Welcome Archbishop Dolan!

Archbishop Dolan Knocks, as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton looks on

(shamelessly cribbed from Rocco)

“I was at the vespers when he was installed as bishop [of Milwaukee]. And there’s a part where the bishop knocks on the door. Most do it timidly. Tap, tap. Not him — ‘Bang! Bang!’ It echoed through the cathedral and let everyone know that Timothy Dolan was there.”
–Rev. Steven M. Avella, history professor at Marquette.

In keeping with his apparent habit, Archbishop Timothy Dolan knocked resoundingly last night on the doors of New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Never one to be described as shy or introverted, Archbishop Timothy Dolan knocked boldly on the doors of St. Patrick’s Cathedral this evening and entered his new home with steady smiles and an engaging manner more common to country pastors than bishops.
…
“Thanks for opening the door wide enough even for me to get in,” he said during a Solemn Vespers service, consisting largely of sung evening prayers.

“I am so glad you are here,” he said. “And it sure beats sitting at home doing our last-minute tax returns, doesn’t it?”

Embracing the Cross

Rocco Palmo – who has gone all-Dolan-all-the-time, for now – has the whole text of Dolan’s sermon and some great pictures. It’s really good, and I urge you to take the time to read it and familiarize yourself with the guy who will quickly become the face of American Catholicism.

At 2:00 PM today, Dolan will be formally installed as the 10th Bishop of the Archdiocese. The prelude begins at 1:00 PM and the procession into the Cathedral – which will take about a half-hour, given all the Cardinals, Bishops and priests in attendance – starts at 1:30 PM. You can watch it all, live-streamed thanks to NET-TV – just hit the “Watch Now” button. I’m really annoyed that I missed coverage of Vespers.

My piece on Dolan, written on news of his appointment, is here. Because I always have an opinion on everything, I offer Dolan some advice, of course. So much for humility. Don’t forget to check out Deacon Greg, too.

Check back for updates!