St. Anne, Pray for Us

The Vatican has approved the request from Archbishop Vigneron to name St. Anne, mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus, as the patron saint of Detroit. This is wonderful news for my archdiocese. For more information, you can read more about this here.

The press release from the Archdiocese of Detroit explains why St. Anne was chosen: "This devotion was planted on the banks of the Detroit River by the original French-Canadian settlers. Two days after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac landed with 51 others in what is now downtown Detroit on July 24, 1701, they celebrated Mass and began construction of a church named after Saint Anne. Today, Sainte Anne de Detroit is the second oldest continually operating parish in the United States. As is now recognized by the Holy See, the Church of Detroit was placed under Saint Anne's protection from its very founding."

St. Anne, pray for us!

Another Auxiliary Bishop for Detroit

From the Archdiocese of Detroit:

Pope Benedict XVI announced that Fr. Arturo Cepeda of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, will be the 28th auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit. He will be ordained with Bishop-designates Hanchon and Byrnes at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral on May 5.

For more info, go here.

Welcome to Detroit, Bishop-designate Cepeda!

New Archbishop for Detroit

I don't typically put information on my blog about newly named bishops, but when the bishop named is your new boss, I can make an exception.

"Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Allen Henry Vigneron, 60, of the Diocese of Oakland, California, as the new Archbishop of Detroit. Installation of the new archbishop has been scheduled for 2 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28, at Detroit’s Blessed Sacrament Cathedral.

As required by Church law, Cardinal Maida submitted his resignation to the Holy Father when he turned 75, in March of 2005. Pope Benedict then invited Cardinal Maida to continue as Archbishop of Detroit. Cardinal Maida’s resignation has now been accepted; he will, however, serve as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese during this month’s transition.

Cardinal Adam Maida will introduce his successor, Archbishop-elect Allen Vigneron, at a news conference on Monday, January 5, at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, 2701 Chicago Boulevard at Linwood, Detroit.

Archbishop-elect Vigneron was born in Mt. Clemens and grew up in Immaculate Conception Parish, Anchorville. He attended Immaculate Conception Grade School before going on to Detroit’s Sacred Heart Seminary High School and College. Later, he studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Prior to being named Bishop of Oakland, California, in 2003, Archbishop-elect Vigneron was an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit. His background includes assignments as rector/president of Sacred Heart Major Seminary, work in the Administrative Section of the Vatican Secretariat of State, and service as associate pastor at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Harper Woods.

In his remarks, Archbishop-elect Vigneron expressed his gratitude to Pope Benedict, acknowledged Cardinal Maida’s welcome home, and addressed southeast Michigan’s economic struggle. “I recognize that this challenge for our civic community is – as all societal problems are – a pastoral challenge as well. To that challenge,” he said, “I want to bring all the riches of grace which the Holy Spirit has bestowed on the Church.”

As Archbishop of Detroit, Archbishop-elect Vigneron will be the chief shepherd of 1.4 million Catholics who reside in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Lapeer, and St. Clair Counties. Assisting him in his duties will be Auxiliary Bishops Daniel Flores and Francis Reiss and retired Auxiliary Bishops Moses Anderson, SSE, and Thomas Gumbleton."

(From Press Release by Archdiocese of Detroit)