Raleigh, N.C., Jul 30, 2006 / 22:00 pm
One of the first things on Bishop Michael Burbidge’s "to do" list is learning Spanish. The auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia will be installed this week as the bishop of the growing Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Hispanic population is on the rise and he wants to be able to, "speak to their situation and their needs."
Burbidge’s desire to learn the language of a growing segment of his flock speaks to the great desire he has to make connections with the people he serves, according to story yesterday in the News & Observer.
Raleigh, with only 200,000 registered Catholics, is small compared with the bishop’s native Philadelphia, which numbers 1.4 million Catholics. But it has grown considerably in the last 10 years- by 61 percent-and the Hispanic population is a main factor.
Monsignor Hugh Shields, a friend of Burbidge’s, says that the bishop has a gift of setting aside his many concerns, just to meet people. Of the Bishop’s process of learning Spanish, Shields said that Bishop Burbidge will not be discouraged by mistakes. "Making mistakes isn’t as important to him as making a connection. That desire to connect will be like gasoline to his tanks."