May 26, 2016
Our New Archbishop
The Catholic Spirit • 3
The Catholic Spirit is published biweekly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 21 — No. 11 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA Publisher TOM HALDEN Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING Editor JESSICA TRYGSTAD Assistant Editor JACKIE DAUGHERTY Publications Administration Coordinator DAVE HRBACEK Photographer & Writer CARON OLHOFT Graphics & Layout Designer BOB ZYSKOWSKI Client Products Manager MICHAEL PYTLESKI Multimedia Communications Coordinator DICK MARTENS Advertising Manager CHRIS PIERSKALLA Advertising Specialist Materials credited to CNS copyrighted by Catholic News Service. All other materials copyrighted by The Catholic Spirit Newspaper. Subscriptions: $29.95 per year. Senior 1-year: $24.95 per year. To subscribe: (651) 291-4444. Display advertising: (651) 291-4444. Classified advertising: (651) 290-1631. Published biweekly by the Office of Communications, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102; (651) 291-4444, FAX (651) 291-4460.
Father John Ubel, rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, holds open the Holy Doors for Archbishop Bernard Hebda during the rite of entrance and greeting at his installation Mass May 13. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit
Contents
6 Installation Mass
Coverage and reaction from the May 13 liturgy at the Cathedral.
24 Roman holiday
Archbishop gains historical perspective from years in the Eternal City.
14 Timeline
34 Q&A with the archbishop
20 Vocation story
54 Coat of arms
Milestones from Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s childhood to present.
Despite law pursuits, early influences ultimately pave way for priesthood.
In a broad interview, Archbishop Hebda speaks about life before seminary and his hopes for the archdiocese.
A green hat, elderberry tree and waves among symbols explained.
Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional post offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102. TheCatholicSpirit.com E-mail: tcssubscriptions@archspm.org USPS #093-580
ON THE COVER Archbishop Bernard Hebda greets priests as they process in during his installation Mass May 13 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, where he became the ninth archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit
From the archbishop
Archbishop Bernard Hebda walks through the Holy Doors at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul at the start of his installation Mass May 13. Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit
Thank you for prayers, support and service
I
t was humbling to carry the crosier of Archbishop John Ireland down the aisle of the Cathedral that he built, in the presence of so many of the faithful who are the true living stones of this archdiocese. The age-old rituals and chants, as well as the presence of so many bishops from around the country — and especially the presence of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who represented Pope Francis that day — served as a vivid reminder that we are all part of something much bigger than ourselves. In spite of the trepidation that is ordinarily associated with events of that sort and a setting that is designed to make all of us feel somewhat minuscule, I felt a great sense of calm, knowing both that I was receiving more prayers than I could ever count and that I would not have to face the challenges of this archdiocese alone. I have been overwhelmed by the number of cards and notes that I have received in recent days, not only offering advice, but also promising prayers. As I learned of the spiritual sacrifices that were being embraced for my benefit and that of the archdiocese, especially by our school children and parish groups, I truly felt flooded
with grace and had a new insight into the extent to which the faithful of the archdiocese, and even others in the community, care about this local Church and its future. A glimpse at those filling the pews of the Cathedral reminded me, moreover, of the incredible gifts and talents with which the Lord has blessed this particular flock. Many of the faces in the congregation were already familiar to me, belonging to those who so consistently pour themselves out in service of the archdiocese and its parishes and schools, and who so generously collaborate in the work of building up this portion of God’s kingdom, offering to this local Church not only their good will and hard work, but also their experience as parents, pillars of the community, clergy and consecrated men and women, countless lay ecclesial ministers and educators, counselors, communicators and professionals of every stripe. I deeply appreciated the opportunity to greet so many of those members of the faithful at the reception at Cretin-Derham Hall. As had been the case at the vespers celebration at the Basilica on Thursday evening, I was once again amazed by the diversity of our community, with people
coming from every continent, every age group, and seemingly every level of connectedness to our Church, including more than a few who patiently shared with me the scars of past hurts. The celebrations made me proud to be part of this archdiocese, and I was happy to be able to share your warmth and enthusiasm with my family members and friends who had traveled here for the installation, many for the first time. They were universally impressed not only with the level of hospitality they had experienced, but also with the vitality of this local Church and the obvious commitment to its future, even in challenging times. Please know of my gratitude for your prayers and support, and know that as I sink my roots in this local archdiocese, I look forward to a long and fruitful collaboration. Through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, whose feast day we celebrated at the installation, may we together grow in our openness to being led by Jesus the Good Shepherd as we together strive to be the evangelizing and healing Church that he desires us to be.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda
May 26, 2016
Our New Archbishop
The Catholic Spirit • 5
De parte del arzobispo
Gracias por sus oraciones, apoyo y servicio
F
ue un honor llevar el báculo del Arzobispo John Ireland por el pasillo de la Catedral que el construyó, en presencia de muchos de los Fieles que son las verdaderas piedras vivas de esta Arquidiócesis. Los antiguos rituales y cantos, así como la presencia de tantos obispos de todo el país — y especialmente la presencia del Arzobispo Carlo María Vigano, que representó al Papa Francisco ese día, sirvió como un vivo recordatorio de que todos somos parte de algo mucho más grande que nosotros mismos. A pesar del miedo que usualmente se asocia con eventos de ese tipo y un ambiente que está diseñado para hacernos sentir algo pequeños, sentí una gran sensación de calma, sabiendo que estaba recibiendo más oraciones de lo que podría contar y que no tendría que enfrentar los retos de esta Arquidiócesis solo. Estoy asombrado por el número de cartas y notas que he recibido en los últimos días, no sólo ofreciendo consejos, sino también oraciones prometedoras. Cuando supe de los sacrificios espirituales que estaban siendo dedicados para mi beneficio y el de la arquidiócesis, especialmente por nuestros niños de edad escolar y los grupos parroquiales, realmente me sentí colmado de gracia y tuve un nuevo concepto de cuanto se preocupan los fieles de la arquidiócesis e incluso otros en la comunidad de esta Iglesia local y su futuro. Al contemplar a las personas en los bancos de la Catedral me recordó, por otra parte, de los dones y talentos increíbles con los que el Señor ha bendecido a este rebaño especial. Muchas de las caras de la congregación se me hacían conocidas, pertenecen a esos que se entregan constantemente en el servicio de la arquidiócesis, sus parroquias y escuelas y quienes tanto colaboran generosamente en la obra de la construcción de esta parte del reino de Dios, ofreciendo a esta Iglesia local no sólo su buena voluntad y arduo trabajo, sino también su experiencia como padres, pilares de la comunidad, el clero y los hombres y mujeres consagrados, así como numerosos ministros laicos eclesiales y educadores, consejeros, comunicadores y profesionales de todo tipo. Valoro profundamente la oportunidad de saludar a muchos de los fieles en la recepción en la escuela Cretin-Derham Hall. Como sucedió en la celebración de las Vísperas en la Basílica el jueves por la noche, me sorprendió una vez más por la diversidad de nuestra comunidad, con personas procedentes de todos los continentes, todas las edades, y al parecer todos los niveles de conexión con nuestra Iglesia, incluyendo más de unos pocos
Dozens of priests and deacons fill the front rows of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul for the installation Mass of Archbishop Bernard Hebda May 13. Courtesy Greg Povolny
Members of the Latino community join in a procession at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis during evening prayer with Archbishop Bernard Hebda May 12. Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit que pacientemente compartieron conmigo las cicatrices de las heridas del pasado. Las celebraciones me hicieron sentirme orgulloso de ser parte de esta arquidiócesis y estuve feliz de poder compartir su calidez y entusiasmo con los miembros de mi familia y amigos que viajaron hasta acá para la instalación, muchos de ellos por primera vez. Estaban completamente impresionados no sólo con el nivel de hospitalidad que experimentaron, sino también con la vitalidad de esta Iglesia local y el obvio compromiso en su futuro, incluso en tiempos difíciles.
Por favor, tengan en cuenta mi agradecimiento por sus oraciones y apoyo, sepan que mientras planto mis raíces en esta arquidiócesis local, espero tener una larga y fructífera colaboración. A través de la intercesión de Nuestra Virgen de Fátima, cuya fiesta celebramos en la instalación, para que juntos podamos crecer en nuestra apertura para ser guiados por Jesús, el Buen Pastor, ya que juntos nos esforzamos por ser la Iglesia que evangeliza y sana, que es la que Él desea que seamos.
