ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Your Eminence Cardinal Bevilacqua, my beloved predecessor in this historic See of Philadelphia,

Dear Members of the College of Cardinals:

From Rome: Cardinal Schotte, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops,

From the United States: Cardinal Law, Cardinal Mahony, Cardinal Keeler, Cardinal McCarrick,

Your Excellency Archbishop Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio, representing our Holy Father Pope John Paul II,

Bishop Gregory, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,

Dear Auxiliary Bishops and Retired Bishops of Philadelphia: Bishop Maginnis, Bishop Burbidge, Bishop Lohmuller, Bishop

DeSimone, Archbishop Soroka, Archbishop of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of

Philadelphia, Archbishop Foley and Archbishop Adams: Sons of Philadelphia in the service of the Apostolic See,

Brother Bishops of the Province of Philadelphia and from throughout the United States and beyond,

Dear brother Priests of the presbyterate of Philadelphia, of Religious Congregations and those who have accompanied me from St. Louis,

Dear Permanent Deacons, Seminarians and Religious,

Dear Faithful of the Laity, Brothers and Sisters of the Ecumenical and Interfaith Community, Civic Officials, Members of my family,

Dear Friends,

On this feast of the Holy Rosary the Church of Philadelphia, like the Church of Jerusalem, portrayed in the Acts of the Apostles which we have just heard proclaimed, gathers in prayer with the Apostles and with the Mother of Jesus. We experience the loving care of Mary, whom we acknowledge as the Mother of Jesus--the Incarnate Word--and therefore the Mother of God. We also experience communion with the Successor of Peter and with all those throughout the world in communion with him, since it is he, Pope John Paul II, who sends me to serve this local Church as Archbishop. To him goes the expression of our prayerful support and fidelity.

The spiritual presence of all God's Angels and Saints, especially of Saint Joseph and Saints Peter and Paul, supports us as we gather as a community of prayer and worship, a community of faith and love committed to the service of each other and to our brothers and sisters far beyond our boundaries.

I acknowledge with gratitude the ecumenical presence of our brothers and sisters who assemble with us in proclaiming and honoring Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. With the Catholic Church everywhere, the Church of Philadelphia renews its commitment to work and pray perseveringly for the fulfillment of Christ's prayer for the perfect unity of all His followers.

We are grateful to our brothers and sisters of different faiths for the solidarity of their presence today and for their commitment here in Philadelphia to work together to promote God's glory, especially by furthering His plan for human dignity. I renew my warm and respectful greetings to our Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu brothers and sisters and to all of the interfaith community. May your presence here today be long acknowledged as a splendid witness in our society to the primacy of God.

The presence of civic officials is most appreciated, for both civic and religious authorities are at the service of our people. It is my hope that in mutual respect, esteem and collaboration we may serve the cause of the human person, which is the work of God.

Permit me to reflect for a few moments on the meaning of our gathering and the reality of this local Church of Philadelphia, which is so much a part of the history of this region and of the United States. Our gathering today is understood only in the context of historical continuity and ecclesial unity. I come to this important Archdiocese of Philadelphia from another beloved and historic local Church, the Archdiocese of St. Louis, which has been my home and the place of my pastoral labors for over nine and a half years. Church of St. Louis: I greet you once again with immense affection and the deepest gratitude and love. The same Pope John Paul II who sent me to St. Louis now sends me in the name of Jesus Christ to the Church of Philadelphia. The reason I come is the same: as a Bishop of the Catholic Church I come to proclaim Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world. I come to proclaim His liberating and uplifting Gospel of merciful love, and to serve in His name. And it is to you, dear brothers and sisters of this Archdiocese, that I now commit my life and pastoral service.

The reality of our being a local Church with vibrant parishes is a sublime truth. All of us are indeed called to be--in the context of the Catholic Church--one body, one spirit in Christ. Today in God's providence we celebrate a new chapter in the story of God's love for His people in the Delaware Valley. We are called to make a new commitment to Jesus Christ, and with the help of Mary, His Mother and ours, to be more faithful to Him than we have ever been before. This is the hour for us to renew our thanksgiving for the gift of our Baptism and Confirmation, for the gift of our individual vocation and for all our other gifts, and to accept with new urgency the responsibility of our mission as disciples of Jesus Christ. This means that we must turn constantly to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the teachings of the Church that proclaim and apply this Gospel, especially the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We are called to be worthy members of Christ's Body, the Church, and to live in the realization of what it truly means to be one body, one spirit in Christ. How challenging this is, but how comforting and reassuring to know that whatever joys and sorrows, whatever problems and hopes we will face in the future, we are resolved to do so in the loving unity and mutual support of our archdiocesan family.

