Praying for the Bishops of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati

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We should all pray for our bishops, especially the head of our diocese, and learn a little about our diocese as well.  For me, it is the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

I went to Mass this morning and was greeted with the pleasant surprise that our Mass was going to celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of St. Peter in Chains, the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, my diocese.

Fr. Geoff Drew, our pastor, gave a great homily.  He tied together the dedication of our parish church, St. Maximilian Kolbe, which we just celebrated on Sunday, with the dedication of the Cathedral and also the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Holy Father’s cathedral, the feast of which is next Wednesday (November 9th).  He explained how our parish is part of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati which is part of the Universal Church led by the Holy Father.

Fr. Geoff also talked about the importance of acknowledging the role that a diocese plays in the life of our Church.  As he pointed out, too often we look to our parish as our Church.  However, it is the diocese that is our local Church, with parishes being a means for the local Church to administer to the faithful.  He also pointed out that we should look to the bishop as the head of our local Church, not the pastor of our parish.  It is the pastor who leads the parish at the direction of the bishop, but there is a reason why we pray for the Holy Father and our bishops in the Eucharistic Prayer and not the pastor.

Coming out of Mass, I started thinking of some questions.  How often does the average Catholic pray for their bishop?  How often does the average Catholic think of themselves as part of the local Church, the diocese?  For that matter, how often does the average Catholic pray for the Holy Father and think about their own place in the Universal Church?

Or, does the average Catholic think no further than their own parish?  Or worse, does the average Catholic not consider their place in the Church at all?

In any case, today I am going to pray for Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, Archbishop Emeritus Daniel Pilarcyzk, and Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Binzer of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

“May the Lord help them stand firm and grant them the grace of holiness and salvation.”

I also want to share a little information about the bishops and the Archdiocese (source: Catholic Hierarchy):

Archbishop Schnurr is 63 and was appointed to the Cincinnati See in 2008 as Coadjutor to Archbishop Pilarcyzk, who he succeeded in 2009.  Before Cincinnati, he was Bishop of Duluth (MN) from 2001-2008.  He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Sioux City (IA) in 1974.

Archbishop Pilarcyzk is 77 and was appointed to the Cincinnati See in 1982.  He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati in 1974 and was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1959.  He took emeritus status after his retirement in 2009.

Bishop Binzer is 56 and was just ordained Bishop earlier this year.  He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1994.

The Archdiocese was erected as a diocese in 1821 from the Diocese of Bardstown (KY).  It was elevated to an Archdiocese in 1850.  Its suffragen dioceses are Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo, Steubenville and Youngstown (all in Ohio).  It currently has 214 parishes.  The patron saints of the Archdiocese are St. Francis de Sales, St. Albert the Great and St. Robert Bellarmine.

The Cathedral is St. Peter in Chains.  It was built in 1845.  It lost its cathedral status in 1938 when the Cathedral was moved to St. Monica’s.  In 1954, it was renovated and rededicated as the Cathedral on November 3rd.

May God bless our Archdiocese and our bishops.