Three archbishops – one of them a close aide to the pope – will have prominent roles in the service and liturgy marking Fr. Donald Hying’s elevation to auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee.
Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki and his predecessor as Milwaukee’s ordinary, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York, will join retired Bishop Richard J. Sklba in ordaining Fr. Hying to the episcopate during a 2 p.m. Mass Wednesday, July 20, at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. While a single bishop ordains a man a priest, “it takes three bishops to ordain a bishop,” noted Dean Daniels, director of the archdiocesan Office for Worship. Daniels. He and Julie Wolf, archdiocesan communications director, provided your Catholic Herald with details about the Tuesday, July 19, Vespers service and the ordination Mass.
Archbishop James M. Harvey, a priest of the Milwaukee Archdiocese who has served Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI as Prefect of the Papal Household in Vatican City, will preside at Vespers. Fr. Hying chose St. Anthony Church, Menomonee Falls, for the 7 p.m. service because St. Anthony was the first parish he served as a priest. Not having to lead the service will provide “an opportunity for (Bishop Hying) to prayerfully prepare for ordination,” according to Daniels.
Vespers – to which all archdiocesan priests, as well as religious order priests, have been invited – will be open to the public. St. Anthony Church has seating for approximately 1,000 people.
Because the cathedral can accommodate only about 740 worshippers, participation in the ordination Mass is by invitation only. Invitations have gone out to all archdiocesan and religious order priests, Wolf said, and each parish in the archdiocese is welcome to send one representative. The parish representatives might be, but are not limited to, staff members, trustees or council chairpersons, Wolf indicated. Parish directors are also being invited to Vespers and the Mass.
Daniels described Vespers as “evening prayer in the Catholic tradition.” Between opening and closing hymns will be psalms, Scripture readings, a homily, intercessions, recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and the Magnificat, he said.
Bishop Hying’s ordination will occur between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Archbishop Listecki will preach the homily and Bishop Hying will bless the congregation after Communion. The order of worship will be in English and Spanish. The use of Spanish is significant in that the new bishop spent three years of his priesthood at the archdiocese’s parish in the Dominican Republic and is fluent in the language.
Bishop Hying has chosen two hymns for the Mass: the eighth century Gaelic song “Be Thou My Vision” and the traditional Catholic recessional “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.” The Milwaukee Archdiocesan Choir, under the direction of Jeffrey Honore, will lead the singing.
The bishop’s four brothers, Jim, John, Richard and William Hying, will bring forth the offertory gifts and Bishop Hying has selected Frs. Patrick Heppe and William Stanfield as assisting priests during the ordination Mass. Honor guards comprised of Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus members and the Knights and Ladies of St. Peter Claver will also be present.
Following the Mass, a dinner reception will be held in celebration at Saint Francis Seminary, St. Francis.
Order extra copies of this publication for $6.25 by calling (414) 769-3500 or sending your order to your Catholic Herald at P.O. Box 070913, Milwaukee, WI 53207-0913. Extra issues are $7 if you order online with a credit card.