Archbishop Wester celebrates his last day in Salt Lake City

Friday, Jun. 05, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY – The Most Rev. John C. Wester said goodbye to the Diocese of Salt Lake City on Trinity Sunday, May 31, by doing what he loves: celebrating Mass in The Cathedral of the Madeleine, then thanking all those he has met during his eight years as the Catholic bishop of Utah.

The Mass was an emotional event for the archbishop, who almost came to tears at the end of his homily. Then, after receiving roses from Catholic schoolchildren during the Presentation of the Gifts, he took another deep breath, as though collecting himself, before beginning the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

The evening reception at Little America also touched him. At the end of the presentations, the archbishop said, “I’m not going to give a talk, I’m just going to say thank you. My heart is very, very full right now, and when that happens it’s best that I just say thank you quickly.” 

The theme of thankfulness carried over from his remarks at the 11 a.m. Mass in the Cathedral of the Madeleine, which he began by explaining the “trait in the Wester family of crying at emotional moments,” and warning that he might not be able to finish his homily because of it.

The Mass was concelebrated by Sulpician Father Ronald Witherup, superior general of the Society of the Priests of St. Sulpice, who was visiting; Monsignor Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general of the Diocese of Salt Lake City; Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general emeritus; the Very Rev. Martin Diaz, pastor of the Cathedral of the Madeleine; and numerous priests of the diocese.

Attending were many women religious, members of the Knights of Columbus, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, and representatives of various diocesan councils and committees, as well as other lay faithful.

Devoting most of his homily to the theme of the Holy Trinity, Archbishop Wester described a particular Sacrament of Confirmation celebration. In answer to the question of why he chose his sponsor, one young man answered that his older brother was his sponsor because “Oh, I don’t know. I just love him.’”

With that, the older brother put his younger brother in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles into his head, said Archbishop Wester, as the congregation laughed. 

Had he known what the boy’s response would be, “I would have skipped the homily, because he said it all, because that’s what the Trinity is all about. It’s about love,” the archbishop said.

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament reveal elements of the Trinity, Archbishop Wester said. “We see that God is, in his very nature, relational, that in order to speak about God we must speak about Father, Son and Holy Spirit in this communion – this hypostatic union, as the theologians say – that knows no bounds and that is beyond our wildest imagination. We see that God is at once mysterious, transcendent, and all-powerful and awe-inspiring, and we can only stand humbly and give thanks and praise for such a wonderful God.”

However, God also communicates revelation and redemption, with the Son of God communicating this love to us, and then the Father and the Son send “us the Holy Spirit to create a place in our hearts so that we can receive this trinity of persons, this loving god, into our lives,” he said.

“As I prepare my way now to go to Santa Fe, I realize that these beautiful Trinitarian concepts and themes have been very much a part of our time together,” he said. “You, the people of God in this beautiful Diocese of Salt Lake City, have helped me to grow as a person and as a bishop, and I will be forever grateful.”

The faithful have reminded him to cherish the gift of faith, and he saw firsthand “wonderful expressions of faith in this portion of the vineyard,” he said, adding that “there’s a tremendous spirit of giving … done in a great spirit of joy and enthusiasm and gratitude.”

Quoting T.S. Eliot, “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time,” the archbishop said the line “recognizes two essential qualities of our lives of faith in relation to the Holy Trinity, and that is we are at home – that’s our starting place with God and one another – and that we’re also on a journey. Like Christ, we are called to communicate this starting place to others. But Eliot is insightful. No matter where we go on the journey,” here the archbishop’s voice broke, and he paused.

“I warned you,” he said, then paused again before continuing with his thought, “We must always come back to our starting place. For me, this is my starting place. If I could, I would give you all a headlock and tell you that I love you.”

As he left the ambo, the archbishop received a standing ovation from the priests, deacons and congregation.