As I originally shared here two months ago, Archbishop-designate Gregory Hatmayer, OFMConv was announced as
the seventh Archbishop and eighth Bishop of the Archdiocese of Atalanta, and he
would be installed soon. That day has come and as of this afternoon, we no
longer need to call him our Archbishop-designate: the See of Atlanta is no
longer vacant, and, for the first time in more than a year, we have an Archbishop.
Anyone who attends a Mass via livestream in the Archdiocese will, for the first
time, hear "Be pleased to grant her peace, to guard, unite and govern her
throughout the whole world, together with your servant Francis our Pope and
Gregory our Bishop, and all those who, holding to the truth, hand on the
catholic and apostolic faith" (if the celebrant uses the Canon, or the
equivalent petition in the other Eucharistic Prayers), once again having a
chief shepherd to pray for by name.
I
was one of thousands of the faithful of Atlanta who, on March 6, began making
plans to attend today's Mass of Installation at St. Peter Chanel. Finals would
be over, I'd be home, and I live relatively close to St. Peter Chanel (I've
done several multi-parish retreats that included both my home parish and St.
Peter Chanel precisely because the parishes in my area are close enough to do
events in clusters like this), so the date and time would be perfect for me.
This was such a momentous occasion that I wrote and shared my first publiccomposition here to celebrate the appointment and impending installation.
Alas,
COVID-19 at the time was a much milder threat back then than it is today: since
then, the number of cases in Georgia has increased from three cases on the day
of the announcement to well over thirty thousand today (an increase of
1,022,000%). So, a few weeks ago, Bishops Konzen and Shlesinger, the auxiliary
bishops in whose temporary care the Archdiocese had been for about a year, made
the prudent decision not to keep hundreds of sexagenarian, septuagenarian, and
even octogenarian priests close together in an enclosed space for a few hours--
these Masses under normal circumstances tend to run from 2 to 3 hours in an
enclosed space, plus there's the time they're waiting in a sacristy together
before and after Mass (in an even smaller space), plus the reception afterward
(with thousands of people from all over the state). When social distancing
guidelines came out, our local church, under the care of our Diocesan Administrator
and Auxiliary Bishop Joel Konzen, had made the decision to turn the
installation into a private ceremony-- but one which the faithful were still
absolutely encouraged to witness by means of the Internet livestreams. They
also moved the installation back to the Cathedral (from where it was previously
scheduled while still a public event, at St. Peter Chanel), so the installation
of the Archbishop and his taking possession of his new Cathedral would be one
liturgical action, not two liturgies on different days as had been planned.
For
those who didn't make it to the original live stream and who would like to
watch the archived version (or for those of you who did make it, and want a
summary of what happened) already in the know about the installation procedure,
refer to this post from when the announcement for a play-by-play inspired by a
joke by Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis that he regretted that
there were no "How To Consecrate and/or Install a Bishop" tutorials
on the Internet for him to watch beforehand, so he'd need the people of Sioux
Falls and their Bishop-elect to bear with him as he went through the rite for
the first time. (The consecration of Bishop DeGrood of Sioux Falls earlier this
year was Archbishop Hebda's first as principal consecrator.)
Here's
a recap of what happened this afternoon at the Mass that not only marks the
transfer of the care and governance of the Archdiocese to Archbishop Hartmayer,
but also the Archbishop's (as of yesterday) 41st anniversary of ordination to
the priesthood.
(I apologize in advance for the poor quality of these
pictures. Most of the screen captures I got weren't very good at all, and at
points the video was streaming below 240p. If/when the Archdiocese posts the
archived footage off today's Installation Mass-- probably be the end of the
day, if at all--I'll edit this post to include those better pictures.):
Archbishop Wilton Gregory, the previous Archbishop of Atlanta who served here from January 2005 to April 2019, and has now been in Washington since May 2019, welcomes the Archbishop-designate, via a video message before the Mass of Installation began. When the Archbishop-designate was appointed a bishop in 2011 and sent to Savannah, Archbishop Gregory was the man who consecrated him and thus made him a bishop by the authority of the Pope.
Archbishop-designate Hartmayer, ceremonially locked out of Christ the King Cathedral, knocks on its doors three times (once for each Person of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), asking to come into the Cathedral and become the new chief shepherd, and is welcomed into his new Cathedral by its Rector
Archbishop-designate Hartmayer enters what will momentarily become his Cathedral for the first time, in a homecoming of sorts-- between 1995 and 2011, Archbishop-designate Hartmayer had been pastor of two parishes in our Archdiocese before being appointed Bishop of Savannah, where he had served until now.
The Apostolic Nuncio, the Pope's ambassadorial representative based in Washington, read the English translation of a mandate written and signed by Pope Francis in Latin that named Archbishop-designate Hartmayer officially as the Archbishop of Atlanta and released him from his obligations in Savannah, After being asked one more time if he accepted the appointment, the mandate was shown to a group of priests and to the people to verify its authenticity. Here, a deacon shows the people the original Latin mandate. Around 2000 devices watched the installation. Given that there were probably families watching together on a single device, if the Mass of Installation had been held with the public present, the 3000-plus seats of the Cathedral would likely have all been full.
