Archbishop Wester installed in Santa Fe

Friday, Jun. 12, 2015

SANTA FE — On the evening of June 3, the Most Rev. John C. Wester stood in the blazing sun outside the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Using a mallet adorned with a spray of flowers, he knocked three times on the door, requesting entrance to his new cathedral and beginning the ceremonies that would install him as head of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

Pope Francis appointed him as the archbishop on April 28; for the previous eight years he had served as Bishop of Salt Lake City. 

When the cathedral door opened, the setting sun cast long shadows into the vestibule, where the Most Rev. Michael J. Sheehan waited to present his successor with the archiepiscopal cross, one of the many rituals that accompanied the installation of the 12th Archbishop of Santa Fe.

The ceremonies included the June 3 vespers service that began with Archbishop Wester’s knock at the basilica door, and the Mass of Installation the next day, which was attended by the Most Rev. Carlo Maria Viganó, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America; Roger Cardinal Mahony, Archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles; William Cardinal Levada, Prefect emeritus of The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; 31 bishops and two abbots as well as hundreds of priests and deacons, men and women religious, family members and the lay faithful. Present, too, were many representatives of the ecumenical and interfaith communities, including Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Right Rev. Scott B. Hayashi, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, both of whom are friends of Archbishop Wester.

Among those at vespers was a former student, Steve Stranzl, who now lives in Boise, Idaho; and his mother, Judy Stranzl, who resides in near San Francisco, Archbishop Wester’s hometown.

“He’s such a dear,” Judy Stranzl said of the archbishop. “At Easter, the phone rings, there he is.” 

“I’m very grateful that he’s the one”

At the vespers service, Archbishop Sheehan presented Archbishop Wester with a pectoral cross crafted of turquoise and silver, materials traditional to New Mexico.   

“I thank God for Archbishop-elect John Wester,” Archbishop Sheehan said. “I prayed that he would be the one who would succeed me, ... so I’m grateful, I’m very grateful, that he’s the one that is here.” 

Many of the archdiocese’s lay faithful echo his sentiments.

“We’ve been praying for him,” said Royanne Schissel, who with her husband Larry belong to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Although “we’ve had such a great bishop with Archbishop Michael,” she said, Archbishop Wester has a different emphasis, “and I think that that’s going to be interesting to see how that plays out. … I like the twinkle in his eye.” 

With the deep faith, humility and humor that marked his eight years as Bishop of Salt Lake City, Archbishop Wester used his homily at the vespers service to reflect on the example of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was beatified May 23, and the Gospel reading from 1Peter. 

Both St. Peter and Archbishop Romero were generous and humble in their service, and suffered in their ministry, Archbishop Wester said. He asked that those present pray that he, too, “will be humble, relying only on the Lord for strength and seeking only his honor and glory and the good of this holy Church. … will be generous and help others, and give completely and fully of myself for you …” 

He began his homily by joking that when he visited New Mexico to announce his assignment, Archbishop Sheehan gave him a copy of Death Comes to the Archbishop – a fictional account of the founding of the archdiocese – and “now you’ve given me a cross to wear, so I’m starting to detect a pattern here.” 

The people of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe have greeted him with great hospitality and warmth, he said, and added his thanks to Archbishop Sheehan “for the example that you gave me as I try to follow in your footsteps.”

“May Francis of Assisi intercede for you”

The next day, the Mass of Installation also began with tradition, as Archbishop Viganó read the Apostolic Mandate from Pope Francis that appointed the Most Rev. Wester as Archbishop of Santa Fe. Archbishop Sheehan also passed the crozier that once belonged to the diocese’s first archbishop, Jean Baptiste Lamy, to Archbishop Wester. 

“Archbishop-designate Wester, as the guardian of harmony and diversity of this beloved family of faith, may Francis of Assisi intercede for you and your pastoral ministry and may your outreach to the poor and marginalized be to the spiritual benefit of your clergy and people as well as the community at large,” Archbishop Viganó said. “Dear Archbishop Sheehan, for more than 20 years you have faithfully ministered to the people of God in Santa Fe, and more recently have served as apostolic administrator. We offer you our heartfelt gratitude, and we pray that your apostolic labors for the spread of the Gospel will continue to bear abundant fruit for the building up of Christ’s body in faith, hope and love.” 

