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The Most Rev. Christopher Coyne, the Roman Catholic Church's first blogging priest to be elevated to bishop, has been formally installed as the head of the statewide diocese of Burlington.More than 900 people jammed into St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Burlington for the Installation Mass., which was broadcast internationally both on cable television and livestreamed on a couple of websites.
Coyne said the church needs to shift from a "church of the establishment" — where worshipers come to it — to a "missionary church" that goes out and engages a wider community.
"Now more than ever, our community needs to hear the call of the 'Good News' proclaimed to a culture that seems to hear many other voices," said Coyne, who mostly recently served four years as auxiliary bishop in Indianapolis.
"No one wants to join a church that lacks joy. When people who leave the Catholic Church to join other churches are asked why did you do so, the No. 1 answer is 'They made me feel welcome' followed by 'I find the services joyful and uplifting,'" The 56-year-old Massachusetts native said.
He said ringing church bells was once familiar to Vermonters. He says the bells still ring out, but less often, and fewer people answer the call.
Bishop Coyne's letter of appointment from Pope Francis was read, after which Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, and Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the pope's ambassador to the U.S. were there to witness Coyne sitting for the first time in the "cathedra" — the seat reserved for a bishop.
Coyne, Vermont's 10th Catholic bishop, also reached back into the history of the diocese for the Mass.
He used the crozier or bishop's staff, of Vermont's first bishop, Louis Joseph Mary Theodore DeGoesbriand. The pectoral cross Coyne wore belonged to the second bishop, John Stephen Michaud. The ring worn by Coyne was previously used by the last bishop of the diocese who also came from Boston, Vermont's fifth bishop, Edward Francis Ryan.
Coyne also used the chalice of Bishop DeGoesbriand, but the principal chalice and paten were the ones given to him by his parents at his ordination to the priesthood.
While Coyne showed his solemn side during his homily, he also showed his humorous side in his closing remarks.
Coyne, who frequently smiles, cashed in with some one-liners and jokes. He even chided his siblings — Smothers Brothers style — that their mother favored him.
"I think I won," as his mother, Rita, a former parish secretary, sat proudly in the first pew. His mother artfully dodged confirming the statement when asked by a newspaper reporter after the Mass.
Bishop Coyne also reflected on two special missing relatives: his late dad, Bill, a postal worker and one of his three older brothers, Terry, who also is dead.
Coyne also thanked his youngest sister, Anne Marie for letting her birthday take a back seat this week to his installation. He confided in some of his newest 900 friends that she was turning 50.
Coyne also provided appreciation to Monsignor John McDermott for running the diocese for the past 13 months. The congregation gave McDermott a standing ovation for his work.
Coyne quipped McDermott would find his transfer papers to Bennington on his desk — another one liner that the audience shared in laughter
Coyne spent much of his career in Massachusetts and before being appointed in 2011 in Indianapolis. He is the permanent replacement for Bishop Salvatore Matano, who was transferred to Rochester, N.Y., in 2013.
Matano was among about two dozen bishops to attend the Mass on Thursday.
Gov. Peter Shumlin, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling and Deputy Adjutant General Michael Heston were among the civic leaders attending.
Prayer service
During a Wednesday night ceremony, as bishop designate, Coyne went knocking on the doors of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington.
In a Catholic tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages, bishops knock three times on the doors of the Cathedral when they arrive for their new assignment.
"It is with great joy that we welcome you Bishop Coyne to the Diocese of Burlington in the name of all the faithful of the diocese," said the Rev. Peter A. Routhier, the rector of the cathedral and St. Joseph's Co-Cathedral, as the church doors opened.
Routhier and McDermott, the Apostolic administrator of the diocese for the past 13 months, greeted Coyne and escorted him inside.
Coyne was handed a crucifix to kiss. Monsignor Bernard Bourgeois handed Coyne holy water to sprinkle on himself and others around him before moving to the front of the church.
McDermott told the packed cathedral that "fervent prayers" for the past year have been answered with the arrival of Coyne, who will lead Vermont's largest religion. "We must increase our prayers for him," McDermott said.
Coyne was then greeted with a standing ovation.
The ritual of a prelate's first entrance into his cathedral — including the knocks on the door — dates to when people often kept vigil in the building for months, or even years, to await their next leader's arrival, explained Don Clemmer, interim director of Media Relations for United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Coyne formally took possession of cathedral for the statewide Roman Catholic diocese during the community-wide prayer service Wednesday night.
"I am not a politician. I am a pastor. I am not a policy-maker. I am a preacher and teacher of the Catholic faith. My desire is to teach what the church teaches, to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ, and inform the consciences of my fellow Catholics about what we believe and why we believe," he said.
Coyne, who said in a Burlington Free Press interview last week that the church needs to help with social issues, including feed the hungry and offer shelter for the homeless, repeated that call.
"The Golden Rule urges me to feed the hungry person because that is what I would want if I was hungry. An act routed in communal charity and aimed at the common good urges me to look even further, to the roots of and possible solutions to poverty," he said.
"It is best summed up in the familiar adage, 'Give someone a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach someone to fish and you feed them for a lifetime,'" Coyne said.
"My hope and prayer is that we can all work within a unity of charity that probes the deeper questions of how to further both the individual and the common good while seeking only that that good be returned in kind."
Coyne had encouraged people attending to bring a food donation for the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf.
Coyne, who is considered the first blogging bishop in the Catholic Church, is known internationally for his social media presence. His blog is: "Let Us Walk Together: Thoughts of a Catholic Bishop" and includes video of him on the road to Vermont with personal reflections.
He also is active on his Facebook and Twitter accounts.
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