New coadjutor for Camden feels 'blessed' Holy Spirit 'brought me to South Jersey'

CAMDEN, N.J. (OSV News) -- "How blessed I am that the Holy Spirit brought me to South Jersey," Coadjutor Bishop Joseph A. Williams said, smiling as he looked out at the pews full of people in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

"How beautiful the people are, how beautiful the church is, how beautiful the tradition is in Camden. I feel like I've hit the jackpot," he said Sept. 9.

On the eve of his Mass of welcome as coadjutor bishop for the Diocese of Camden, Bishop Williams took part in a vespers service with Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan and diocesan clergy.

Hundreds from across South Jersey and beyond were in attendance, including Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States; Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis; Bishop Williams' family, friends and former parishioners from Minnesota; and priests, deacons and religious from the Diocese of Camden, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and beyond.

A native of Minnesota, Bishop Williams, 50, was named coadjutor for Camden by Pope Francis May 21. Before that he was an auxiliary for St. Paul and Minneapolis, appointed by the pope Dec. 10, 2021, and ordained a bishop Jan. 25, 2022.

With his right hand on his pectoral cross and his left hand on the altar, Bishop Williams made a public profession of faith and took the oath of fidelity, obliging himself to his apostolic duties as a shepherd of the Diocese of Camden, in fulfillment of the mission of the Catholic Church.

Recognizing the generational roots of the diocese, Bishop Williams echoed the words of the first bishop of Camden, Bartholomew J. Eustace, on his installation May 4, 1938: "As long as this Church of Camden exists, it will show by its devotion and love … its undying fealty to the Mother of God."

"What a beautiful and firm foundation Bishop Eustace built this church of Camden upon," Bishop Williams added.

In his homily, Bishop Sullivan remarked on the appropriateness of the Sept. 9 liturgical occasion, as it fell on the feast of St. Peter Claver, a 17th-century missionary who ministered to African slaves in Colombia.

"To those enslaved people, St. Peter Claver ministered the mercy of Jesus Christ. What kind of mercy?" Bishop Sullivan asked. "Food, drink, medicine, the mercy of spiritual encounter, seeking the salvation of their souls. The mercy of catechetical instruction, teaching them about Jesus and our Catholic faith. The mercy of human accompaniment, personal contact. Bishop, may the mercy of Jesus Christ be the hallmark of your episcopal ministry in this diocese."

In imitation of this holy man, Bishop Sullivan outlined ways in which Bishop Williams would well-serve his flock of Camden: "Teach, preach the Catholic faith. Be a healer to those who suffer -- emotionally suffering, spiritually suffering, physically suffering. Help those who are in the chains of addiction … racial prejudice … hatred. … Show the mercy of environmental concern for the world of South Jersey. … Accompany the poor, immigrant, homeless, the socially rejected."

Bishop Sullivan told the coadjutor that as a bishop, "you are invested with authority, but you must exercise it in a consultative manner."

"Authority is service, humble service. You have a lot of listening to do, Bishop, and you will hear from our faithful who have encountered the light of the Gospel in South Jersey," he continued. "There is a desire to learn how to be a missionary, synodal church, and you will encounter faithful in our diocese who are seeking to discern new ways, new ways that the Lord is revealing to the church. There are an abundance of ministries … not based on ordination but on the ministries of the lay faithful. … Through the people, you will hear what God is saying to the church of Camden."

Hearkening back to the first prelate of Camden, Bishop Sullivan repeated those words said on May 4, 1938: "Floreat Camdensus -- May Camden Flourish."

As coadjutor, Bishop Williams will automatically succeed Bishop Sullivan when he retires. Bishop Sullivan, 79, a native of the Bronx, New York, is the eighth bishop of Camden. He was installed Feb. 12, 2013. When he turned 75 March 17, 2020, he submitted his resignation to the pope as required by canon law.

On Sept. 10, during an afternoon Mass of welcome, the coadjutor stood before more than 1,000 faithful, clergy, religious and dignitaries from across New Jersey and beyond and echoed his remarks from the vespers service, expressing his confidence that the Diocese of Camden is where Jesus wants him to be.

"I couldn't be happier to be with you," he said at St. Agnes Church of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Blackwood.

The afternoon liturgy, in both English and Spanish, included not only Bishop Sullivan, Archbishop Hebda and Cardinal Pierre but also Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, as well as other bishops and clergy and religious from around New Jersey, nearby states and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

In his homily, Bishop Williams reflected on the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, in which Jesus immediately took the 12 men to be with the people. "The apostle is not an apostle for himself. He is an apostle for the people of God … ordained for the multitudes," Bishop Williams said.

Jesus' decision to create these holy witnesses was not done lightly, he added, noting that before Jesus called his apostles, he had spent the night in prayer. "What a consoling thought that is," he said to his brother clergy. "Our calling is the fruit of Jesus' prayer."

As well, Bishop Williams reminded all in attendance and watching via livestream that the call of discipleship is the call of the Church. The Mass of Welcome "isn't about a single person -- it's about all of the baptized of the Diocese of Camden. What does Jesus want for you? Missionary discipleship. The consoling, comforting and delightful joy of evangelization has to be our primordial joy."

"We don't need another mission statement," he continued. "Jesus already gave us that mission statement in Nazareth: Bring glad tidings to the poor … proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."