In less than two weeks, Philadelphia will celebrate with the whole Church an event that can have a great impact on the way we understand ourselves and our mission. I am referring to the Beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. In this regard, permit me to share with you a cherished personal experience. Some years ago Mother Teresa received an award of international recognition. On that occasion there was a ceremony in the Vatican. The Holy Father wished to draw attention, in the presence of a group of distinguished diplomats, to the dedicated work of Mother Teresa. Before the ceremony I had the occasion to talk with Mother Teresa and I asked her what she would be speaking about. She smiled and responded, "Oh, I don't know," she said. And then she added, "All I know is that I will be speaking about Jesus." And she did just that.

But who is the Jesus whom Mother Teresa spoke about, the Jesus whom she knew and loved and served so well? To answer this, may I share with you a second personal experience that took place some years ago in India, in the City of Calcutta. I was privileged to accompany Pope John Paul II on the pastoral visit that took him not only to Calcutta but into the very home of Mother Teresa. It was a very special place because it was a home for the dying. From this place Mother Teresa and her Sisters went out everyday to the streets of Calcutta to bring in the dying--people who had lived so much of their lives without the recognition of their human dignity. At least the day they died they powerfully experienced the acknowledgment of this human dignity. And through Mother Teresa and her Sisters they came to know a human love that had its origin in Jesus.

In the chapel Mother Teresa and the Holy Father knelt together before the Blessed Sacrament, acknowledging the true sacramental presence of Jesus: His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity under the form of bread. But then they moved among the dying and acknowledged once again a different but real presence of Jesus. As they bent over or knelt before each dying person they acclaimed the mysterious presence of the same Jesus who had once and for all assured us that whatever we did to the least of His brothers or sisters we did to Him. This spirituality of Mother Teresa--which is also that of Pope John Paul II--is being held up before the world. It is also a cherished part of what the Church in Philadelphia holds and stands for.

This Church of Philadelphia is a community of faith and worship of Jesus Christ, with a magnificent Eucharistic tradition, including the Forty Hours Devotion, so providentially promoted by our own Saint John Neumann. At the same time it is a community of love and service that expresses itself in outreach, so beautifully exemplified by our own Saint Katharine Drexel, to all those whom Jesus refers to as "me." The Church of Philadelphia is a Church, which glories in diversity and in unity of faith. It has welcomed and continues to welcome immigrants. It serves Jesus Christ in the poor, the sick, the homeless and the needy. We are deeply grateful for the outstanding tradition in this Archdiocese of diverse charitable activities and of Catholic health care. In this vast outreach of collaboration and service Jesus Himself is proclaimed and His Gospel lived.

On this joyful occasion there emerges once again the deep commitment of the Church of Philadelphia. It is a commitment expressed in the journey to holiness and archdiocesan renewal, long since begun. It is a commitment, as the recent Tenth Synod shows, how the will to work together to evangelize, to bear witness to Jesus--to be a more efficient Church, but also a holier Church--is part of the reality of our local Church.

In union with the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world, under the pastoral care of Pope John Paul II and especially of our chief Pastor, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church of Philadelphia is a community rich in the history of our nation, a community deeply indebted to all its past Bishops, and most recently to Cardinal Bevilacqua for his generous pastoral service over the past fifteen years. Cardinal Bevilacqua: all of us thank you again for your tireless work and splendid witness to Jesus Christ.

I wish also to acknowledge the outstanding tradition of the dedicated priests of Philadelphia. The Church is extremely proud of all the faithful and generous priests who have served this community for years. Dear brother priests, permit me to repeat to you what I told the priests of St. Louis: "Be assured of my fraternal love and esteem and my desire to be close to you in the joys and difficulties, the hopes and challenges of your pastoral ministry and of your personal response to the love of God that has been poured out into your hearts. You mean everything to me. Without you my ministry cannot exist because Jesus has willed it so."

