August 28, 2020

Apostolic administrator makes first visit to Springfield Diocese

REGIONAL
Staff report

 

SPRINGFIELD — Worcester, Mass., Bishop Robert J. McManus, newly appointed apostolic administrator of the Springfield Diocese, made his first visit to the diocese on Friday, Aug. 28, meeting diocesan staff members at the pastoral center and celebrating the 12:10 Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral.

Delivering his homily to the socially distanced congregation, Bishop McManus said it was fitting that his first Mass in the Springfield Diocese was in the feast day of St. Augustine who said, “Christ is the head of the church… and even the powers of hell will not destroy the church or the Catholic faith.”

Speaking of the challenges of worship during the present pandemic, Bishop McManus said, “It is my constant prayer that Catholics will return to the church with renewed faith.” He cited the importance of the Mass as the “source and summit of the Catholic faith.”

“We cannot have the church without the Mass and we cannot have the Mass without the priests,” he said.

Referring to the Gospel proclaimed at the Mass (Mt. 25:1-3), the parable about the wise and foolish virgins, Bishop McManus said, “No one knows when Christ will come, but we do know that Christ is with us at Mass.”

Concluding his homily, he said, “The Eucharist is our way of building up the church.”

Bishop McManus officially assumed the position upon the Aug. 25 installation of Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, former Springfield bishop, as archbishop of the St. Louis Archdiocese. Speaking via Zoom to “Real to Reel” host Sharon Roulier earlier this week, Bishop McManus explained what his role will be in the Springfield Diocese.

“The Holy Father, on the recommendation of the College of Bishops, has appointed me to the apostolic administrator. And, fundamentally, my responsibility is to oversee the pastoral life of the diocese until the Holy Father names a new diocesan bishop,” Bishop McManus said. “So, basically, it’s to keep the ship afloat, so to speak.”

He explained further that “to be an apostolic administrator you have to be a bishop, because the bishop obviously is fundamentally essentially important to the life of the local church. So although Springfield no longer has its own diocesan bishop, but nonetheless, the Holy Father, in his solicitude for the church and for the Diocese of Springfield, he wanted to appoint a bishop to oversee the pastoral life of the church until its own bishop can be named.”

The apostolic administrator is charged with deciding which issues need to be addressed during this interim period and what issues need to wait until a new bishop is appointed. There are some things he cannot do, like appoint new pastors, but he can name parish administrators.

Regarding the length of time he will serve as apostolic administrator, Bishop McManus said, “Usually it’s a year. Under these circumstances, I’m hoping that it’s not that long. So, I would suspect it would be between nine months and a year.”

Asked how he will balance his continuing duties as bishop of the Worcester Diocese with his newly acquired responsibilities in the Springfield Diocese, Bishop McManus said, “In this pandemic age that we’ve developed, what we’re doing now, Zoom, which a while back would not have been state of the art, so this will be very helpful.

“As a matter of fact, even in my own diocese, I’ve been meeting with my Presbyteral Council through Zoom in a number of our meetings, so that will be a big help. But there are some things I would physically have to be present for in the Diocese of Springfield,” he said.

Complete information on the authority and responsibilities of an apostolic administrator can be found on the diocesan website at: http://diospringfield.org/10103-2/.

Click here for a photo gallery of the bishop’s visit and Mass: https://iobserve.org/bishop-mcmanus-first-visit/

A video version of this story will be featured on an upcomng edition of “Real to Reel” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. on WWLP-22 NEWS and in the Berkshires Sunday mornings at 5:30 on Albany’s Fox 23, WXXA.

Contributing to this report were Catholic Communications staff members Sharon Roulier and Rebecca Drake.