Auxiliary Bishop-designate Gerard W. Battersby places his hand on the book of the Gospels while making his profession of faith and oath of fidelity Jan. 19 during a special vespers service at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. Along with Bishop-designate Robert J. Fisher, Bishop Battersby was to be ordained an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit on Jan. 25. (Dan Meloy | The Michigan Catholic)New auxiliary bishops make oaths of fidelity; priests offer final farewells to Archbishop Byrnes
DETROIT — A week before the ordination of Auxiliary Bishops Robert J. Fisher and Gerard W. Battersby, priests from across the Archdiocese of Detroit gathered to welcome the two men and say farewell to another shepherd.
On Jan. 19, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron led clergy in a vespers service in the chapel of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, welcoming Bishops-designate Fisher and Battersby and saying farewell to Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes, who was named coadjutor archbishop of Agana, Guam, in October.
After a reading from the First Letter of Peter, Archbishop Byrnes delivered the homily, addressing the role of being a bishop.
“Doing the job of a shepherd is anticipating the consequences of the new life that’s been generated,” Archbishop Byrnes said. “Peter is saying, this outcome of all of this is deliverance; to purify your souls by obedience for the truth. Peter says you and I have been purified for obedience to the truth. By grace through faith, this incredible access to God has been opened to us.”
Archbishop Byrnes said a Christian relationship with God, and others, can’t be a casual one because there is nothing casual about the love God has for each person. That love needs to be professed by the leaders of the Church, he added.
“Casual love can’t create the Christian community,” Archbishop Byrnes said. “Why? Because we have that seed within us. That power of God’s love can break through all. We need these men (Battersby and Fisher) to teach us how to be teachers of love.”
During the vespers, Archbishop Vigneron blessed the new bishops’ episcopal rings, croziers and miters, which they were to receive at the ordination.
The service also saw Bishops-designate Battersby and Fisher make their solemn profession of faith and oath of fidelity to the Catholic Church, promising to promote and pass on all doctrines of the faith and submit themselves to the pope.
After vespers, the bishops and priests gathered at the Sacred Heart’s gymnasium, where they had the chance to formally say farewell to Archbishop Byrnes.
“People keep asking me what’s it like in Guam, and I keep telling people, ‘I don’t live in a grass hut,’” Archbishop Byrnes said. “It’s like Florida, it has infrastructure and everything.”
Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes, the new coadjutor archbishop of Agana, Guam, shows off the grass skirt he received as a parting gift Jan. 19 from the priests of the Archdiocese of Detroit. (Dan Meloy | The Michigan Catholic)Archbishop Byrnes said Guam has its challenges from an administrative and financial standpoint, but more than the institution’s struggles, he said the souls of the people of Guam are his top priority.
Archbishop Byrnes added he’s encouraged by all the people praying for him back home.
Auxiliary Bishop-designate Robert J. Fisher tries on a nurse’s hat presented to him by Msgr. Michael LeFevre on behalf of the priests of the archdiocese Jan. 19. The hats, while humorous, were intended to signify the new bishops’ role in what Pope Francis has called a “field hospital of mercy.” (Dan Meloy | The Michigan Catholic)The priests of the archdiocese took the time to have a little fun with Archbishop Byrnes and Bishops-designate Battersby and Fisher, gifting Archbishop Brynes with a straw hat and grass skirt, and small nursing hats for Bishops-designate Battersby and Fisher, signifying their role in a Church that Pope Francis has said should be “a field hospital” for all.
“It takes a smelly shepherd to lead a smelly flock, and we’re all trying to get to heaven,” Bishop-designate Fisher said. “I’m so grateful for the promise of prayers, and I’m looking forward to walking alongside you.”
“When one member of the body is honored, all are honored,” Bishop-designate Battersby added. “I thank God for Jesus pointing you out to me. I pray and give thanks to God for all of you.”
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For more stories about the ordination and background of the Archdiocese of Detroit's new auxiliary bishops, Bishop Robert Fisher and Bishop Gerard Battersby, check out The Michigan Catholic's special section.
