Bishop Mitchell Rozanski cites Pope Francis school, increase in Latino deacons as part of his Springfield legacy

By Anne-Gerard Flynn
Republican
June 11, 2020

https://bit.ly/30GhR65

Springfield bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski speaks with the media at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield Thursday morning. Rozanski named St. Louis Archbishop-elect this week, will continue as apostolic administrator until he is installed Aug. 25 in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Speaking at the St. Michael’s Cathedral campus a day after his introduction in Missouri as archbishop-elect of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of St. Louis, the Most Rev. Mitchell Rozanski reflected Thursday on his legacy as Springfield bishop for the last six years.

“As I reflect on the different decisions I have had to make one was the very, very difficult decision to combine Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic high schools into Pope Francis Prep School,” said Rozanski in response to a question about his legacy.

“That was one of the more difficult decisions that I have had to make in my life and I said after that I pray that I am never put in a position like that again, but I think that what has emerged has shown to be a good decision, the right direction for secondary education here in the Diocese of Springfield.”

Ground was broken in 2016 on the new $54 million regional Catholic high school, which opened two years ago, after months of contentious debate around whether such an entity would be financially sustainable in a diocese where decline in school enrollment resulted in numerous school closings and mergers in recent years.

Rozanski cited another accomplishment as “being able to visit each of the parishes, to spend a day in the parishes and to get to meet the parish leadership and the people of the parish and that was two days out of the month and then I was able to write a report that gave feedback and a direction for the future."

“This was one of the joys and I hope one of the legacies the parishes will remember from my time here as bishop,” said Rozanski who will be installed Aug. 25 as St. Louis’ archbishop.

Rozanski said he expects the report he asked retired Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis to prepare a year ago as an independent investigator into allegations of sexual abuse made against the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon and how the diocese can better handle such cases to be completed before the end of August.

“I expect that report to be done and to be issued before I leave,” Rozanski said.

“The task force that was recently announced to receive the Velis report and act upon it and make recommendations on it that task force will continue its work.”

He added he expected the task force to “be a great help to me and to my successor.”

Springfield’s ninth bishop said he was “very proud of the fact that we have ordained a number of Latino permanent deacons over these past six years who have been invaluable in our reaching out to the Latino communities of our diocese" as well as “being very proud of the laity involvement in parishes, in so many different aspects of parish life who so generously respond to living out the gospel."

Financially, Rozanski, called the church at this time “struggling, especially with the hit we have taken with not being able to have our churches open since the middle of March and we rely on weekly collections." He called this a concern, caused by the need for public health regulations addressing the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, “for every bishop here in the United States in not having the churches open for that length of time.”

Asked what he had learned from his time in Springfield that he will take to St. Louis, Rozanski answered "to get the most that I can as I try to make decisions and to try to reach out to people who are experts in their field and who can give me solid advice.”

Rozanski, who returned from St. Louis late Wednesday night, called himself “speechless” when two weeks ago he learned from Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Papal Nuncio to the United States, that Pope Francis had appointed him the 10th archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri, succeeding the retiring Archbishop Robert J. Carlson.

“I must admit I was literally speechless,” said Rozanski who six years ago this month was named by Francis as Springfield bishop.

“I did feel a rush of emotions, especially one of sorrow in knowing that I would have to leave Springfield.”

He added, “I want to save how grateful I am to the priests, deacons, women and men religious, members of our pastoral center staff and parish staffs for all that they have been doing in making the gospel present here in the church of Western Massachusetts.”

“This church quickly became my home and I am deeply grateful to the people of the Diocese of Springfield for their commitment to living out the gospel and to working with me over these past six years," said the 61-year-old Rozanski who prior to being installed as Springfield bishop had been an auxiliary bishop in his native city of Baltimore.

“It is not easy to say goodbye, but I am grateful to Pope Francis for allowing me to remain here as the administrator of the Springfield Diocese until I am actually am installed in St. Louis on Aug. 25.”

Rozanski said he hoped to “do all that I can here in the diocese” during the next two months and “do what I can to prepare to hit the ground running whenever I arrive in St. Louis.”

A Baltimore Orioles fan, Rozanski said he is prepared to root for the St. Louis Cardinals, whom he noted are in a different league, and said he had previously been to St. Louis only once - when the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had their spring meeting there in 2015.

“We had Mass in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis and I was mesmerized,” said Rozanski whose Wednesday news conference was in that cathedral.

“It is the largest collection of mosaics under one roof in the United States. It took 80 years to complete. It is a magnificent cathedral basilica. It truly reflects the beauty of faith.”

Questioned about how his successor will be named, Rozanski said the papal nuncio asked him to put together a “report for him on my recommendations on what is needed here in Diocese of Springfield, what different issues my successor would face."

“That would go to the nuncio and there would certainly be other input from other bishops and then the nuncio would send a what is called a ‘terna’ to the Congregation of Bishops in Rome who make a recommendation to the Holy Father and then the Holy Father would officially appoint a new bishop for Springfield," Rozanski said.

He added his advice to whoever will be named his successor in Springfield, where five new priests will be ordained next month, would be to “rely on the wisdom that is here, the commitment of faith of the people of the diocese and to be able to learn from them and forge a vision with them in order to move forward.”