Pittsburgh Catholic Newspaper - News and Features

News & Features

Bishop Hebda says Gaylord appointment was answer to prayer
archived from: 2009-12-14
by: MARK HANEY

Group from Pittsburgh attends episcopal ordination celebration

GAYLORD, Mich. — As much as he enjoyed the last 13 years working at the Vatican, the new bishop of Gaylord said he had been praying God would bring him home to be closer to his family.

“I have been praying for some time that the Lord would work out a way to bring me home from Rome to serve for a few years as a pastor in the diocese where my parents and family live in Florida,” Bishop Bernard Hebda said in his remarks at his episcopal ordination Mass Dec. 1 at St. Mary Cathedral.

A native of Pittsburgh and a priest of that diocese, he went to Rome in 1996 when he was appointed to work at what is now called the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. In 2003, he was named its undersecretary, his post when he was appointed to Gaylord in October.

“As much as I love the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the years of separation from my family were weighing on my heart,” he said before a cathedral filled with priests, friends, relatives and people from the diocese and an altar surrounded by bishops from Michigan and around the world.

“I soon found myself dreaming about a little parish amidst the palm trees. Never has prayer been so easy. As I prayed I could almost sense the gentle breeze coming off the Gulf of Mexico,” he said.

But as the months passed, he decided he might be tying God’s hands so he began praying, “Dear Lord, send me wherever you want, even if it is east of that highway that runs the length of Florida (Interstate 75).” Soon after he was named bishop of Gaylord, he said, “with a cathedral just a stone’s throw from I-75.”

“Talk about the power of prayer,” added the 50-year-old bishop. “I stand here before you this afternoon grateful for this reminder that our best plans are for naught if they are not rooted in God’s will.”

A sizable group from Pittsburgh, including Bishop David Zubik, made the journey by bus to northern Michigan for the ordination celebration.

Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit was the principal consecrator and celebrant of the ordination Mass. The co-consecrators were the new bishop’s predecessor, retired Bishop Patrick Cooney and Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, which is responsible for the interpretation of canon law.

In his remarks, Archbishop Vigneron told Bishop Hebda he has come to a diocese “that was blessed from the very beginning by the ministry of the great missionary Bishop (Frederic) Baraga. I pray that God will guide you as much as he guided Bishop Baraga.”

A Slovenian-born priest, then-Father Frederic Baraga ministered to Native Americans in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and was the founding bishop of the Diocese of Marquette, Mich. He died in 1868.

The archbishop also addressed the new bishop’s parents and other family members, who included several young nieces and nephews, and assured them they do not have to worry about him.

“We promise you that we will treat your son and your brother and your uncle with great love and affection,” he said.

Bishop Hebda returned the affection, thanking all of the people in the diocese who were on hand, the staff that worked to organize the Mass and for the warm welcome he has received.

“I have been thanking God that my parents and family were able to be with me this day,” he said.

“I so much wanted them to experience the warmth of this local church so they will be able to go back to Florida without worrying about me.” he added.

He thanked the bishops “who have taught me so much about what it means to be a shepherd,” citing, among others, Bishop Zubik and Bishop Leonard Blair of Toledo, Ohio.

Bishop Hebda also acknowledged in the congregation friends he has known since college and from his law school days at Columbia University, saying they keep him grounded.

The Diocese of Gaylord, established in 1971, is one of seven dioceses in the state of Michigan. The total population of the area exceeds 514,000. Of that number, more than 76,000 are Catholics; they are served by 81 parishes, 17 Catholic schools and related institutions.

E-mail this story