December 1, 2020

Diocese prepares for ordination and installation of Bishop-elect William Byrne

REGIONAL
By Carolee McGrath

Bishop-elect William D. Byrne (iObserve photo/Katherine Palmiere)

SPRINGFIELD – With less than two weeks to go, the Diocese of Springfield’s Episcopal Ordination and Planning Team is putting the finishing touches on plans for the ordination and installation of Bishop-elect William D. Byrne, which will be held Monday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. at St. Michael’s Cathedral, here.

Because there will be limited capacity in the cathedral due to COVID-19 safety restrictions, the Mass will be livestreamed on WWLP-22News, CatholicTV and on the diocesan website,  diospringfield.org. An evening prayer service will be held the night before the installation at 5:30 p.m. at St. Michael’s Cathedral. The service will be livestreamed on diospringfield.org.

“This is an ordination-installation. Right now Father Bill Byrne is a priest. So now he’s bishop elect, so he must be ordained to the episcopacy and then after that ordination, he will be brought to the chair, the main cathedra of the cathedral, and formally installed as the new bishop of Springfield,” said Father William J. Hamilton, of the diocese’s Office of Worship and chaplain of the Springfield and Easthampton police departments.

“There’s a lot going on and we’re trying to do the best we can to accommodate everybody’s wishes and everybody’s needs. Obviously, it’s going to be a little smaller event than what it would normally be,” Father Hamilton said.

“He is our shepherd. He is our protector,” he said. “One of the elements he will receive is the bishop’s crosier which is a tall stick with a crook on the end which shepherds use to guide the sheep. Sometimes what we don’t always understand is there are two methods of the crosier. The crook helps keep them in the fold. The other end is actually a weapon to protect them against the wolves.

“So it’s a symbol that the bishop always carries as he is the chief shepherd, the chief priest of the diocese and he takes care of all of his priests and his people,” said Father Hamilton.

Only 297 people are allowed in St. Michael’s Cathedral for the ordination, which typically would draw as many as 1,000 guests. The planning committee has gone to great lengths, marking off pews and planning seating arrangements at the altar for visiting bishops and cardinals who will concelebrate the Mass.

“The biggest challenge right now is the restrictions with the virus. There are changes every day in Massachusetts. It changes daily, hourly,” said Stacy Dibbern, manager of the bishop’s office and special projects. Bishop-elect Byrne’s family is expected to attend including his 97-year-old mother, Mary Byrne.

The diocese’s Episcopal Ordination and Planning Team meets recently in the Bishop Marshall Center adjacent to St. Michael’s Cathedral. (iObserve photo/Carolee McGrath)

“This is like planning a wedding in six weeks with people from all over the country and some from out of the country,” explained Dibbern, who added the planning committee is adhering to all state COVID-19 safety guidelines.

“Anybody who will be coming in from out of state will be required to provide evidence of a negative test prior to their arrival,” she continued.

Pope Francis named Bishop-elect Byrne the 10^th bishop of the Springfield Diocese in October.

He is a native and priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and the youngest of eight children of Mary (Largent) Byrne and the late Dr. William Byrne, a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon who passed away in 2011. He completed his undergraduate studies the College of Holy Cross in Worcester. He then taught for three years at Mater Dei School before being accepted as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. He studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, completing his licentiate in sacred theology from Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) and was ordained in 1994 by Cardinal James A. Hickey.

Bishop-elect Byrne is on a retreat this week as he prepares to move to Springfield.

More information about the upcoming prayer service and installation can be found at diospringfield.org.