LA CROSSE, Wis. (OSV News) -- On the day after the celebration of the church's birthday -- and six days after his own birthday -- Bishop Gerard W. Battersby was installed as the 11th bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, pledging to serve his new flock with the same fervor and faithfulness as the early apostles.
The Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman in La Crosse was filled May 20, the day after Pentecost, with laity, religious, priests and deacons of the diocese who turned out to witness the historic installation of their new bishop, along with bishops, friends, family and well-wishers who traveled from Detroit and across the Midwest.
Bishop Battersby, 64, succeeds retiring Bishop William P. Callahan. On March 19, Pope Francis appointed the former Detroit auxiliary bishop to be the spiritual leader of west-central Wisconsin's 135,000 Catholics. A native of Detroit, Bishop Battersby was named an auxiliary for Detroit by Pope Francis Nov. 23, 2016, and ordained to the episcopacy Jan. 25, 2017.
The principal celebrant for the installation Mass was Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki of Milwaukee, the metropolitan see in Wisconsin. Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, and Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron were among the other bishops in attendance.
Before Bishop Battersby took his cathedra -- or episcopal seat -- Cardinal Pierre addressed the standing-room-only cathedral, thanking Bishop Callahan for his service and praising Bishop Battersby's willingness to listen to the Holy Spirit.
"Bishop Battersby, thank you for your 'Yes' to come to western-central Wisconsin in order to shepherd the people of this local church," Cardinal Pierre said. "Your closeness to the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the source of accompaniment and strength, will continue to sustain you in your ministry here. No doubt, the many lessons you have learned in your parish work, your formation of seminarians and in your seven years as auxiliary bishop have equipped you to be the ordinary of La Crosse."
The Diocese of La Crosse covers 19 counties with a total population of 875,000 people, including 156 parishes and 65 schools. The diocese is home to St. Rose of Viterbo Convent, the motherhouse of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration; and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which opened in 2008.
It also is the birthplace of Blessed Solanus Casey, Detroit's well-known Capuchin friar, who was born in Oak Grove in 1875.
When Cardinal Pierre read the apostolic mandate from Pope Francis appointing Bishop Battersby to La Crosse, thunderous applause broke out from the congregation.
Bishop Battersby then carried the scroll on which the mandate was printed around the cathedral, as is the church's custom, showing it to those in attendance. Afterward, Archbishop Listecki handed Bishop Battersby his crosier, and the bishop took his seat as La Crosse's new ordinary.
"With faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and with the love of God in my heart, I accept the pastoral care of the people of God in the Diocese of La Crosse. I resolve to serve faithfully the church in this diocese," Bishop Battersby proclaimed.
Bishop Battersby was greeted by representatives of the clergy, religious and faithful of La Crosse, who approached one by one to offer congratulations and prayers.
Addressing those gathered, Bishop Battersby thanked Cardinal Pierre and his predecessors in attendance, including Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, who served as bishop of La Crosse from 1995 to 2004, Archbishop Listecki, who served from 2004-10, and Bishop Callahan, who has been La Crosse's bishop since 2010.
He also thanked Archbishop Vigneron, noting "all the good that I know as a bishop came from listening to him and doing my best to imitate his leadership and wise shepherding" of the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Although, Bishop Battersby was quick to add, "any mistakes are entirely mine."
Bishop Battersby said that while he will seek to listen and be the best bishop he can be, his ministry won't be about himself.
"It was always about Jesus, and it will always be about Jesus," Bishop Battersby said. "As we heard in today's Gospel, 'I am the vine, you are the branches. And without me, you can do nothing.' Surely, this is a bracing antidote to today's rampant and poisonous narcissism."
"Repent and believe," Bishop Battersby continued. "These are among Jesus' first words, and they must be our North Star if we are to be his disciples, if we are to pick up our cross and follow after him, if we are to love him and keep his commandments."
Bishop Battersby noted that the Christian life, lived through the sacraments, is about responding to the gift of Jesus' love by giving back one's whole self to the Father through him.
The National Eucharistic Revival -- which will pass through La Crosse at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe June 7 as part of a nationwide pilgrimage -- is a fitting sign of this Eucharistic life in Christ, Bishop Battersby added.
"We, my brothers and sisters, are on a journey, and it is not simply fortuitous that the Eucharistic renewal now rising in our nation is a simple coincident," Bishop Battersby said. "It is a prophetic sign for the church in the United States, for the church of La Crosse, to simply embrace anew the path of discipleship which is cruciform, sacramental and essentially Eucharistic. It is Christ's initiative, to which we offer our own amen."