Miami, Fla., Jun 1, 2010 / 15:00 pm
During his highly anticipated installation Mass as leader of the Archdiocese of Miami, Archbishop Thomas Wenski addressed his new flock on Tuesday, reflecting on the challenges faced by the Florida community and asserting that “Catholics should involve themselves in the public square – and do so coherently and unapologetically.”
Archbishop Wenksi made his remarks at the afternoon installation and ordination Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Miami, where earlier he was received by a throng of cheering attendees as the liturgical procession made its way inside. At the beginning of the Mass, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S., read the Holy Father's greeting and appointment of Archbishop Wenski as shepherd of the archdiocese's 1.3 million Catholics.
After the Scripture readings, which were done in Spanish, English and Creole, the new archbishop opened his homily by remarking on the significance of the Miami archdiocese. The native Floridian called the city “a vital part of the various nations from which our people have come: Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Colombia and the rest of the Caribbean, South and Central America.”
“Sometimes, Miami boasts that it is the capital of the hemisphere,” he added. “The presence here today of Bishops from Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico, I think, shows that this is no idle boast.”