Ordination of Bishop Paul Etienne

Update from Cheyenne #3

By Sean Gallagher

The trip to Cheyenne for the ordination of Bishop Paul Etienne was quite a whirlwind.  We arrived about three hours before the liturgy began.  And between getting out of the airport, getting our rooms arranged at the hotel at which we were staying and changing clothes for the Mass, there was little time left for relaxation before the ordination.

It took place in the Cheyenne Civic Center, an auditorium that seats about 1,600 people.  I understand that this location was chosen for the ordination because the diocese’s cathedral does not seat that many and, in any case, is currently undergoing restoration work.

The liturgy was a joyful event.  Catholics from across Wyoming and Indiana were there to participate in it.  They were joined by Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles and many other bishops.  Included among them were Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, the principal consecrator of Bishop Etienne and Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein and Bishop David Ricken, his co-consecrators.  Bishop Ricken, who now leads the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisc., is Bishop Etienne’s immediate predecessor in Cheyenne.

Also present was Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the apostolic nuncio to the United States.  He was there as the formal representative of Pope Benedict XVI.

At the start of the liturgy, Archbishop Chaput interestingly compared the theology of what it means to be a good bishop to the theology of marriage.  Archbishop Sambi then spoke and referred to a homily that Pope Benedict recently gave at an episcopal ordination in which he exhorted the new bishops to be bearers of Christ’s healing.  He also read the apostolic letter that formally appointed then-Father Etienne as the next bishop of Cheyenne.

Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Fla. gave the homily at the ordination.  He and Bishop Etienne worked together at the bishops’ conference more than 20 years ago when Bishop Etienne was still a layman.  It was a heartfelt and humorous homily.

The elaborate rituals involved in the ordination were beautiful.  Many of them are also seen in the more frequently celebrated ordination to the priesthood: the ordinand laying prostrate during the praying of the litany of the saints, the laying on of hands, the anointing with chrism, the handing on of the symbols of the office and the sign of peace.

However, there are certain aspects of the ordination to the episcopate that is unique to it alone.  Only bishops lay hands on the man to be ordained a bishop.  His head is anointed with oil, not his hands. And instead of a chalice and paten that are ritually given to the new priest, a book of the Gospels, a ring, a miter and a crosier are given to the new bishop.  Then he takes his seat in the bishop’s seat, the cathedra, for the first time.

Representatives of the diocese’s presbyterate, diaconal community, seminarians and religious communities all greeted the new bishop during the liturgy.  They were followed by representatives of other faith communities and civic leaders.

The liturgy of the eucharist proceeded forward as usual with Bishop Etienne serving as the primary celebrant.  After communion, Bishop Etienne walked up and down the aisles of the auditorium to give his blessing to all those present while they applauded him and he smiled from ear to ear.  It seemed like a “victory lap” at the end of a race.

Bishop Etienne then addressed those present.  He thanked his family and, filled with emotion, expressed his love for his parents.  Bishop Etienne then spoke to the faithful in the Church in Wyoming, expressing his hope to join them on a journey in the months and years to come to know better Jesus better.

A reception at another hotel in Cheyenne then followed.  When Bishop Etienne arrived, it seemed that he couldn’t make it past the foyer into the reception hall because one person or group of people after another came up to him to chat with him and have their picture taken with him.

The reception went well into the evening.  Bishop Etienne then had a dinner with priests and other guests.  Several from the group who came on the archdiocese’s chartered flight returned to our hotel where we had a dinner that did not conclude until after 9 p.m., thus ending a very long but joy-filled and faith-filled day.

Look for extensive coverage of the episcopal ordination of Bishop Paul Etienne in the Dec. 18 issue of The Criterion.  A photo gallery from the ordination can be viewed here.