It’s only happened nine times in 133 years. Belleville diocese installs a new bishop.
The Most Rev. Michael G. McGovern became the ninth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville on Wednesday at a Mass of ordination and installation that most people had to watch on TV due to the coronavirus.
Fewer than 300 people were able to witness the historic transition in person at the Cathedral of St. Peter, which holds 1,400. All were asked to wear face coverings, use hand sanitizer and keep their social distance.
The Belleville diocese, established in 1887, includes about 70,000 Catholics in more than 100 parishes in 28 counties of Southern Illinois. Each parish was allowed to send two representatives to the installation.
“It’s very exciting,” said Carol Schlitt, 66, of Freeburg. “I’ve been reading about (McGovern) and what he wants to do for the parishes in Southern Illinois. He seems like he will be a great shepherd.”
Schlitt got her name “drawn out of a hat” for the opportunity to attend the installation from St. Joseph Catholic Church.
The Church of St. Francis Xavier in Carbondale handled the selection process a little differently. The Rev. Robert Flannery asked Bob and Lori Bleyer if they would make the two-hour drive to represent the parish.
“It’s a very historical event,” said Bob Bleyer, 62, a church trustee. “I’ve never been to one of these before. ... I’ve not met (McGovern). I’ve heard a little bit about him. I think he’s going to be very good for our diocese.”
McGovern is replacing Bishop Edward K. Braxton, who is retiring after 15 years in Belleville.
Former bishop Gregory attended
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, served as principal consecrator for McGovern’s installation. Co-consecrators were Braxton and Bishop George J. Rassas, auxiliary bishop emeritus of Chicago.
Papal Nuncio Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s representative in the United States, read a scroll-like letter from Pope Francis, who wrote that McGovern had “distinguished himself” with his service.
The installation followed a luncheon with 30 visiting bishops, including Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, former Belleville bishop who left to become archbishop of Atlanta and now serves the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.; and retired Bishop Stanley Schlarman, who grew up in Cathedral of St. Peter Parish.
“Usually at the installation of a Bishop, there is a bigger crowd and larger luncheon,” according to an email from Monsignor John T. Myler, spokesman for the Belleville diocese and rector at the Cathedral of St. Peter.
“But this is being done modestly because of the pandemic — and because (McGovern) is aware of the financial strains that many of our people and families are feeling these days.”
On Wednesday, the cathedral’s “cry room” was transformed into a video-control center for the installation. Five roving cameramen shot footage from all angles and sent signals to EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), an international Catholic network that broadcast it live on cable TV and its website.
Each person entering the cathedral was questioned about possible COVID-19 symptoms and offered a face covering, gloves and hand sanitizer, if needed. Inside, every other pew was blocked off, and parties were seated together.
Attendees were given special instructions via loudspeaker before communion. They were asked to social distance while walking to the front, removing masks only after stepping away from priests to eat the host and replacing them before returning to their seats.
“Do not change seats during Mass,” the program stated. “No physical Sign of Peace will be exchanged. ... After Mass, please take all printed material and belongings with you. You will be dismissed by pew. Do not congregate outside church doors.”
Both bishops from Chicago
McGovern, 56, grew up on the south side of Chicago in a devout Catholic family with seven brothers and sisters. He was ordained a priest in 1994 in the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.
McGovern has spent most of his time as a priest in a largely rural county in northern Illinois. He served as pastor at the Church of St. Mary in Lake Forest, about 30 miles north of Chicago, from 2004 to 2016 and St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church in Old Mill Creek, a small town near the Wisconsin border, from 2016 until this spring.
“I’ve had administrative experience in the Archdiocese of Chicago, but I would say I think the key (to being a good bishop) is to be pastoral, to love the Lord and through loving the Lord to love other people,” McGovern said in an interview last week.
Braxton, also a Chicago native, was installed as Belleville bishop in 2005. He had previously served as auxiliary bishop in St. Louis and bishop in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Braxton submitted his resignation to Pope Francis on June 28 of last year, his 75th birthday, as required under Canon law. The pope accepted it in early April, when he appointed McGovern.
Braxton bid farewell to priests and parishioners in a letter published July 9 in The Messenger diocesan newspaper. He declined an interview with the BND.
“When you part from your friends, you grieve not, for that which you love most in them will be clear in their absence, as the mountain is clearer from the plain,” Braxton wrote in his letter. “When I think of you my memories will be happy ones. When I pray for you my prayers will be full of joy!”
Braxton took the title of “bishop emeritus” when McGovern was ordained Wednesday. He has moved into a home owned by the diocese in west Belleville, where he plans to write and study, according to Myler.
In his last major BND interview in 2015, Braxton addressed ups and downs of his leadership, including his focus on young people, education and bridging the U.S. racial divide; his formation of parish partnerships to deal with a priest shortage; and his handling of priest sexual-abuse allegations that have rocked the Catholic church worldwide.
“My spiritual journey as a priest, like that of every priest, has been filled with many exhilarating joys and not a few deep sorrows,” Braxton said. “But I have never been sorry that I was a priest.”
Editors note: This story has been updated because the original version incorrectly listed Braxton’s birthday as June 29. It is June 28.
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 8:09 PM.
