Bishop feels 'excitement, joy, enthusiasm' over Crookston appointment

ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- With humor and grace, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens introduced himself Oct. 18 to the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, as a lover of Christ, adventure and walking the journey of faith with others.

"I am filled with many emotions today, excitement, joy, enthusiasm," said the 53-year-old auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

He made the comments at a news conference livestreamed from Crookston just hours after the public announcement of his appointment as the eighth bishop of the mostly rural diocese in northwest Minnesota.

"I'm a person who loves an adventure. Certainly, this is an adventure (of faith)," he said.

He thanked Pope Francis for the appointment, retired Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, for serving as apostolic administrator of Crookston since the April resignation of Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner and Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis for his support in the eight years they served as bishops together in the Twin Cities.

Bishop Cozzens said he also felt some grief in knowing he would be leaving family, friends, priests and co-workers who supported him in his 24 years of ministry in the archdiocese.

But he feels ready to lead the 14-county Crookston Diocese, with its lakes, pine forests and farm fields, Bishop Cozzens said, addressing people gathered for the newsconference at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Crookston.

Raised in Denver, he spent summers at a relative's ranch in Montana. He loves to mountain bike, canoe and cross-country ski.

He acknowledged the difficult times the Crookston Diocese has experienced. Bishop Hoeppner resigned after a Vatican-initiated investigation into how he handled clergy sexual abuse allegations.

Bishop Cozzens said he learned of his own appointment as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 2013, just days before a clergy sexual abuse crisis broke in the archdiocese that led to a $210 million bankruptcy settlement with victim-survivors in 2018.

"I've had to meet priests and remove them from ministry" and walk with them through that pain, Bishop Cozzens said. He has sought to assist victims as "the people we should be most concerned about" and he hopes to bring similar attempts at healing through meeting and listening to people of the Diocese of Crookston, he said.

He speaks Spanish and has worked closely with immigrants and the Latino community, and overseen the archdiocesan offices of Latino Ministry, Evangelization, and Marriage and Family Life, he said.

"Thank God, I feel the Lord has given me some gifts that can bring hope and healing to the Diocese of Crookston," he said.

Bishop Cozzens took questions, as well, including one asking him if he had a four-wheel drive. Indeed, he does, the bishop said, explaining that was driving a Nissan Sentra two-wheel drive during his first Christmas as a bishop when he hit a hard snowfall on his way to preside at a Spanish Mass and thought, "'This will never do.'"

Another person asked him what words of encouragement during challenging times he might bring to the people of the diocese, as well as the province of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

"The main thing I would say is Jesus Christ is Lord," Bishop Cozzens said. "We do live in challenging times. But God works most powerfully in times that are most challenging."

He cited Mary's appearances in 1531 in what is now Mexico, coming at a time of crisis and cruelty between invading Spaniards and the Aztec culture. In the following decade, 9 million people converted to the Catholic faith, the bishop said.

"That's how God works when all seems hopeless," he said.

Everyone has a role to play in God's grace, nothing goes to waste and wonderful things happen, the bishop said.

"We'll see that here in Crookston, you watch," Bishop Cozzens said. "We're going to see great things."