MIAMI, Florida, APRIL 20, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, Florida, as archbishop of Miami.
Archbishop Wenski, 59, succeeds Archbishop John Favalora, 74, who resigned as he will reach the age limit this year.
Today, after the announcement of his appointment, the prelate noted that he is «coming home» to the archdiocese where he was ordained a priest in 1976, and named an auxiliary bishop in 1997.
«I am told that Miami has its challenges,» the archbishop said, «but what else is new?»
He added, «The Lord tells us: ‘Do not be afraid.'»
Quoting Benedict XVI’s words from «Deus Caritas Est,» Archbishop Wenski affirmed: «We are only instruments in the Lord’s hands; and this knowledge frees us from the presumption of thinking that we alone are personally responsible for building a better world.
«In all humility we will do what we can, and in all humility we will entrust the rest to the Lord. It is God who governs the world, not we.
«We offer him our service only to the extent that we can, and for as long as he grants us the strength.»
<br>The prelate has given many years to serving the Hispanic and Haitian communities in South Florida, and has traveled to Haiti, Cuba, the Congo and the Great Lakes region of Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Israel and the Palestinian West Bank at the service of the Church.
He became bishop of Orlando in 2004. Archbishop Wenski will be installed in the Miami Archdiocese on June 1.
The Miami Archdiocese has some 860,000 Catholics registered, served by 397 priests, 119 permanent deacons and 415 religious.
Springfield, Illinois
Also today, the Vatican announced the appointment of Bishop Thomas Paprocki, auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Chicago, as bishop of Springfield, Illinois.
Bishop Paprocki, 57, will replace Archbishop George Lucas, who was moved to lead the Omaha Archdiocese last June.
Born in Chicago, Thomas Paprocki was ordained a priest in 1978 and a bishop in 2003.
As a pastor, he worked in a poor neighborhood and helped found the South Chicago Legal Clinic to attend to the needs of the impoverished.
The prelate also has experience working with the Polish immigrants in Chicago.
In January 2008, the bishop was elected Vice-Chairman of the John Paul II Foundation in Rome. The next year he became the executive director of the Catholic League for Religious Assistance to Poland.
Bishop Paprocki has most recently been serving as an adjunct professor of law at Loyola University Chicago, and as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ conference Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance.
He enjoys running as a hobby, and has run 16 marathon races, in the process raising over $265,000 for charity.
In a statement after his appointment, Bishop Paprocki quoted Abraham Lincoln — who lived and worked in Springfield — underlining the «fundamental blessing» of being named to lead the flock in that region.
«May God who has begun this good work bring it to completion,» he said.
The Springfield Diocese has some 164,000 Catholics, with 157 priests, 23 permanent deacons and 661 religious.