Arzobispo Bernard Hebda
Our New Archbishop
6 • The Catholic Spirit
May 26, 2016
Archbishop Hebda installed ninth archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit
I
n a packed Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima May 13, Archbishop Bernard Hebda became the ninth archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. After the procession of knights and ladies of Church orders, seminarians, deacons and priests, the congregation rose and awaited Archbishop Hebda’s knocking on the Cathedral’s Holy Doors, signifying his taking possession of the cathedral. Using a mallet made from a log of St. Paul’s first cathedral — an 1841 log chapel — Archbishop Hebda knocked on the door and was greeted by Father John Ubel, the Cathedral’s rector. After kissing a crucifix and blessing himself with holy water, the procession continued with the college of consultors, about 40 concelebrating bishops and Archbishop Hebda. Of note was Archbishop Hebda’s use of a crosier that belonged to Archbishop John Ireland, who led the archdiocese from 1884 to 1918, and a chalice used by Archbishop Austin Dowling, archbishop from 1919 to 1930. Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens of St. Paul and Minneapolis welcomed the congregation numbering more than 3,000, followed by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, papal nuncio emeritus to the United States. “Dear friends,â€? he began, “on this memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, I am truly pleased to be with you to share your joy.â€? After Archbishop Viganò read a translation of the papal mandate from Pope Francis naming Archbishop Hebda to St. Paul and Minneapolis, the archdiocese’s chancellor for canonical affairs, Susan Mulheron, presented the document for approval by the college of consultors — a group of 10 priests with governance responsibilities in the archdiocese. Archbishop Viganò then led Archbishop Hebda to be seated on the cathedra, or bishop’s seat, officially signifying his status as archbishop.
The liturgy of the word included readings in Spanish, Hmong and English. In his homily, Archbishop Hebda said the Gospel from Luke, which included Mary’s visit to her cousin, Elizabeth, and Mary’s Magnificat canticle — and the feast of Our Lady of Fatima both point to “God’s extravagant love for the lowly and for the little ones.� That same love, he said, “surprises, sustains and challenges us.� “God’s love is a game changer,� Archbishop Hebda said, citing biblical examples of God telling the faithful to let go of everything but Jesus. Several times he repeated the words, “Only Jesus,� which comprise his episcopal motto and are adopted from Scripture and a prayer offered daily by the Missionaries of Charity, whom he admires. Saying the bonds of the local Church have been tested in recent years, Archbishop Hebda called on Catholics to “be the Church that God wants us to be, that Pope Francis calls us to be.� Recalling the listening sessions he held last fall as the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator, Archbishop Hebda noted how participants voiced their desire for a more transparent and engaged Church. “I’m all in — but like you, I recognize that we’re going to have success only to the extent that we can stay focused on Jesus, and only Jesus, and embrace his call to humility and simplicity and finding him as we serve those most in need,� he said. Ending his homily, he described himself as someone who has a lot of faults, who hasn’t yet eaten lutefisk — a traditional fish dish brought to Minnesota by Scandinavian immigrants — and “whose feet don’t comfortably touch the ground when seated on the cathedra.� Special to the Mass was a commissioned song by Father J. Michael Joncas, a priest of the archdiocese and the artist in residence at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. The song,
Congratulations
Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda
Bishop David. D. Kagan and the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese of Bismarck offer sincere congratulations to Archbishop Hebda and a promise of prayers on his appointment to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Diocese of Bismarck
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, papal nuncio emeritus to the United States, reads the apostolic mandate from Pope Francis appointing Archbishop Bernard Hebda as the archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis during the installation Mass May 13 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit “My Soul Gives Glory to the Holy One,â€? derives from the installation Mass’ Gospel reading, Luke 1:39-56, which includes Mary’s Magnificat, and was sung during Communion. Before the concluding rite, Archbishop Hebda expressed his gratitude to those in the congregation and those unable to attend, including Pope Francis. “He obviously sees gifts I don’t,â€? the archbishop said. Archbishop Hebda was named apostolic administrator of St. Paul and Minneapolis in June 2015, after the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt. Already the coadjutor archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, Archbishop Hebda fulfilled both roles until Pope Francis named him archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Among prelates attending the installation Mass were Archbishop Emeritus Harry Flynn, who led the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis from 1995 to 2008; bishops from the other Minnesota dioceses; and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington.
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May 26, 2016
Our New Archbishop
The Catholic Spirit • 7
Archbishop Bernard Hebda assumes the cathedra, or bishop’s chair, as bishops and the congregation applaud during the installation Mass May 13 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit <<6 Msgr. Michael Morgan, secretary to the apostolic nunciature to the U.S., who attended two of Archbishop Hebda’s listening sessions in November, was also at the Mass. Serving as greeters were students from several Catholic high schools, including Chesterton Academy in Edina, Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul and St. Agnes in St. Paul. Nicholas Lunsford, a senior at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, was one such greeter and said the installation Mass was “amazing.” “It’s really something unique that I won’t get
to see for a long time, so it’s great to be a young person and get to experience that,” he said. “Just listening to the music and watching everyone come in, it’s amazing.” Lunsford’s classmate, Joseph Koegel, was a greeter, too. Originally from New Jersey, where he attended Catholic elementary school, he is glad to see the well-known bishop now the leader of his hometown Church. “Archbishop Hebda is going to be great. I’ve heard good things about him in New Jersey and here,” he said. For Michael Larson, a junior at Totino-Grace High School in Fridley, the installation was his second celebration with the archbishop in a
week, since he was confirmed May 9. Besides the episcopal encounter and the liturgy, he enjoyed meeting other high school students of the local Church. The sense of community also touched Ashley Cordero, also a junior at Totino-Grace. “It was so great — all the positive people. I just felt so happy to be here,” she said. For younger Catholics, the day was a learning experience. Jovita Morrgado, a member of the Neocatechumenal Way and Queen of Angels in Austin, in the Diocese of Winona, brought her three children. >>8
We warmly welcome
Archbishop Bernard Hebda Our Lady of Peace Providing Medicare-certi�ied residential hospice, community hospice, and home health. 2076 St. Anthony Ave. | St. Paul, MN 55104 651-789-5030 | ourladyofpeacemn.org
8 • The Catholic Spirit
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016
<<7 “It’s a great experience for us to strengthen our faith, and an opportunity to teach our children about the Church,” she said. With so many bishops present, her son, Suraj Mehta, 7, learned that not all priests with “pointy hats” are the pope. Adults in the congregation picked up on a message of humility. “I just think the archbishop is such a humble [man], and it really showed today,” said Alison Kaardal, a parishioner at St. Mark in St. Paul. Mary Jo Franske of Our Lady of Grace in Edina texted her initial reaction to her brother: “Beautiful liturgy about humility and service.” “I thought the songs were perfect because [they] focused on service and humility,” she said. She noted that she attended the installation because it’s important to her as a Catholic. “It’s family. It’s like we have a new CEO,” she said. Larson, the Totino-Grace student, echoed the sentiment. “I am happy to have a shepherd,” he said. Larson had never been to an installation before, and he didn’t know when the next opportunity would come, though he hopes it isn’t anytime soon. “I hope we have him for a long time,” he said of Archbishop Hebda.
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick applauds Archbishop Bernard Hebda during the installation Mass May 13 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit Others attended to welcome their new shepherd. “It was just an awesome event. I’m glad to have Archbishop Hebda. I came to honor him today,” said Deacon Kevin O’Connor of St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove. As the archbishop noted in his homily, the day marks a new stage for the archdiocese, one that the people in the pews also sensed. The archdiocese is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an effort to address hundreds of
Congratulations and Prayerful Best Wishes Most Reverend Bernard A. Hebda Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, the priests, religious, and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Louis
claims of clergy sexual abuse of minors, and has yet to resolve criminal charges filed in June 2015 related to a case of clergy sex abuse. Donna Miskowiec, who attends St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park, called the installation Mass “a beautiful celebration of happiness and hope and healing.” Following the Mass, Archbishop Hebda greeted people at a reception at Cretin-Derham Hall. Bridget Ryder and Maria Wiering contributed to this story.
