cares about people and their spiritual well-being,” said Msgr. Greg Adolf, pastor of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Sierra Vista, Ariz., and of St. Patrick Parish in Bisbee, Ariz.

Msgr. Adolf said Archbishop-designate Weisenburger's passion for the priesthood shows in his interactions with clergy of the Tucson diocese, who appreciate his warm, pastoral approach.

“During priests meetings, he’s always asking how we are doing; he has a great concern for the spiritual wellbeing of priests. He wants us to be well because he isn’t about maintaining the Church; he’s about looking at ways we can go forward, and he knows we can’t do that if we’re not enriched ourselves, so we can enrich the people we’re called to serve,” Msgr. Adolf said.

In the civic discourse surrounding immigration policy and the Church’s aid to people who have just arrived in the country, Archbishop-designate Weisenburger has made it a point to focus on the facts on the ground and the mission of the Church, Msgr. Adolf said.

"He takes the temperature down in the room, and that makes him very accessible," Msgr. Adolf said. "He communicates what we value as a Church, how we treat one another, and how we treat those we disagree with. I think that’s what makes him a very good leader; he is collegial and asks for the opinions of other priests and lay leaders, and when he makes a decision, he explains the decision. He’s probably one of the smartest people I’ve ever known.”

Elena Dwyre, CEO of Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona, the charitable arm of the Diocese of Tucson, meets twice a month with Archbishop-designate Weisenburger to keep up with the latest developments in the organization, including its recent opening of the area's first medical respite program for individuals who are experiencing homelessness and have recently been discharged from the hospital.

The center serves as a point of contact for people to receive behavioral health support and connects them to social services to address the underlying causes of their homelessness.

"Archbishop Weisenburger offers incredible support and is understanding of the work we're doing and why we're doing it," Dwyre said. "He's very involved in making sure we support all the community in our area, reaching out to all the parishes in our diocese to let them know who we are and the services we provide."

Archbishop-designate Weisenburger is concerned with "making sure the most vulnerable are getting services, whether it's seniors in the streets who are homeless or children who are being abused at home," Dwyre added. "He is very involved in immigration and helping in the legal process surrounding asylum, looking at it from a humanitarian aspect, making sure those individuals receive the services they need."

Dwyre echoed what many in the Diocese of Tucson told Detroit Catholic: that the Archdiocese of Detroit is receiving a compassionate leader who understands the pastoral nature required in order to lead, govern and evangelize.

A leader who will be sorely missed in southern Arizona.

“I think the Archdiocese of Detroit is blessed to have a leader like Archbishop Weisenburger,” Dwyre said. “I’ve known him for two years now, and he is always available to you, no matter the day, no matter the time. He’ll listen, and he’ll do what’s best. He’s someone who leads by example, and while we’re all happy for Detroit, we’re sad to see him go.”