Nov 30, 2003 / 22:00 pm
Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Wichita has mixed emotions as he prepares to take over the much larger and troubled Diocese of Phoenix, reported the Associated Press Nov. 28.
"My mind and soul have no doubt it's God's will, but my heart is zigzagging all over the place," he told the AP.
His new appointment to Pheonix, announced by the Vatican Nov. 25, came as quite a surprise to the bishop, who has served in Wichita for almost five years. For the last two years, he served as the sole bishop.
Olmsted said he never dreamed of being appointed to a diocese, based in the nation's sixth-largest city. His new diocese, with an estimated 450,000 members, is nearly four times the size of Wichita.