May 26, 2016
Our New Archbishop
The Catholic Spirit • 9
Catholics express excitement, hope with new archbishop By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit
E
ven if they had not previously met him, Catholics attending Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s May 13 installation Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul used some of the same words to describe their new prelate: “warm,” “personable” and “joyful.” Many had hoped for a new start following a period of challenges, including clergy sex abuse cases and bankruptcy. They also expressed a desire that the archbishop would be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as he leads the archdiocese and works to resolve those issues. “I just think it’s a wonderful, beautiful change for our archdiocese,” said Lynette Graham, 59, a parishioner of St. Peter Claver in St. Paul. Graham hopes to meet Archbishop Hebda when the parish celebrates its 125th anniversary next year. Pamela Thomes, 68, did meet Archbishop Hebda at the Cathedral when he received her and her son into the Church at the Easter Vigil this year. “I just think he’s so warm and loving, and I think he’s going to be just great for this archdiocese,” said Thomes, who now attends the Cathedral. The archbishop has some significant challenges ahead, but the installation marked a fresh start, said Michael Stenquist, 57, a parishioner of All Saints in Minneapolis and a knight in the Order of Malta, a
Archbishop Bernard Hebda greets members of the Order of Malta after his installation Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul May 13. Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit worldwide Catholic lay religious order that promotes work with the sick and poor, and defense of the Catholic faith. “He’s got just such a peaceful presence,” he said. “He’s just even-keeled and personable. Everywhere he goes he seems to draw people to him. I think that’s a bishop.” Andrew Zipp, 23, who came to the installation to support Archbishop Hebda, said he is excited that the archdiocese has a new father figure. “It’s such a historic time for our archdiocese, and I’m just super excited to have a new bishop after being left
for a few months without one,” said Zipp, a firstyear seminarian at the St. Paul Seminary who is from St. Michael in St. Michael. Bruce and Mary Palmborg, former parishioners of St. Olaf in Minneapolis, stayed an extra day in the Twin Cities to attend the installation before returning to their home in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa. They agreed that Archbishop Hebda seems to be the right person at the right time. “The fact that he was able to step in when he did and the fact that Pope Francis, whom we admire very much, deems him the right choice, to me, that says a lot about Archbishop Hebda,” Mary Palmborg said. Eileen Noble, 58, came with her husband, Jim, to celebrate a new chapter in the archdiocese, which she considers an opportunity for unity. Both belong to St. Louis, King of France, in St. Paul and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, a lay institution of the Vatican State that provides support for the Christian presence in the Holy Land. She said she hopes Archbishop Hebda will help the archdiocese move deeper into its mission. “I think the archbishop has the most extraordinary grasp of both our history and our future,” she said. “He’s so respectful of who we are and so excited about what can come.”
May 26, 2016
Our New Archbishop
The Catholic Spirit • 11
<<10 the Lucias, Jacintas and Franciscos of the world, the Church that is the field hospital for those in pain. It’s been a blessing for me that I so consistently find our laity, our consecrated brothers and sisters and our clergy to be proclaimers of hope who are willing to embrace sacrifice so that with our archdiocesan patron, St. Paul, we might “delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties” knowing that it is when we are weak that we are strong (2 Cor 12:10) and believe that we can “do all things through him who gives us strength” (Phil 4:13). In the listening sessions last fall, the faithful who gathered consistently shared their hope for a Church that is more transparent, more accountable, more collaborative, more reconciling, more engaged in the work of evangelization. I’m all in — but like you, I recognize that we’re going to have success only to the extent that we can stay focused on Jesus, and only Jesus, and embrace his call to humility and simplicity and finding him as we serve those most in need. We’re blessed to have this glorious Cathedral on Summit and Selby, but we can’t ever lose the passion and focus of those pilgrims to the northland who first brought the faith to Pig’s Eye. If they, by God’s grace, could build, I’m confident that we, by that same grace, can rebuild.
Beginning to rebuild As you’ve probably realized already in these past 11 months, the Lord has once again set the stage for the victory to be clearly his. He’s given you a shepherd with more than his share of faults and failings, a shepherd who still has so much to learn about this local Church and region and its history and its culture, a shepherd who has not yet eaten lutefisk, a shepherd whose feet don’t even reach the ground when he’s sitting comfortably on the cathedra. But with your help, your prayers, and especially with God’s grace, I’m confident that we can together begin the process of healing, of evangelizing, of reconciling — of rebuilding, brick by brick, stone by stone. The commemorative card that you have received
Pat Moore, left, and Donna Zroka of St. Paul in Ham Lake pray during the installation Mass for Archbishop Bernard Hebda May 13 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit today bears a portion of a prayer composed by Blessed John Henry Newman, a prayer that I learned from the sisters of our soon-to-be-saint, Mother Teresa of Kolkata. I hope that you will take it home and allow it to touch your heart as it has touched mine. May it be our fervent prayer this day and always: “Dear Jesus, help me to spread thy
fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may be only a radiance of thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but ONLY JESUS.”
Welcome, Archbishop Bernard Hebda!
12 â&#x20AC;˘ The Catholic Spirit
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016
Installation eve Archbishop Bernard Hebda processes up the aisle at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis May 12 during an ecumenical evening prayer service the night before his installation as archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Looking on from the right are his father, Bernard Hebda, and other family members. Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit
The Catholic Spirit • 13 Our New Archbishop At evening prayer service, archbishop calls for putting people first May 26, 2016
By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit
O
n the eve of Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s installation as archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, a prayer service highlighted the ethnic and cultural diversity in the archdiocese and local community. The archbishop celebrated that diversity in a homily and encouraged collaboration on efforts that place people first. The May 12 celebration of welcome and evening prayer at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis included Aztec and folkloric Mexican dance and music, and poetry from a variety of cultures. Following a reading from Genesis about the Tower of Babel, Archbishop Hebda drew on the passage’s themes of tragedy and hope. The tower builders’ downfall was placing things over people, and in the archdiocese, he said, “I’m confident that the Lord will bless our endeavors and bring fruit to our labor to the extent that we remember to put people before things.” Citing social justice efforts such as the new Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul, which has drawn support from people of different religious traditions, the archbishop emphasized the importance of collaboration and being shrewd with resources while focusing on human needs. “If our work is to succeed, our work has to be God’s work,” he said.
Aztec dancers join in the international procession before the Rite of Reception for Archbishop Bernard Hebda at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis May 12. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit At the service, Archbishop Hebda made a profession of faith and an oath of fidelity before receiving into the sanctuary community representatives who publicly offered words of introduction and welcome, as well as hope for collaboration. Among the 800 attendees were civic leaders, as well as Catholic and other religious leaders, including Duluth Bishop Paul Sirba; State Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie; and representatives of local Jewish communities.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar praised Archbishop Hebda’s “thoughtfulness, joyfulness and down-toearth manner,” and encouraged him to put in practice in the archdiocese Pope Francis’ interpretation of the Golden Rule of “treating others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated.” Music at the service included a new composition of the Magnificat by Father J. Michael Joncas, commissioned for the installation. Publicly welcoming the archbishop were delegations from other Christian denominations and faiths, and archdiocesan clergy and religious, as well as ethnic groups, many wearing native dress. Lisa Yankton, a member of the Spirit Lake Dakota and of Gichitwaa Kateri Catholic Church in Minneapolis, shared her poem “The Journey,” dedicated to the archbishop: “. . . From the east, your footsteps come towards us … We humble and devoted people of the Blessed Kateri Community Encircle you, smile upon you . . . .” Antonio Azamar attended the prayer service with members of the Latino community at St. Stephen in Anoka to welcome Archbishop Hebda. “His words are inspiring us to believe and let other people believe in our Church,” Azamar said.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda Congratulations and prayerful best wishes on your installation. May the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis grow in faith and love with your spiritual guidance.
Delivering Food, Shelter and Hope to the Poorest of the Poor • www.CrossCatholic.org
Our New Archbishop
14 • The Catholic Spirit
May 26, 2016
Through the years From Pittsburgh to Pig’s Eye, Archbishop Bernard Hebda has gained a range of experience while touching people’s lives
1989
On July 1, Father Hebda is ordained a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburgh by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who was then bishop of Pittsburgh. He serves as an assistant priest at Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, before returning to Rome to earn a licentiate in canon law.
