New Ulm Diocese ready to welcome bishop

Event has

happened only twice before

By KEVIN SWEENEY

Journal Editor

NEW ULM -- The installation of a new bishop is an event that has happened only twice before in the history of the New Ulm Diocese. But Diocesan officials have been planning and working hard to make sure that the installation Monday of Bishop John C. Nienstedt comes off with the well-oiled precision befitting the welcome of a new spiritual leader.

Much of the work has fallen on Fr. Anthony Stubeda, Director of the Office of Hispanic Relations with the diocese. He's volunteered to be the coordinator and overseer for the celebration, a job that would seen to tax the most experienced protocol officer.

The guest list, for example is a short who's who of the Catholic hierarchy in America. Four cardinals will be in attendance. Two Papal Nuncios (Pope John Paul II's ambassadors to the United States and to the Dominican Republic) will be here. About 40 bishops and archbishops and over 100 priests will be in attendance, representing dioceses and archdioceses in 18 states.

Government representatives, academic leaders and ecumenical leaders will be in attendance as well.

Fr. Stubeda has the job of arranging lodgings, transportation, food, banquet reservations and all the thousands of other details that go into such an event.

The size of the expected audience led Diocesan officials to hold Monday's installation ceremony at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Sleepy Eye, rather than the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm, the bishop's official church. The Cathedral holds 600 people, while St. Mary's holds 1,000. Even with the extra seating, the interest in the installation requires that the events are by invitation only.

The New Ulm community is invited, however, to an open house on Sunday, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Turner Hall to meet Bishop Nienstedt. The bishop will be greeted by a salute from the New Ulm Battery, and welcoming statements from Mayor Arnold Koelpin. Bill O'Connor will be maste of ceremonies for the event. Music will be provided by the Concord Singers, Jeff Franta Band and Johnny Helget.

Bishop Nienstedt and his invited guests will have dinner together at the Holiday Inn Sunday evening, followed by a celebration of Solemn Vespers at the Cathedral Sunday.

Vespers, Fr. Stubeda explained, is the evening prayer ceremony of the church, part of its daily order of prayers. The service includes the reading of psalms, singing of hymns, and a simple explanation of the scriptures. It's a simple ceremony asking for God's blessing, said Fr. Stubeda. A reception for the attendees will be held after the service at the Cathedral.

The events move to Sleepy Eye on Monday, with an 11 a.m. pre-installation luncheon at the Orchid Inn.

The Installation Ceremony begins at 2 p.m. at St. Mary's.

The ceremony starts with a grand procession. Representatives of the diocesan offices and organizations, lay groups and parishes in the diocese will lead the procession, followed the priests, the bishops, the cardinals and papal nuncios.

When all are seated, the doors of the church are closed, and Bishop Nienstedt will come to the door. He will knock at the door, a symbol of his wish to enter the diocesan community. He will be admitted by Fr. John G. Berger, the diocesan administrator who has been overseeing the diocese since Bishop Raymond Lucker's retirement last November, and others of the diocesan advisory council.

Bishop Nienstedt will present his credentials, a letter from the pope announcing his appointment to the New Ulm Diocese.

When the bishop is escorted into the church, celebration of the Mass of the Holy Eucharist will begin, led by Archbishop Harry J. Flynn, assisted by the Papal Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Gabriel Montlavo. After the homily, given by Bishop Nienstedt, the bishop's installation will be held. Archbishops Flynn and Montalvo will read the letter of appointment. The bishop will be officially seated in the Bishop's Chair, the symbol of his office.

Bishop Raymond Lucker will not be at the ceremony due to his health, but he will be represented symbolically. The bishop's crook that Bishop Nienstedt carries, the hook-shaped staff symbolic of the bishop's role as shepherd of his diocese, will be the same crook that Bishop Lucker used.

After the installation, Bishop Nienstedt will take over the celebration of the mass assisted by Archbishop Montalvo.

After the mass, a reception will be held at St. Mary's, and a banquet will be held at the Orchid Inn at 6 p.m.

Guests to attend Bishop Nienstedt's installation

A short list of the guests who will be attending the installation of Bishop John C. Nienstedt, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit, as bishop of New Ulm:

Cardinals

Cardinal Adam Maida, archbishop of Detroit.

Cardinal Edmund Szoka, Governor of the Vatican, formerly of the Archdiocese of Detroit

Cardinal William Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore

Cardinal James Hickey, retired Archbishop of Washington D.C.

Apostolic Nuncios

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, Apostolic Nuncio to the Dominican Republic

Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States

Bishops and Archbishops

Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Bishop Victor H. Balke of the Crookston Diocese

Bishop Bernard J. Harrington, Bishop of the Winona Diocese

Bishop John F. Kinney, Bishop of the St. Cloud Diocese

Bishop Dennis M. Schnurr, Bishop of the Duluth Diocese

Bishop William H. Bullock of the Madison, Wis., Diocese

Bishop Robert F. Carlson of the Sioux Falls, S.D. Diocese

Bishop Blase J. Cupich of the Rapid City, S.D. Diocese

Bishop Paul A. Zipfel of the Diocese of Bismarck, N.D.

Archbishop Justin Rigall of the Archdiocese of St. Louis

Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien, Military Service USA

(A total of 40 bishops, archbishops and auxiliary bishops will be in attendance.)