The Church of Philadelphia is likewise proud of the dedicated permanent deacons who in their ministry express the sacramental servanthood of the Church.

The history of this Archdiocese from its first days is also intimately linked with the generosity of religious Congregations. There is no way that their contribution can be forgotten. Their work of faith and labor of love has contributed immensely to make the Church of Philadelphia what it is today. An essential part of this contribution has been the intercessory prayer of the contemplatives.

Our seminarians, called by Christ to a life of joyful service and sacrifice, are absolutely essential for the future of our presbyterate, but their present witness to the power of the Paschal Mystery is already a great gift to the Archdiocese. Dear seminarians: you are called upon to testify to the world by the holiness and integrity of your lives that Jesus Christ is powerful enough to sustain you in fidelity to authentic celibate love. Your presence in the local Church reminds our people of the urgent need and archdiocesan priority to work and pray for vocations to the sacred priesthood.

This is a Church proud of its communion with the See of Peter, with the Bishop of Rome, and with the universal Church throughout the world. This is a Church that will always, in fidelity to the Second Vatican Council, look to the Eucharist as the source and summit of Christian life. The Church of Philadelphia is conscious and will always be conscious that evangelization, in the words of Pope Paul VI, constitutes its deepest identity. This is likewise a day of renewed commitment to our outstanding tradition of Catholic education.

How grateful we are to all the educators that commit themselves to the mission of the Church with great love, effort and sacrifice. How fortunate is this local Church to have Catholic education--generously sustained by the people of God at all levels of primary, secondary and university education--offer great hope for the Church and society of tomorrow. The extraordinary resources of many Catholic universities with their institutional commitment to the word of God as proclaimed by the Catholic Church are able to exert an enormous influence towards the creation of true culture where life is protected, promoted, served and loved, and where respect for human dignity sustains and empowers the collaboration of all people of good will. In proclaiming human dignity, the Church of Philadelphia renews its commitment to defend human life against whatever wounds weakens or destroys it at any stage. It also renews its resolve and its efforts for the protection of children against whatever would harm them, abuse them or violate their sacred dignity.

How fortunate we are to have such large numbers of youth and young adults in this Archdiocese, with all their generosity and dynamism, ready to be called again to live and promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Dear young people, with John Paul II I call you to the highest ideals of life in Christ!

A great challenge for all of us, dear friends, is the challenge of integrity of life in fidelity to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a challenge to holiness and to generous and humble service in which God's mercy is our constant inspiration. As weak human beings we are aware of the importance of the words of the Apostle John: "If we say, 'We are without sin,' we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.... If we say, 'We have not sinned,' we make him a liar and his word is not in us" (1 Jn 1:8,10). Especially because we are conscious of our own limitations, our weaknesses and our sins, we take seriously Saint Paul's exhortation: "Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2).

Dear friends, our Church started with the Incarnation as described in the Gospel today. The Word of God took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and He who was the Son of the Eternal Father became the Son of Mary. And at that moment He took on a relationship with all those who in the course of history would share humanity with Him. Our spirituality is then the spirituality of the Incarnation since "the Word became flesh." It is the spirituality of Saint John Neumann and Saint Katharine Drexel. It is a spirituality that acknowledges that human suffering has salvific value because Jesus suffered. This spirituality in our lives involves the journey to holiness, to which we recommit ourselves today. It is a journey in which all of us--husbands and wives, parents, families, children, the widowed, single people, clergy and religious--commit ourselves to walk together. How grateful we are to the elderly for the dignity and devotion with which, like Pope John Paul II, they prayerfully bear the burdens of age and thus contribute greatly to the mission of the Church.

In this new moment in the life of this Archdiocese of Philadelphia, we set our hope on the living God (cf.Tm 4:10), on His Son Jesus Christ and on the power of the Holy Spirit. We humbly pray: "Jesus, we trust in you!" And we confidently invoke Mary, His Mother and ours, under her title of the Immaculate Conception.

Finally, permit me, as your new Archbishop, to entrust you all to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in a pastoral act which I ask you to ratify personally in consecrating your own lives to her and, through her, to her beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.