1980
Hebda graduates from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He attends the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law at Columbia Law School in New York, graduating in 1983.
1983
He works for a year as an associate in the law firm of Reed, Smith, Shaw and McClay in Pittsburgh.
1959
Bernard Hebda is born in Pittsburgh on Sept. 3. He attends Resurrection Elementary School in his neighborhood, Brookline, and then South Hill Catholic High School (now Seton-La Salle Catholic High School) in Pittsburgh, graduating in 1977.
1990
1984
Hebda enters seminary at St. Paul Seminary in Pittsburgh and studies philosophy at Duquesne University. A year later, he begins theological studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. In 1988, he earns a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Father Hebda serves as the personal secretary of then-Bishop Wuerl and as the diocese’s master of ceremonies. In 1992, he begins a three-year team ministry assignment at Prince of Peace, a parish that was undergoing a merger on Pittsburgh’s South Side. He also begins serving as a judge for the tribunal for the Diocese of Pittsburgh. In 1995, he moves to Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, where he directs the Newman Center at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016
The Catholic Spirit • 15
2009
Pope Benedict XVI names Msgr. Hebda the fourth bishop of Gaylord, Michigan. He is ordained and installed Dec. 1, 2009, at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Gaylord.
2013
In September, Bishop Hebda is appointed coadjutor archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, positioned to succeed Archbishop John Myers upon his anticipated 2016 retirement.
1996
Father Hebda returns to Rome to work for the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, the arm of the Holy See responsible for interpreting Church law. In 2000, he is granted the title “monsignor.” Three years later, he is appointed the council’s undersecretary, making him No. 3 in council leadership.
2015
Pope Francis appoints Archbishop Hebda the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in June after the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt.
2016
Pope Francis names Archbishop Hebda archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis on Holy Thursday, March 24. He is installed May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
16 • The Catholic Spirit
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016
Catholic school, sports part of childhood in Pittsburgh By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit
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rchbishop Bernard Hebda’s parents, Bernard and the late Helen Hebda, were married for seven years before he was born on Sept. 3, 1959, in Pittsburgh. Both having come from devout Catholic families — Polish and Irish, respectively — the couple was excited to have a family of their own, Archbishop Hebda said. “They were just at that point where they thought they might not have any children, and someone said, ‘Have you ever asked St. Anthony for help?’ And so, my parents made a St. Anthony novena, and I came along,” Archbishop Hebda said. “So, my middle name is Anthony.” For five more years, there were no more children. His parents thought he would be their only one. “And then, my sister and two brothers came three years in a row,” Archbishop Hebda said, “so, I’m a little bit older than my siblings, but it was a very happy household.” In Pittsburgh, Archbishop Hebda described growing up in a “densely populated” parish and school, Resurrection in the Brookline neighborhood. He remembers the school having around 1,600 students; there were 250 students in his firstgrade class. He later attended a Christian Brothers high school, South Hills Catholic High School (now Seton-La Salle Catholic High School), graduating in 1977. He noted the encouragement and support from his parents, who made sacrifices to send him and his siblings to Catholic school. “The school was very important for my parents, so even when they were moving, they always wanted to make sure that we had a good school that was available,” he said. While his father worked for the morning newspaper in Pittsburgh, his mother managed the household. Because his father worked nights, he was able to attend the children’s school activities and sporting events. “They were both very present to us,” Archbishop Hebda said. From an early age, Archbishop Hebda was an altar server at his parish and later became involved in the youth group and a lector. He recalled having a good relationship with all the parish’s priests. “It was one of those big parishes where we had four priests taking care of the parish, providing pastoral care,” he said. “They gave an excellent example for what it means to be a priest.”
Felhaber Larson Welcomes Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda
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own in Florida, Patrick Hebda already has the weather for St. PaulMinneapolis on his smartphone. His children, ages 15, 12 and 10, are excited to visit their uncle, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who was installed for St. Paul and Minneapolis May 13. “He’s a great uncle,” Hebda, 50, said of his older brother. “He never misses a birthday or graduation. He’s just very thoughtful.” Family, Hebda said, has always been his brother’s top priority. “He calls my dad every day. Between 9:30 and 10:30, he checks in every day,” Hebda said. In addition to Patrick, the Hebda siblings — Yvonne and Terrance, and his wife and three children — and their father, Bernard, all live in Florida and are accustomed to the geographical distance between them and their older brother. When they are together, they prefer low-key family time. “We don’t need much entertainment with our family,” Hebda said, laughing. He remembers a kind and considerate older brother who would help his younger siblings type reports for school, sometimes at 5:30 a.m. Yvonne Hebda, 51, a teacher, recalled, “When I got my way, we’d play school. When Bernard got his way, we’d play church. We had a cellar with a laundry room and an old piano. Bernard would use the piano bench for his altar and any item from the clothes line for his priestly attire. The pews were the steps, and Necco wafers were the hosts of choice.” It was no surprise he was a good athlete, especially skilled in tennis. “But he’d never say so,” Patrick noted. “I think it was in ’76, he was playing tennis when all the new kids were coming out from the country clubs with their little aluminum rackets, and Bernard still used a wooden racket . . . old Jack Kramer — he’d beat them with that.” Archbishop Hebda’s siblings were still young when he went off to college. But every Friday night, they’d line up in the kitchen around 11:01 p.m. “when rates went down” to talk to him on the phone. Recently, Hebda watched a video clip of his brother celebrating Easter Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, just three days after being named to his new archdiocese. “What a smile,” Patrick said. “I know him. He can be with a blue-collar worker or an MIT scientist, and he’s going to fit in wherever he goes. He just knows how to talk to people. Whatever neighborhood, whatever town. . . . Wherever he goes, he embraces it.” Calling her older brother “assertively diplomatic,” Yvonne noted how he brings a variety of experiences to his leadership. “He has many gifts, but is happiest when celebrating the ministry of the Good News in the local schools and churches,” she said. “He shines brightest as God’s servant among the people.” Patrick said his first concern about the new appointment was the “firestorm” his brother was entering — the archdiocese’s clergy sex abuse issues, subsequent bankruptcy and pending criminal charges in Ramsey County. But he knows his brother as a peacemaker and bridge-builder and believes those qualities will serve the archdiocese well. “He’s going to do his best. He has the passion to make it work,” he said. “There’s no one who works harder than my brother. There aren’t enough hours in the day for him. He somehow finds time to make it a point to be where he needs to be at all times. He’ll be up for the task.”
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016
Blast from the past:
Classmate, friend reconnects By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit
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om Ryan has many memories of growing up in Pittsburgh with Bernard Hebda — among them, playing tennis and going on family vacations. “I always was so jealous that he got a deep, rich tan,” Ryan joked. But his fondest memories involve sitting around the Hebdas’ kitchen table, visiting with Bernard and his mom, Helen, over Diet Cokes. It was a second home to him. While many years and milestones have since passed, Ryan is excited that his childhood friend once again will be “just up the street,” but in a different sense. Ryan, 57, and his family live in Plymouth and attend St. Mary of the Lake. A senior executive position at Wells Fargo brought the family to Minnesota almost 16 years ago. “When I heard the announcement, I almost felt like, personally, God was telling me something,” Ryan said. “I don’t know what, but, of all the bishops in the country, all the people in the country, a guy I grew up with, one of my best buddies . . . ends up as the archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. I was shocked. “Having known him and his family so closely, he’s going to be fantastic,” Ryan added, “and I couldn’t be happier for him and for all the Catholics in the archdiocese and really, for the whole area of people who are going to get to know him. He’s utterly brilliant and totally down to earth. And it’s such a magical combination.” Aside from their friendship, attending grade school and high
school with Archbishop Hebda gave Ryan glimpses of the “brilliance” described by so many who know him. Although Archbishop Hebda was a year behind him in school, they graduated from college at the same time because Archbishop Hebda had placed out of his freshman courses. “So, he really ended up three years at Harvard instead of four,” Ryan said. Ryan recalls a high school government class where Archbishop Hebda sat in front. The teacher asked students to take notes because of the wealth of information. “Bernie just sat there, and he wasn’t taking notes,” Ryan said. “And this went on for a period of weeks. And then the teacher said, ‘Mr. Hebda, are you ever going to write anything down?’ And he said, ‘No, I think I’m good.’ So the teacher said, ‘Fine, OK, it’s your neck.’ So he took the test, and obviously he got an A. . . . I really don’t know how his brain was working, but it wasn’t the same as other people. “He’s well learned and well read,” Ryan said, “but his passion is people. And that stems from his family.” “We all knew he wanted to be a pastor,” he added. In 1990, a recently ordained Father Hebda officiated at the wedding of Ryan
Prayers and best wishes, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda May the Lord bless you as you shepherd the people of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
The Catholic Spirit • 17
Childhood friend and classmate Tom Ryan, a parishioner of St. Mary of the Lake in Plymouth, poses with Bishop Bernard Hebda at his ordination in Gaylord, Michigan, in 2009. Courtesy Tom Ryan and his wife, Michelle, in Pittsburgh. They have three daughters, one out of college, one in college and one in high school. Like the old days when they would gather around the Hebdas’ table, Ryan hopes Archbishop Hebda will find that same hospitality in his Plymouth home. “He knows he’s always welcome here at our home. And sometimes, given his duties, it’s a nice respite to have people you know from home to visit with and rehash memories and just relax,” Ryan said.
