Bishop-elect Dennis Walsh lies prostrate during the Litany of Supplication at his ordination and installation Mass Sept. 27 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport.
By Barb Arland-Fye
The Catholic Messenger
All in the family
Marilyn Walsh, still absorbing the details of the ordination and installation of her son Dennis as 10th Bishop of the Diocese of Davenport, said after the Mass Sept. 27 that his becoming a bishop “was never in the picture. But pictures change,” added Marilyn, who lives in Lima, Ohio.
Brenda Walsh, the bishop’s sister, described the liturgy as “amazing, an incredible experience.” When Archbishop Thomas Zinkula anointed Bishop Walsh’s head with oil and invested him with the Episcopal ring, miter and crosier, “that’s when it became real to me,” Brenda, of Lima, said.
Julia Riepenhoff, Brenda’s daughter, said witnessing her uncle’s ordination to the Episcopacy was “surreal.” She never anticipated her uncle becoming a bishop and being able to witness his ordination and installation as a bishop. “I’m so proud of him.”
Craig Walsh, the bishop’s younger brother, described the experience as “very emotional, exciting,” and said he, too, is proud of his brother. Asked what he will call his brother, Craig said, “He’ll still be Dennis.” With a twinkle in his eye, Craig, added, “if I’m in the mood, I’ll call him ‘Excellency.’”
Archbishop Thomas Zinkula cleanses his hands after anointing Bishop Dennis Walsh with the help of diocesan seminarians William Keating, left, Blake Riffel and Alex TeBrockhorst.
Grateful faithful
“What a joy to have a bishop,” said Father Rudolph Juarez, pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Davenport. “We’re not in limbo anymore. I look forward to working with him as he serves the diocese. I’m especially pleased he can speak Spanish,” added Father Juarez, the Davenport Diocese’s vicar for Hispanics.
Catalina and Fidencio Valdez of St. Joseph Parish in Columbus Junction said they felt blessed to attend the liturgy to witness the ordination and installation of Bishop Walsh. Catalina said the first reading (Jeremiah 1:4-9) was especially meaningful. “Every person is called by God,” she said. “It’s awesome that we’ve got a new bishop,” Fidencio said. “It’s awesome that he speaks Spanish.”
Father John Lamansky, pastor of St. Wenceslaus Parish in Iowa City, said what stayed with him were Bishop Walsh’s closing remarks at the end of Mass. “He sees his mandate, his mission as leading the diocese in holiness. That is exactly the right focus.” Father Lamansky said he had heard from the priests of the Toledo Diocese that Bishop Walsh is an excellent administrator. “He struck me as having a good mix of humility and confidence… He exuded joy and simplicity.”
Deacon Angel Hernandez, who serves St. Patrick Parish in Iowa City, said he felt honored to place the Book of the Gospels over the head of Bishop-elect Walsh with Deacon Kent Ferris. When the newly ordained bishop took his seat on the cathedra, “I started to cry,” Deacon Hernandez said. He is grateful that Bishop Walsh speaks Spanish and hopes that will inspire “more vocations in the Hispanic community, not just to the priesthood but also the sacrament of holy matrimony.”
Diocesan seminarian Alfonso Pizano said, “It felt good to be part of diocesan history …It’s an honor to see that (apostolic) lineage continue.”
Diocesan seminarian Blake Riffel described the liturgy as “really special,” especially since he attended his first Chrism Mass earlier this year and saw the sacred Chrism that Archbishop Thomas Zinkula would use in the ordination of the diocese’s future bishop. “It was really beautiful and special to see how packed the church was,” he said.
Diocesan seminarian William Keating said, “It was amazing to see the ordination of a bishop and feel some of that rejoicing over having a shepherd for the flock in the Davenport Diocese again, a spiritual father to the presbyterate and the diaconate. … It feels good to have that kind of paternal leadership back in the diocese again.”
He reflected on Archbishop Zinkula’s homily, which explored the three levels of holy orders, all grounded in the diaconate. Keating said it helped him appreciate how the presbyterate and the diaconate worked to sustain the diocese when it was without a bishop. “To have a bishop back again feels very good.”
Meliza Wise of St. Thomas More Parish in Coralville said the anointing of the new bishop was most meaningful for her. “My hope is that he will embrace the different and diverse populations and that he will be welcomed by everyone.”
Sister Mary Edward Spohrer, SCC, left, and Sister Immacolata Scarogni, SCC, bring forth the gifts during the ordination and installation Mass of Bishop Dennis Walsh Sept. 27.
Ohio sisters, clergy inspired
“What struck me is when the deacons placed the Book of the Gospels over the bishop-elect’s head,” said Sister Deb Giles, SND, of Delphos, Ohio. “It is a profound responsibility, to lead us in the Gospel, to live the Gospel.” While appreciating the magnitude of the responsibility, she also noted that Bishop Walsh “is very unassuming. It was a thrill to share in this experience,” she said.
Sister Fredricka Kollsmith, SND, also of Delphos, appreciated the universality of the liturgy, the nationalities represented in the congregation and the choirs — Hispanics, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Africans and representatives of the Byzantine Catholic Church. “I got pretty teary-eyed,” she admitted, witnessing her longtime pastor becoming a bishop.
“To me, it was a touch of heaven. The sense of Church was so strong,” said Sister Mary Edward Spohrer, SCC, of Landeck, Ohio. The people of the diocese prepared for this celebration with “so much love.”
“We’re honored to witness his (Bishop Walsh’s) ‘yes’ to God,” said Sister Immacolata Scarogni, SCC, also of Landeck. “I hope it inspires many other ‘yeses’ among the faithful in the Church.” She says that seeing him take on a new role in a new place feels like “putting your kid in kindergarten for the first time.”
Msgr. William Kubacki, vicar general of the Toledo Diocese, said the homilies of Bishop Daniel Thomas of the Toledo Diocese (during the Vespers service) and Archbishop Thomas Zinkula (during the ordination/installation Mass) “were phenomenal” and the liturgy was “uplifting.”
Father Kent Kaufman, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Lima, Ohio, said he and Bishop Walsh were part of the same priest support group and that then-Father Walsh was his dean. “There’s no place else I would want to be than here,” Father Kaufman said after the ordination/installation Mass. “It’s always good to see for yourself where your friend is going to be for the next chapter in his life.”
(Diocesan reporter Lindsay Steele and Assistant Editor Anne Marie Amacher contributed to this story.)
