Archbishop of Chicago
On the appointment of Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki
Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, to the See of Springfield-in-Illinois.
April 20, 2010
Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki’s appointment by Pope Benedict XVI to the see of Springfield-in-Illinois brings to the priests, religious and laity of that diocese a bishop well trained in the way of the Lord and expert in the ways of the Church.
The Archdiocese of Chicago will no longer directly enjoy the many gifts that Bishop Paprocki brings to his Episcopal ministry, but we rejoice with the Diocese of Springfield on their receiving their new bishop.
I would like to thank Msgr. Carl Kemme for the loving care he has given to the Springfield Diocese as its administrator after Archbishop George Lucas was appointed to Omaha.
My prayer is that the Lord and his Blessed Mother, under the title of her Immaculate Conception, will bless Bishop Paprocki and the Church of Springfield as he takes up his new Episcopal duties.
Orzeczenie Kardynala Francis George, O.M.I.
Arcybiskupa Chicago
z okazji nominacji Biskupa Tomasza J. Paprockiego Pomocniczego Biskupa Chicago na ordynariusza diecezji
Springfield w dniu 20 kwietnia 2010 roku.
Papiez Benedykt XVI powolujac Ks. Biskupa Tomasza J. Paprockiego na ordynariusza diecezji Springfield, wybral dla ksiezy, zakonników, zakonnic i wszystkich wiernych, biskupa, który jest bardzo dobrze przygotowany duchowo wprowadzeniu ludu do Boga i bardzo zdolnego w zarzadzaniu sprawami Kosciola.
Archidiecezja Chicago, mimo, ze nie bedzie sie juz mogla bezposrednio cieszyc z wielu talentów jakie biskup Paprocki wnosil przez swoja posluge biskupia, to jednak cieszymy sie wraz z Diecezja Springfield, ze otrzymala swojego nowego biskupa.
Chcialbym bardzo podziekowac Msgr. Carl Kemme za troskliwa opieke diecezja Springfield, jako jej tymczasowy administrator, po wyniesieniu biskupa George Lukas do godnosci arcybiskupiej dla Arcydiecezji Omaha.
Polecam w mojej modlitwie Panu Bogu i Matce Bozej, pod wezwaniem jej Niepokalanego Poczecia, biskupa Paprockiego i Kosciól w diecezji Springfield wlasnie w tym momencie obejmowania jego biskupich obowiazków.
STATEMENT OF THE MOST REVEREND THOMAS JOHN PAPROCKI
UPON HIS APPOINTMENT AS THE NINTH BISHOP OF SPRINGFIELD IN ILLINOIS
April 20, 2010
President Abraham Lincoln has been a hero of mine since my first visit to Springfield when I was in eighth grade. In a speech given in Springfield on January 27, 1838, Abraham Lincoln said, “We find ourselves under the government of a system of political institutions, conducting more essentially to the ends of civil and religious liberty, than any of which the history of former times tells us. We, when mounting the stage of existence, found ourselves the legal inheritors of these fundamental blessings.”
It is indeed a “fundamental blessing” which I am profoundly privileged to inherit as the new shepherd of the flock that comprises the Catholic community of central Illinois. I am deeply grateful for the confidence shown by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in appointing me to serve as the ninth Bishop of Springfield in Illinois. 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. I pledge to do my best with the help of God’s grace to build on the “fundamental blessings” established through the dedicated ministry of the previous bishops of Springfield, especially my immediate predecessor, the Most Reverend George Lucas, now Archbishop of Omaha.
I also wish to express my sincere appreciation to my fellow priests and bishops of the Archdiocese of Chicago with whom I have been fortunate to work for the past thirty-two years. Most of all, I thank His Eminence, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I, Archbishop of Chicago, for being a true mentor over the past thirteen years during which I was privileged to serve as his Chancellor, as a parish Pastor and as his Auxiliary Bishop. I am pleased that we will continue to be co-workers in the vineyard of the State of Illinois that comprises the Province of Chicago. May God who has begun this good work bring it to completion.