Congratulations, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda, on your appointment to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Our prayers are with you.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares The faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix Photo from Relevant Radio® Twin Cities Christ Brings Hope Dinner
By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit
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ister Maureen O’Brien admits that when she learned of Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s appointment to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, she thought, “Oh, no. Poor Bernie.” “On one level, I’m just so proud of him and grateful for the gifts he brings to the Church,” said Sister Maureen, 72, a Sister of Charity. “And on a personal level, I just feel sad that he’s been uprooted.” She knows his roots well. She taught music to a young Bernard Hebda at Resurrection School in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood when he was in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. They’ve kept in touch through the years. She recalls when he told her that all he ever wanted to be was a parish priest. “And I remember saying to him, ‘But Bernie, when you have the gifts that God has given you, maybe that’s not in the cards.’ But I really believe that he has brought those qualities of pastoral leadership to everything he’s ever done. He’s been a shepherd,” Sister Maureen said. “When I hear Pope Francis say, ‘A leader needs to be smelly like the sheep,’ that’s kind of Bernie. He’s among the people; he’s not above the people. And he’s always been that way.”
“Bernie,” Sister Maureen said, came from a simple, hardworking and faithfilled family. His parents were the type of people you wanted to be your best friends. As a student, he was bright and positive; he never complained. And he was always laughing. “The only time I had to correct him in class was for laughing,” she said, recalling how a friend who sat behind him would whisper things in his ear to make him laugh. “And the more I corrected him, the more he laughed.” Among the greatest gifts she believes Archbishop Hebda will share with the archdiocese are his holiness and humility. His love for people and for the Church undoubtedly came from his family, she noted. But she also likes to think his early teachers, the Sisters of Charity, influenced him as well. “Elizabeth Seton taught us — her last words were, ‘Be children of the Church.’ And when I think of Bernie, I think of someone who is a man of the Church. “We really do miss him in Pittsburgh,” she added. Because of her responsibilities as director of campus ministry at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Sister Maureen wasn’t able to attend the installation Mass.
May 26, 2016
Bernard Hebda, left, with classmate Richard Glumac at their confirmation. Submitted photo
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18 • The Catholic Spirit
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May 26, 2016
Our New Archbishop
The Catholic Spirit • 19
Bishop David L. Ricken and the faithful of the Diocese of Green Bay send heartfelt
Archbishop Bernard Hebda gives Communion to his aunt and godmother, Yvonne Holland, at his installation Mass May 13 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit
Niece, aunt: Archbishop a beloved ‘people person’ By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit
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atie Hebda, 19, said it’s special to have an archbishop for an uncle. On the day of Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s installation Mass May 13 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, the incoming sophomore at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, described her uncle as witty, kind and awesome. “You tell your friends that you’re going to this [installation], and it’s just totally different,” she said, “but it’s really beautiful to see someone to look up to like that. All these people here to support him, it’s crazy. He’s so loved, by not only us, but people everywhere.” “They’re so lucky to have him here,” she added. Archbishop Hebda’s maternal aunt and godmother, Yvonne Holland, 81, was somewhat surprised to be sitting in the Cathedral for his installation, only because he was coadjutor archbishop in Newark, New Jersey, when he was named the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ apostolic administrator in June 2015. She wasn’t surprised, however, that he became a priest. “I knew this day would come, from his childhood up,” she said. “Even the day his mother called me on the phone to say he was leaving for the seminary, it was like I had known it already, because he was just the type to do that, even after he was a lawyer for a year. I just knew that wasn’t going to be enough for him, just being a lawyer in the biggest law firm in the city [Pittsburgh], that he would give that all up for the Lord.” Holland said her nephew has all the right qualities to lead the archdiocese. “I think they’re going to come to love him dearly, because he is so good with people, and he is so humble,” she said. “I just hope the people here will give him a chance to get everything straightened out in Minnesota, because he can do a good job. I know he can.”
congratulations and the promise of pr ayer to
Most Rev. Bernard A. Hebda as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
May God bless you on your new journey!
Bishop David L. Ricken Bishop Robert J. Banks, Emeritus Bishop Robert F. Morneau, Emeritus Auxiliary and the priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese of Green Bay
www.gbdioc.org
20 • The Catholic Spirit
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016
‘The type of person that you wish would become a priest’ Archbishop’s interest in priesthood started in childhood By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit
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hen Archbishop Bernard Hebda was a child, he thought he might spend his adult life behind a steering wheel. “Early on, I thought I wanted to be a bus driver,” he said. But, that career option was only a momentary diversion from a path toward the priesthood that began in Brookline, his boyhood neighborhood in Pittsburgh, in a home that was considered a hub on Milan Avenue. “Everybody loved his family,” said longtime friend Father Tim Whalen, pastor at St. Mary of the Assumption in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, just north of Pittsburgh. “His home on that street was like Grand Central Station because of Bernie and his brothers and his sister, and even his mom and dad. Everybody loved to sit at that kitchen table and talk to his mom. Everybody was welcome. It was just a wonderful, wonderful family.” It was that family that created ideal soil for both a vocation and a warm personality to grow, Father As a seminarian, Bernard Hebda meets St. John Paul II. Courtesy the Diocese of Gaylord
Bishop Paul J. Bradley and the faithful from the Diocese of Kalamazoo, send our heartfelt congratulations to Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda and the people of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
DIOCESE OF KALAMAZOO
May the Lord bless you and keep you. As he chose to set you as a Bishop over his people, so may he give you happiness in this present life and a share in the joy that lasts forever. !Rite of Ordination of a Bishop"
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas was honored to partner with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Archbishop Bernard Hebda in 2015 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate. Congratulations Archbishop Hebda on your appointment. We look forward to the Jewish community’s continued work with you and the Catholic community.
