Springfield, Ill., Apr 20, 2010 / 09:46 am
This morning Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, announced the appointment of Chicago’s Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki as the new bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois.
A 10 a.m. press conference at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield will introduce Bishop Paprocki to his new flock. “I look forward to working with the priests, deacons, men and women religious, the lay Christian faithful and all people of good will here in our State Capital to carry out the mission entrusted to us by Jesus Christ to proclaim the Gospel,” Bishop Paprocki said in a statement this morning.
The Diocese of Springfield has been without a bishop for 10 months, since Bishop George Lucas was appointed Archbishop of Omaha last June. “On behalf of the priests, deacons, seminarians, consecrated religious and lay men and women in all our parishes and institutions, I joyfully welcome Bishop Thomas Paprocki as the ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois,” said Msgr. Carl Kemme, who has served as the diocesan administrator in the absence of a bishop.
“We are grateful to God, to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and to Francis Cardinal George for choosing such a gifted and dedicated priest and bishop to serve us. We are most grateful to Bishop Paprocki for accepting this appointment,” added Msgr. Kemme. “Together, we pledge our prayers, support and loving cooperation to him in the ongoing work of proclaiming the Gospel.”