“My place is squarely in your midst”

Archbishop Wester began his homily speaking in Spanish and recalling that Christ is represented symbolically as both the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God. 

“As his disciples, the Lord calls us to give to one another so we can be the body of Christ, the Church,” he said.

Switching to English, the archbishop developed these themes more deeply.

“The image of the lamb in our churches points to the Good Shepherd in today’s Gospel, who cares for the sheep so much that he laid down his life for them, becoming the lamb of sacrifice,” he said. “Indeed, it is precisely as the lamb of sacrifice that Jesus fulfills his role of shepherd, leading us through the cross to the Father, at whose right hand he sits.”

Saying he is grateful to God for calling him to New Mexico, he added that “I am eager to listen to you and to learn from you how God has been working in your midst, calling you to new and ever-deepening life. Taking my cue from Pope Francis, I realize there will be times when I lead from the front of the flock, or from behind, but always my place is squarely in your midst, giving thanks for your willingness to receive me, and assuring you of my desire to serve you to the best of my ability. And I take comfort in knowing that while I will deeply miss the Church I called home for eight years in the Diocese of Salt Lake City, it is their love and their support that now will enable me to open myself to you, my brothers and sisters of this pilgrim Church in the southwest, for years to come.”

He mentioned that his father and friends such as Sulpician Father Gene Konkel “and so many other family and friends in the Communion of Saints are praying for me at this very moment. My Swedish father probably is tapping Fr. Gene on the shoulder and saying, ‘How did that square head ever make it to Santa Fe?’ but I’m sure he’s also saying ‘That’s my boy.’”

“Christ has called us”

Another theme of the archbishop’s homily was that Catholics are called “to serve the presence of God in the public square and to lead others to the Good News that has found us and has taken hold of us. We who recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd are called to bring hope to the whole world, inviting others into the fold through our evangelization, our living of the Gospel,” he said.

Also, by pointing out God to others, especially those who are suffering, “We remind them that they are not alone – Christ is there with them, and in the midst of it all, and he will never, ever abandon them,” the archbishop said.

When Catholics encounter strangers, “Our first concern is not whether they have the proper documentation; our first concern is to welcome them and show them hospitality, and know that we are one with them in Jesus Christ,” he said. “By the way, that stranger is not always someone from another country. It can also be someone in our own family, our own parish, our own neighborhood. There are many who suffer in our midst from drug or alcohol addiction, fear of losing their employment, mental illness, bigotry, loneliness. Christ has called us to point him out to them, to care for them, to be with them, and thus represent the Shepherd to them.”

The Church in Santa Fe has many other issues to address, including poverty, ensuring that the sanctity of human life is valued and upheld, and maintaining a safe environment for youth and young adults, he said.

“In all of this, you and I are called not simply to point to the Good Shepherd, but to enlarge the fold, to help others realize that we are one, and we give of ourselves not out of charity, necessarily, but because we are one in Christ, united in love and mercy,” he said.

He quoted Psalm 145, “His mercies are over all His works,” and said justice and mercy must go together.  

“We must always show mercy to everyone, since God loves all his children, especially those who are most vulnerable, whose lives hang in the balance like a smoldering wick or a bruised reed, whether in the womb, living in the streets, or far from home,” he said. 

Referencing the quote by St. Augustine “For you I am a bishop, with you I am a Christian,” Archbishop Wester said, “I cannot be your bishop unless I am one with you, and I can’t be one with you unless you embrace me as your bishop. I look forward to the years ahead as we journey with each other in the process of becoming one with Christ and one with each other, giving glory and praise to God as we are called to the Supper of the Lamb.”

“Pray for me”

As he ended his homily, he said in Spanish, “Please pray for me so I can keep following Christ, our Good Shepherd, giving myself completely to this faithful Church of Santa Fe as your new pastor, so that in the upcoming years our loving God blesses and guides our steps as witnesses of the Lamb of God present in our midst in all the southwest.”