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SHOP HEBDA, I B H C R A our prayers are with you and f the Archdiocese. the faithful o Most Reverend Paul J. Swain and the Diocese of Sioux Falls
May 26, 2016
Our New Archbishop
<<20 Whalen said. When Archbishop Hebda was in high school, Father Whalen, who is 10 years older, was already a seminarian, one of about a dozen to come from Resurrection parish in Brookline, where the Hebdas and Whalens were members. Seminarians routinely came to the church for service opportunities. Father Whalen noticed a teen who tagged along. “Bernie would show up at these things and then invite me to come to his house afterwards,” Father Whalen recalled. “Everybody was coming to get something to eat at his house. That’s how I got to know Bernie, through serving together.” A friendship developed that continues to this day. Father Whalen was ordained in 1978; the two had casual talks about the priesthood. Although Archbishop Hebda considers Father Whalen influential in discerning his vocation, Father Whalen wonders whether the opposite was true. “He had just a really open, pleasant, outgoing personality,” Father Whalen noted. “He was the type of person that you wish would become a priest. He went from high school to Harvard and then he went on to law school. So, I really wondered whether he was even thinking about it [priesthood] anymore.” He was, although he also could envision himself working as a lawyer, raising a family and serving the Church as a layman. Archbishop Hebda had thought about being a priest throughout his
Seminarian Bernard Hebda (in green) poses with fellow Pontifical North American College classmates in Rome. Courtesy the Diocese of Gaylord childhood, thanks in part to a long relationship with the Capuchin Franciscans. He had applied to a minor seminary during high school, but his parents thought he was too young to attend. The Capuchins encouraged him to seize the opportunity to study at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, rather than entering seminary after high school. There he was active in the Catholic student center and started going to daily Mass. “I think maybe I had been distracted for a bit, and thinking I could do all these other things to better the world, and was losing sight of the great
The Catholic Spirit • 21 work a priest can do,” Archbishop Hebda said. “When I started going to daily Mass, that renewed my interest in serving as a priest.” After graduating from Harvard in 1980, he studied law at Columbia University. He passed the bar and went to work for a large law firm in Pittsburgh. But, still feeling the pull toward the priesthood, he enrolled at St. Paul Seminary in Pittsburgh to study philosophy before investing more time in a legal profession. “At the end of the year, the bishop asked if I would be interested in continuing theology,” Archbishop Hebda said. “I was excited about that and then was very surprised when he decided to send me to Rome, which was a little bit unusual for someone who hadn’t been in the seminary very long. But that was a great experience that really affirmed my own vocational discernment.” As a student at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, he had the opportunity “to experience the love of St. John Paul,” he said. “Anytime we could, we would go to listen to his homilies or to his gatherings, and that really encouraged me and helped me to solidify my desire to serve the Church as a priest.” He finished seminary and was ordained a priest July 1, 1989, at the St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who was then bishop of Pittsburgh. “I love every part of being a priest,” Archbishop Hebda said. “I really love that people are so willing to share their lives with their priests.”
May 26, 2016 Our New Archbishop Law background gives confidence legal system brings truth
22 • The Catholic Spirit
By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
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“I think it’s basically a respect for rights; I think any law student develops that.”
efore he joined seminary, Archbishop Bernard Hebda spent a year working at the largest law firm in Pittsburgh, Reed
Smith. “I loved it,” he said — a fact that surprised him, since even in law school he hadn’t imagined working as a lawyer, although he was intrigued by the subject matter. He first began considering law while an undergraduate student at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he majored in government with a focus on international relations. Although a vocation to the priesthood had been in the back of his mind since childhood, he decided to forgo seminary and attend Harvard in case the priesthood wasn’t God’s plan for him. With the exception of a monthlong study trip to Europe, Archbishop Hebda hadn’t spent much time outside of Pittsburgh, and he relished learning alongside students from around the world. “I found the academic environment very stimulating at Harvard,” he said. “I met some incredibly bright peers and really met some great friends and . . . found my world broadened.” Thinking that God was calling him to public
Archbishop Bernard Hebda service, he developed an interest in international organization and imagined a career in international development or peace-building efforts. “I was very interested in Africa and some of the conflicts that were going on there,” he said, “and so I thought I’d like to do something for an international agency like the United Nations.” He chose to attend Columbia Law School in New York because of its close proximity to the United Nations, and planned to study international law. Along the way, he found he enjoyed studying things his classmates found challenging, such as contracts, torts and constitutional law. To finance law school, he worked summers at Reed Smith. “The longer I was in law school, the more I thought I could see myself being a lawyer in Pittsburgh or wherever, and having a family and being very involved in the Church, doing something positive in that way,” he said. God had other plans, and he left Reed Smith
for the seminary in 1984. The Church, however, made use of his interest in law by sending him to Rome to study canon law. He earned a licentiate in 1990. From 1992 to 1996, he served as a judge for the tribunal for the Diocese of Pittsburgh before returning to Rome to work in canon law at the Vatican, a role he held until being named bishop of Gaylord in 2009. His legal background has been “really helpful,” he said, in his work as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which declared bankruptcy in January 2015 due to mounting claims of clergy sex abuse, and has faced related civil and criminal charges. His experience means he understands the legal vocabulary and has “a real confidence that our legal system helps us to come to the truth.” His canon law background is helpful, too, said the archbishop, who loves to read John Grisham’s legal thrillers. “I’d already been reflecting on where those areas are where canon law and civil law overlap, and where there might be some opportunities for action on the part of the Church,” he said. “I think it’s basically a respect for rights; I think any law student develops that. You have the sense that you have to be willing to defend the rights of anybody who’s involved. And so often, it really means being able to stick up for what you believe and who you are.”
Archbishop Hebda,
The prayers of the Clergy, Religious and Lay Faithful of this local Church of Newark are with you as you begin your new ministry as Shepherd of the local Church of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. May Our Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you, my friend. ✠ The Most Reverend John J. Myers Archbishop of Newark
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016
The Catholic Spirit â&#x20AC;˘ 23
The Hebda family Archbishop Bernard Hebda poses with his parents and siblings at his episcopal ordination for the Diocese of Gaylord, Michigan, in 2009. At his side are his mother, Helen Hebda, who died in 2011, and his father, Bernard. Back, from left, are his siblings, Terrance Hebda, Yvonne Hebda and Patrick Hebda. Submitted photo
We welcome you as our new Archbishop!
CONGRATULATIONS
Blessings on you, Archbishop Hebda. May the Spirt of the Lord rest on you and God always hold you in the palm of His hand.
Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq congratulates you, Most Reverend Bernard A. Hebda, for your installation as Archbishop and commitment to the Twin Cities Catholic community.
The Community of the Church of St. Patrick in Inver Grove Heights
Paul Donovan Jaclyn May Jeremy Striffler
May God bless you in your new appointment! Pontifical North American College
- Very Rev. Peter Harman, Rector, and the community of the Pontifical North American College
ARCHBISHOP BERNARD A. HEBDA
Your friends in the Advisory Services Group 612 305 2113 612 305 2109 612 305 2108
Interfaith dialogue and friendship is the voice of peace in the midst of a world torn apart by religious extremism. We look forward to partnering with you in pursuit of shalom, wholeness and peace. From strength to strength, Your Temple Israel Neighbors and Friends
Our New Archbishop
24 • The Catholic Spirit
When in Rome
Archbishop Hebda says years in Eternal City gave him a long historical perspective By Bob Zyskowski The Catholic Spirit
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oung Father Bernard Hebda wasn’t too excited about leaving a university chaplaincy to work in Rome, but, nonetheless, he quickly found great satisfaction in the canon law responsibilities that moved him overseas in 1996 — and not just because he loves a morning espresso or pasta for dinner. In addition to a mentally stimulating job, he found tasks to keep him pastorally grounded while living in the Eternal City from 1996 to 2009, and those 13 years — plus the four he spent as a seminarian at the Pontifical North American College — have broadened his view of the Church. The newly installed archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis had been ordained for eight years, had held a number of positions in his home Diocese of Pittsburgh and loved his assignment as campus minister at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania when the request came from his bishop that he take a position on the staff of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. He had earned a law degree from Columbia University and worked as an attorney in Pittsburgh before entering the seminary, and also earned a canon law degree as a priest, so he was obviously qualified for the post. However, “I wasn’t interested in the least,” he said, “because it was an office job, not something that was directly pastoral.”