Msgr. Frank McNamee, Rector of Christ the King Cathedral, on behalf of all the clergy of Atlanta (only about 10 of whom were present, out of nearly 300, in keeping with social distancing) inspects the Papal Mandate naming Archbishop-designate Gregory Hartmayer to Atlanta for its veracity
The mandate was shown to us, the faithful at home, so we too could see that the signature on the mandate really was that of Pope Francis, and that, therefore, the mandate was authentic.
The mandate was verified by both the people and the clergy, so everything was leading up to this moment, when he sat on the Cathedra for the first time and became Archbishop Hartmayer, officially assuming responsibility for the teaching, governing, and sanctifying of the 1.2 million Catholics in Atlanta, and ending the 13-month vacancy that had begun in April 2019 during which there was no Archbishop. Ordinarily, the people would give their assent by applauding the Archbishop from within the Cathedral; however, expressions of such assent were limited in scope since the Cathedral was almost empty. However, Archbishop Hartmayer, you can be sure that all of us who watched from home are very pleased with your appointment. To the Archbishop's right in the background, you can see another Bishop, Bishop Kevin J. Boland, applauding. Bishop Boland, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Savannah, reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2010 and was replaced in 2011 by then-Father Hartmayer. Bishop Hartmayer succeeded Bishop Boland, and he served in Savannah as their Bishop until he was appointed to serve as our Archbishop back in March.
After the Gloria, Collect, First Reading, Responsorial Psalm, Second Reading, and Gospel, the newly installed Archbishop Hartmayer gives his first homily as Archbishop. By Canon Law (the laws of the Church) ordinations/installations of priests who are not yet bishops can happen up to 4 months after the date on which the mandate was given, with exceptions made for extenuating circumstances. Installations of men who are already Bishops must happen within 3 months, with exceptions made for extenuating circumstances. From within that window, this particular week was selected because this previous Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday-- and the Archbishop is the chief shepherd of his Archdiocese, and Archbishop Hartmayer explicitly requested that there not be a delay so the installation could still coincide with the week of Good Shepherd Sunday.
At the conclusion of his Mass of Installation, Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer gives us, the people of Atlanta, his new flock, his first blessing as our new Archbishop.
Three things in particular stood out about this Mass: first, the deeply Franciscan charism of our new dear Archbishop, reflected in the fact that, under his chasuble (the cream-colored poncho-like outermost garnet the Archbishop is wearing in all these pictures, aptly named, since in Latin, “casula” means “small house” and these things really are big enough to justify that naming), stole, and alb, the Archbishop wore the Conventual Franciscan habit, and in the musical selections which, again, had a very deeply Franciscan character about them. Second, the homecoming that this was for Archbishop Hartmayer. The Archbishop served here in the Archdiocese as a priest from 1995 to 2011, being a pastor of two parishes in that time (one from 1995 to 2010 and the second from 2010 to 2011). In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI called him to go to Savannah, and he served there as their bishop for eight and a half years before being called back to Atlanta to serve as our Archbishop. Archbishop Hartmayer has been a priest for 41 years as of yesterday (Happy anniversary, Archbishop Hartmayer! Ad multos annos!), and more than half that time has been spent in Georgia’s two dioceses. Third, and most obviously, the lack of people in Christ the King Cathedral. Though Georgia’s statewide stay-at-home order has been lifted, the Archdiocesan suspension on public Masses continues for our safety, so only the most essential people were in the Cathedral: the Archbishop, his two auxiliaries, a few priests and deacons, one lector, and the Cathedral’s organist and its choirmaster. Notably absent from the expanse of its pews were the thousands of faithful who would have gone had the Mass been open to the public, but who instead watched a livestream from home. Mass, as a liturgy, is by definition a both communal and a public act, so this felt very strange to all involved. We all long for the day when we will get to meet our Archbishop in person, but we know that while social distancing is in place, that day will not come. However, we also know that if we do our parts to minimize risk and exposure by wearing a mask and social distancing, the outbreak will be over sooner, and the day we have been longing for will draw closer. If we do what we are supposed to do and if we pray with and for one another, albeit from a distance, the day will come when we can gather again, and the day will come when we no longer need to see our Archbishop through a TV or other screen, but when we can be with him. Hang in there, my friends. Stay safe, practice social distancing, and be careful— those are the ways we will return to the communities we know and love.
To our dear Archbishop Hartmayer, welcome back home to Atlanta. Receive from us our warmest congratulations to you on your installation and your 41st anniversary of priestly ordination. Your appointment and installation have come during a time of great uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and during a time when it has not been possible for us to be with you to welcome you back to the Archdiocese where you served 16 years, now as our Archbishop. These first few months as our chief shepherd will be difficult and different from any other time you’ve experienced in your forty-one years as a priest and nine years as a bishop, but do not be afraid, for our prayers are with you. The road ahead will not be an easy one, but you are a worthy, humble, and capable shepherd, and we your flock place our love and trust in you, guided by the Holy Spirit, to help us through these trying times. Our prayers are with you now and always. When it is safe to do so, we will happily celebrate with you in person, we all look forward to meeting you, and we will cherish the opportunities to pray with you and celebrate the Sacraments with you.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offense, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.
Amen.
St. Francis, pray for us! St. Gregory, pray for us! St. John, pray for us! St. Pius X, pray for us! St. John the Baptist, pray for us!
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