February 19, 2010
History part of the present in Owensboro bishop’s ordination
Newly ordained and installed, Bishop William Medley is leaving the Owensboro Sportscenter with Knights of Columbus escorting him Feb. 10, 2010 after his ordination as the fourth Bishop of Owensboro. (Photo courtesy of Bryan Leazenby) Click for a larger version.
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
Editor’s note: The account below is drawn from an Internet presentation of the ordination Mass on Catholic TV, and from previously provided information from Catholic News Service.
“To God be the glory.” These were among the first words of Bishop William Francis Medley, the fourth Bishop of Owensboro, following his ordination and installation Feb. 10. His last words of his closing remarks were what the dear Ursuline Sisters taught him, Ad Majoram Dei Gloriam, to the greater glory of God.
Bishop Medley was ordained and installed at the Owensboro Sports Center, allowing over 5,000 people to attend the ceremony instead of a relatively small number who could have participated in the Owensboro Cathedral.
Bishop Medly said the size of the congregation, the singing and the other attributes of the ceremony were “a tribute to the vitality of the diocese” and he praised the bishop he succeeds, Bishop John J. McRaith.
He promised to be a good listener in the diocese. He also included a few words of Spanish in his closing remarks, acknowledging his beginning ability in the language as “as difficult for you to hear as it was for me to speak.”
The ordination was available on Catholic TV (and remains available for viewing at www.catholictv.com).
According to commentary on the television and Internet presentation, the young William Medley first told his parents he wanted to be a priest, in a conversation on the day he received his First Communion.
The new bishop’s mother, Dorothy Medley, two brothers and two sisters were present at the ceremonies. His father is deceased.
Louisville Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz was the principal consecrator. Retired Louisville Archbishop Thomas Kelly and retired Owensboro Bishop John McRaith were among the co-consecrators.
Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger was among the ordaining bishops, as was Archbishop Daniel Buech-lein of Indianapolis and Archabbot Justin DuVall of St. Meinrad Archabbey. Also ordaining were bishops from dioceses in Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri and other areas of Kentucky.
About 65 priests from Louisville also attended, along with the priests of the Diocese of Owensboro, Owensbo-ro parishioners and other friends.
The choir for the ceremony was drawn from members of all parishes in the diocese. Among musicians were members of the Evansville Brass Sextet.
Many elements of the Mass were in Spanish, acknowledging the large membership of a large Hispanic population in the diocese.
Among historical touches were the pectoral cross worn by the new bishop and the cathedra — the chair of the bishop which was brought from the Owensboro Cathedral to the Sports Center.
Bishop Medley has a pectoral cross of his own, but for the ordination, he borrowed the pectoral cross of the first bishop of Bardstown, Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget. The cathedra — the source of the word “Cathedral” — was the chair of Bishop Francis R. Cotton, first Bishop of Owensboro.
The new bishop’s episcopal motto is “Holy is God’s name,” drawn from the Scriptural account of the visit of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth after the Angel Gabriel had announced that Mary would give birth to the Son of God.
Mary proclaimed to Elizabeth, “God who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”
The Gospel chosen for the ordination Mass was the account from which the bishop’s motto was chosen.
Sister Joseph Angela Boone, diocesan chancellor, read the Papal Mandate; the papal nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Zambi, was unable to be present because of the snow in Washington, D.C.
Bishop Medley noted in his closing remarks that Sister Boone had taken a central role in the ceremony, and that she can represent all the women religious who serve the church.
Archbishop Kurtz was the homilist, speaking in English and Spanish, drew from a homily given in 410 A.D. by Bishop Augustine of Hippo in Carthage, on the occasion of a bishop’s ordination.
Archbishop Kurtz said that the “mission of a bishop is service to God and neighbor in a spirit of love and humility,” and that the assembly had come together to pray for a man who is to be “a bishop at heart, one to serve the people.” He noted that the formation of the new bishop had begun at his parish, and “at the table of his family.”