His attitude changed, he admitted, when he got to Rome and found the work engaging. “What the council did is help the pope with any type of legislation,” the archbishop said. “So, if he was going to be issuing a law, we were going to be helping him draft that, for example, or make sure it was consistent with other laws. We would be the group that would consider how it might be received in different parts of the world.” The council also helped episcopal conferences from around the world, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, with proposals for policies that would need to have the approval of the Holy See, he said, such as whether there should be a term limit on how long a priest could serve as pastor of a parish or how marriage preparation would be done. “It was actually a very interesting experience . . . seeing how the Church from different parts of the world was responding to the challenges they faced,” he said. The small group also essentially served as the in-house law office for the Holy See’s various offices, Archbishop Hebda said, so he got a sense of what was going on throughout the Vatican. The archbishop, who through promotion became the No. 3 person on the staff as the undersecretary, said he was privileged to assist the U.S. bishops as they were trying to formulate a legal approach for norms that would be standard across the country for dealing with the painful experience of clergy sexual abuse. He was able to explain the U.S. civil legal system to his superiors at the Vatican, and, meanwhile, speak with those who were preparing those norms in the United States about the Church’s understanding and the importance of consistency throughout the world. “That was several years worth of work . . . that has had an impact in the lives of individual Catholics,” Archbishop Hebda said. An opportunity to do more than office work in Rome came from the Pontifical North American College, the national seminary of the United States located just a short walk from St. Peter’s Basilica. It was where he had lived and received formation while studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Congratulations Archbishop Hebda! From the Residents, Little Sisters and Staff of Holy Family Residence
“Making the elderly happy —that is what counts!” St. Jeanne Jugan
May 26, 2016
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Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016 <<24 NAC officials invited him to be one of their adjunct spiritual formation directors, work he had done in Pittsburgh. “That was really inspiring,” Archbishop Hebda said. “It was just a time when the college started to boom, to grow. It was really an encouraging environment, an affirming environment from my own priesthood.” Along with prompting him to be serious about his own spiritual life, he valued that the experience brought him into contact with people from different backgrounds. “One of the things that they shared in common was the sense that the Lord was asking them to be a priest,” the archbishop said. “I think that gave me a pretty good sense for the Church in different parts of the United States, including Minnesota.” The Missionaries of Charity in Rome also enabled him to use his priestly ministry outside of the Vatican office as a confessor for the sisters. “Mother Teresa had the wonderful insight that it would be good for all of her sisters to share a common language,” Archbishop Hebda said, “so even though they came from all over the world, she insisted that they speak to one another in English, and that they have Mass in English, and that they would go to confession in English, so they were always looking for English-speaking priests.” “Just their joy, their commitment to doing the humble work in the Church, their perseverance, all of those things really inspired me,” the archbishop
Archbishop Bernard Hebda celebrates his appointment to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis March 24 with archdiocesan priests and staff over coffee and biscotti at Cossetta’s Pasticceria in St. Paul. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit said, “and I hope that I take a little bit of that with me. I really was delighted to learn that the sisters are here in the archdiocese.” Taken together, his years in Rome helped to shape his understanding of the universal nature of the Church, he said, a value he brings to his ministry in Minnesota. “The universality is really important, especially as we see the multicultural dimensions of our
The Catholic Spirit • 25 community here,” Archbishop Hebda said. “Just being attentive to the experience of the immigrant, for example, or the experience of how the faith is lived might not be the same in different parts of the world, so you have to be a little bit broader in your understanding in that way.” Living close to the rich history preserved in Rome gave him a sense of the challenges the Church has faced in the course of 2,000 years. “It does, I think, help me to have a longer view,” he said. “Even as we face some of the challenges here, [that longer view helps] to recognize that there have been other periods of history that have been even more challenging than what we’re experiencing.” Among those current challenges is the interpretation and implementation of the Second Vatican Council, 1962-1965. Periods of adjustments were required after ecumenical councils throughout Church history, he noted. “In the course of our listening sessions [last fall in the archdiocese], we heard Vatican II cited so often,” he said. “But when you have the broader view of history, you realize that’s not something new to the Second Vatican Council. There was that period of adjustment after the First Vatican Council and after the Council of Trent. “So,” he added, “having that sense that somehow or another, all these things work out, and as long as we stay focused on Jesus and God’s love, we persevere in trying to discern that the Lord is going to bless what the Lord is doing.”
The Diocese of Fort Worth Congratulates
Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda on his ordination as Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis The Diocese of Fort Worth, Bishop Michael F. Olson, and the priests, nuns, deacons, and laity join in prayerful support of you in your new role as Archbishop of the Catholics of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis May God bring to fulfillment the good work He has begun in you.
26 • The Catholic Spirit
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016
Colleagues: Archbishop Hebda a pastor through and through
By Sam Patet For The Catholic Spirit
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Bishop Bernard Hebda of Gaylord, Michigan, ordains Father Brian Medlin a transitional deacon in 2012 (above) and a priest in 2013. Courtesy the Diocese of Gaylord
umble. Down to earth. Intelligent. Funny. Prayerful. Talk to anyone who’s worked with Archbishop Bernard Hebda, and they’re likely to use one of those words to describe him. As a priest and, for the last six-and-a-half years, as a bishop, they say Archbishop Hebda has let his joyful personality guide all his interactions with God’s people. “Pope Francis used the phrase that the shepherd should smell like the sheep. And I think in Archbishop Hebda, you have one who loves the people, loves the sheep, loves the whole flock,” said Father John Gordon, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark and director of the archdiocese’s Office for Evangelization. He first met Archbishop Hebda more than 30 years ago, when they both were seminarians at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh, who was a priest of the Pittsburgh diocese with Archbishop Hebda before they were made bishops, said the archbishop “is in every sense of the word [a] pastor.” “The foundation for everything that he does as a canon lawyer and a civil lawyer is, in fact, his love of people,” he said. Archbishop Hebda’s love for people didn’t materialize out of thin air. It was something he nurtured throughout his priesthood. Between 1990 and 1992, he served as master of ceremonies for then-Bishop Donald Wuerl, now a cardinal. While other men might have viewed it as an administrative job, Archbishop Hebda didn’t, Bishop Zubik said. He made “everyone feel important, beginning with the servers who were there, all the liturgical ministers who were being assistants.” Archbishop Hebda’s concern for people continued when he was made bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord in 2009. Sister Rita Epple, a member of the Sisters of Mercy, first met him the day before his episcopal ordination. “You know you sometimes meet people and you click? Well, this is kind of what happened here: We clicked,” she said. As pastoral administrator of a small parish in Metz, Michigan, Sister Rita sometimes had difficulty securing a priest for the church’s 7:45 a.m. Sunday Mass. So in January 2010 when she needed a priest, she decided to see if then-Bishop Hebda was
The Society of Jesus congratulates the Most Reverend Bernard A. Hebda on his installation as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Thank you for your service to the Church. Be assured of our continued prayers for you and your ministry. Wisconsin Province Society of Jesus | jesuitsmidwest.org
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Most Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M., J.C.D., D.D. Bishop of Trenton Along with the clergy, religious and faithful of The Diocese of Trenton Ask God to grant his blessings upon
Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda In his new role as Chief Shepherd of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis We will miss you in New Jersey!
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016 <<26 available. To her surprise and great delight, he was. Over the next several years, Archbishop Hebda made it a point to visit Metz every January. He endeared himself to the congregation with his warmth, friendliness and relatable homilies. Archbishop Hebda not only cares for the lay faithful of his diocese, but he also has a special love for his priests, those who know him say. Bishop Zubik discovered this when, at Archbishop Hebda’s invitation, he led a retreat for the priests of Gaylord. “They all shared with me in no uncertain terms their great love for Archbishop Bernie,” he said. One of those priests was Father Peter Wigton, whom Archbishop Hebda ordained in 2012. “From the moment that I met him, the word ‘humility’ really struck me,” he said. He is “a very simple, humble, yet joyful man.” One of the ways Archbishop Hebda’s humility is manifested is in his willingness to consult others. “He’s just very deferential to so many people,” Bishop Zubik said. People saw this at work in the Diocese of Gaylord. Then-Bishop Hebda held listening sessions when he first arrived, so he could learn more about the diocese, Sister Rita said. And even when he had an idea of what direction the diocese should go, he didn’t implement changes in isolation. Instead, he acted like yeast, Father Wigton said, leading others in a more hidden way.
