MINNESOTA
Star Tribune
By JEAN HOPFENSPERGER JUNE 20, 2015
Archbishop Bernard Hebda took the temporary reins of the St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese last week, bringing an Ivy League law degree, an impressive list of Vatican connections and a touch of Pope Francis’ populism.
Hebda, who traveled to Minnesota wearing a backpack, is commuting from his three-room priest apartment in New Jersey. Known for his affable disposition, he’s also serious about his faith. He is fluent in Italian, having long lived in Rome, but also speaks Midwest Catholicism.
Hebda will need to tap his impressive skill set, say Catholic church experts, as he steps into one of the most tumultuous archdioceses in the nation. His job — being watched across the country — is daunting: Heal a Twin Cities Catholic community of some 800,000 people who are reeling from a child sex abuse scandal, bankruptcy, fundraising pains, and frustration in the pulpit and the pews.
And he’s expected to do this in a style reflecting that of Pope Francis, who sent him to the Twin Cities archdiocese following the June 15 resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt.
“Archbishop Hebda’s challenge is to restore trust in the archdiocese both for lay people and the priests,” said Robert Kennedy, chairman of the Department of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, and a lifelong St. Paul Catholic.
“As a temporary administrator, he can come in, make the tough choices and clear the path for the next archbishop. I think he was chosen specifically because of his background.”
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