by Sister Bridget Clare McKeever, SSL Director of Spirituality Diocese of Salt Lake City SALT LAKE CITY — In the fall of 2005 when Archbishop William Levada was appointed Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the usual rumors began to circulate. Among those mentioned as his successor was Bishop Niederauer. Each time I heard his name in connection with the vacated See of San Francisco, I dismissed the idea, mainly because I did not want to lose him. I felt complacent and secure. I was so convinced in my denial that on the morning of December 15 when Msgr. Fitzgerald said, as he walked in the door of the pastoral center chapel, "The Bishop has been appointed to the Archdiocese of San Francisco," I was waiting to hear him say which bishop. As I began to notice the consternation on the faces of the others in the chapel, I got the message. I knew Bishop Niederauer when he was Father Niederauer, rector of St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo. He used to come to our convent in Woodland Hills, California where I lived, to celebrate Mass every other Sunday. In those days I did not ever imagine that one day he would be Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, and that I would be ministering here. Now, something else I refused to imagine is happening: our Bishop is leaving for San Francisco. He leaves behind a spirituality program he initiated. Ministering in that program has been a great experience for me. Bishop Niederauer, always supportive, has trusted me to shape the program without over-supervising. As he leaves us, I congratulate him, I wish him well, but I say, "Bishop, if you don’t like it there, come right back; we’ll meet you at the Nevada-Utah border with a big sign, "Welcome home!"
Stay Connected With Us