As part of a sister-diocese project of the Diocese of Gaylord, then-Bishop Hebda helps deliver water filters to families in a remote area of the Diocese of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Courtesy the Diocese of Gaylord With his skills and talents, Sister Rita knew Archbishop Hebda wouldn’t be long in Gaylord. “We knew with his background and with his intelligence and his skills . . . Gaylord wasn’t going to keep him long, even though he thought he’d be there for a lifetime,” Sister Rita said. On Sept. 24, 2013, Pope Francis named Archbishop Hebda coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark. No longer was he serving 66,000 Catholics spread across 11,171 square miles, but instead, 1.3 million Catholics across 513 square miles. Yet, despite moving from a rural diocese to a
The Catholic Spirit • 27 metropolitan one, he continued to let his down-toearth personality shine through. “He comes to Newark, and now it’s a whole different kind of relationship that we’re going to have. We’re not seminarian buddies, but rather, he’s the archbishop and I’m one of the priests in his diocese,” Father Gordon said. “And yet, I never experienced him in a sense of, ‘OK, now I’m the boss.’ I just experienced him coming to know me better, and as he came to know me, to encourage me in the position that I now have. And it was just a great encouragement for me, a tremendous blessing.” As Archbishop Hebda begins his permanent role in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, he’ll have a lot of decisions to make, not least of which will concern the archdiocese’s continued efforts to establish safe environments for children and address the pain of clergy sexual abuse. But as he did both in Gaylord and Newark, those who’ve seen his leadership firsthand say he’ll let his humility and genuine concern for God’s people guide all his decisions. “One of the most important roles of a bishop is to help build up people’s trust in the Church, because people’s faith has been shaken by some of the things that have occurred,” Bishop Zubik said, referring to the sex abuse scandals of the past decades. “Just by his down-to-earth, very direct, very sincere, very spiritual manner in which he leads, I think he’s going to be able to rebuild the Church of Minneapolis-St. Paul.”
President Julie Sullivan, the faculty, staff and students of the University of St. Thomas join in welcoming
Archbishop Bernard Hebda to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. We look forward to collaborations with the archdiocese as we work to advance the common good.
WELCOME
28 â&#x20AC;˘ The Catholic Spirit
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016
Father and son Archbishop Bernard Hebda embraces his father, Bernard Hebda, following his installation Mass May 13 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. The elder Hebda lives in Florida. No matter where he is, the archbishop calls his father every day. Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit
The clergy, staff and parishioners of the Cathedral of Saint Paul joyously welcome Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda
Ad Multos Annos!
May 26, 2016
Our New Archbishop
The Catholic Spirit • 29
Family ties Nieces and a nephew of Archbishop Bernard Hebda process toward the altar of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul with the offertory gifts during the May 13 installation Mass for their uncle. From left are Katie, Sophia, Helena and Patrick Hebda. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit
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EOE
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30 • The Catholic Spirit
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016 FAR LEFT Archbishop Bernard Hebda takes a selfie with 11-year-old Hubert Nyombi after the 50th anniversary Mass at St. Rita in Cottage Grove April 17. Dianne Towalski/ For The Catholic Spirit LEFT Archbishop Hebda talks with Peter DeMarais, left, and Jimmy Abbott during dinner at a St. Paul’s Outreach house in St. Paul April 19. Courtesy Meg Miller, St. Paul’s Outreach
Young at heart Archbishop Hebda at home among youth, college students By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
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hen Archbishop Bernard Hebda — then Father Hebda — was asked by his bishop in 1996 to move to Rome to work on the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, he didn’t want to go. Despite a degree in canon law and experience living in Rome while studying at the Pontifical North American College, the priest was happy where he was: Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, an hour’s drive north of Pittsburgh. There he was campus minister at the small public university’s Newman Center and served at the town’s parish. “I just loved seeing the vitality of our young students, seeing how they were struggling or grappling with issues of life, trying to make sense out of things through the prism of the Church and our teaching, [and] just experiencing the variety of their gifts,” he said. He also enjoyed helping them use their talents to benefit the Church — including some jazz
musicians who would bring “a little bit of a different flavor” to the Mass. “That sense of involvement was so positive for them, knowing that they were contributing their gifts,” he said. Archbishop Hebda did leave Slippery Rock for Rome, and found he enjoyed the canon law work. He also found pastoral work as a spiritual director for American seminarians and as a confessor for the Missionaries of Charity. Later, as bishop of Gaylord, Michigan, he was known for being able to connect well with young people, and accompanied them on pilgrimages to World Youth Day celebrations in Madrid and Rio de Janeiro. Pattie Rioux, a faith development field representative for the Diocese of Gaylord, oversees the diocese’s weeklong Christian Leadership Institute program for high school youths. She recalls inviting then-Bishop Hebda to say one of the week’s Masses. He did, but instead of spending a few hours with the teens, he stayed for a few days, she said. He heard confessions, prayed and talked with the young people, she said, but he also joined in their evening social events, including taking the microphone to sing karaoke. He continued to join the youths during CLI every year he was bishop of Gaylord. Archbishop Hebda also dedicated time to the diocese’s Just Works program, which educates high school students in the Church’s social
teaching. Rioux said he called Just Works and CLI “gems” of the Gaylord diocese and would encourage priests to send their teens to them. Shortly after becoming bishop, he also held listening sessions to learn more about the diocese’s needs, including one for young people. “He totally supported our teenagers and encouraged the teenagers to be involved and continue to grow in their faith, but he did it in such a fun-loving, welcoming way,” Rioux said.
Dorm living While in the Archdiocese of Newark, Archbishop Hebda even made his home among young people. Inspired by his experience at Slippery Rock, he moved into a dorm at Seton Hall University. “I knew that I found it energizing to be with young people and their ideas, their willingness to look at things in a fresh way,” he said, adding that he also benefited from students’ help with technology. Seton Hall also is home to Newark’s major and minor seminaries, as well as 40 other priests who lived on campus, giving Archbishop Hebda — then positioned to take over as Newark’s archbishop upon the expected 2016 retirement of Archbishop John Myers — a chance to know those priests and seminarians. >>31
Keep up with Archbishop Hebda throughout the year with The Catholic Spirit
Our New Archbishop
May 26, 2016 <<30 He lived in a priest apartment in Xavier Hall, which houses seven floors of upperclassmen. He frequently attended 10 p.m. night prayer there with students, said campus chaplain Father John Dennehy. “He would meet students where they are at,” he said of the archbishop. “That’s what people need in the world.” Junior Leigha Wentz, who met the archbishop at night prayer, called him “a really fantastic addition to the group.” “He’s the first archbishop that I have ever met, and at first I expected him to be really intimidating, but he fit in very easily and did his best to make everyone at ease,” said Wentz, a 21-year-old majoring in international relations and modern languages. “He even took time on another night to meet with the other students on my floor and answer our questions about his life and such.” Fellow junior Kiersten Lynch, who lived down the hall from Archbishop Hebda, said he was in on the night prayer group’s inside jokes. “Archbishop is a very, very special priest,” said Lynch, who is studying English and theology. “He is kind, and you can see that he really cares about each person he comes across.”
‘A man of evangelization’ Since arriving in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and
Minneapolis, Archbishop Hebda has attended a Lifeline Mass, NET Ministries’ monthly liturgy for high school students. He also spoke at a Tommie Catholic event April 19, where he made it clear he was delighted his new assignment connects him to local Catholic universities. “I feel very much at home,” he said of being on the University of St. Thomas campus and hosted by a collaboration of campus ministry, St. Paul’s Outreach and the university’s Catholic Studies program. Prior to speaking at St. Thomas, he had dinner with 20 college students and recent graduates at an SPO men’s house. Although the national organization is based in Inver Grove Heights, Archbishop Hebda was familiar with its campus evangelization because of its presence at Seton Hall. Peter DeMarais, a Twin Cities native who worked as an SPO missionary at Seton Hall from 2011 to 2014, got to know Archbishop Hebda during the archbishop’s first year living on campus. DeMarais has since returned to Minnesota, and was at the men’s house dinner. Noting both the archbishop’s affable relationships with Seton Hall students and the rapport he quickly established with the SPO men, DeMarais, 28, said the archbishop is good at putting people at ease by making a joke or recalling a story. “I’m excited about the prospect of him being a man of evangelization in Minnesota,” he said.
Archbishop bernArd A. hebdA We congratulate you! Prayers and gratitude for your installation and leadership as the Archbishop for the faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis.
Bishop Peter F. Christensen Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise, Idaho
The Catholic Spirit • 31
Archbishop Bernard Hebda visits before Mass April 17 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul with altar server Antonio Guajardo. Looking on is Antonio’s younger brother, Jose Guajardo. Both are students at St. Agnes School and Cathedral parishioners. Dianne Towalski/For The Catholic Spirit
“The Lord wants it to be clear that it’s not our things,
our degrees, our resources
that make the difference — but only him, only Jesus.” Archbishop Bernard Hebda
Archbishop Bernard Hebda smiles during evening prayer at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis May 12. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit