CAMDEN – In his first Mass as the ninth Bishop of Camden, on the feast of Saint Patrick, Bishop Joseph A. Williams called on all to emulate the patron saint of the Emerald Isle, and carry the “fire of evangelization.”
Clergy, religious, diocesan staff, lay faithful and Bishop Williams’ family gathered for the afternoon liturgy March 17 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where the Bishop shared the guiding influence that Saint Patrick has had on his life.
He explained how as a child growing up in Minnesota, his mother would decorate the house in shamrocks and leprechauns as soon as March arrived.
PHOTO GALLERY: Bishop Williams’ Mass in Camden
Every year on March 17, he and his eight siblings “would throw open the refrigerator door, and lo and behold, the milk was green. And so was the sugar,” he said to laughter.
When it came time to make his confirmation at Saint Croix Catholic School in Stillwater, Saint Patrick was a natural choice, Bishop continued. The legends of Saint Patrick’s life – such as chasing snakes off the island of Ireland – “caught my attention … and were fascinating for an eighth-grade boy.”
Entering Saint Paul Seminary to discern the priesthood, he dove deeper into this saint, encountering the real Saint Patrick through his Confessions.
Of English heritage, baptized but not practicing his faith, Saint Patrick was kidnapped at the age of 16, and entered a life of slavery in Ireland, tending sheep. Bishop Williams recited the teen’s writings during this turbulent time, which soon became an opportunity for grace.
“I was made in employment to tend the sheep. And often throughout the day, I would think of God. And as I thought of God more and more, the love of God grew in me. And the faith and the fear of him, and the spirit, too. So that a hundred times during the day, I would think of God, and as many times in the night. I’d wake up before dawn. I’d go to the mountains, the forest, the cold, the rain, and I was not disturbed. And the fervor of that spirit grew within me.”
Saint Patrick’s blazing spirit would lead to the conversion of the multitudes in Ireland, and even “made the pagans tremble,” Bishop Williams said. “Because of one man’s fire,” so many came to know Jesus; the “terrible persecution” was followed by “enormous fruits for the people of Ireland.”
This “fire of evangelization” was created in Saint Patrick’s baptism, Bishop Williams noted, but “needed to be fanned into flame through his prayer, through his frequent conversations with God.”
Like Saint Patrick, many have received the fire through baptism, but “have let that Easter fire die into smoldering embers,” he said. “We can’t [be missionary disciples] if the flame is small, if we’re not fanning it into a roaring fire through contemplative prayer every day. That’s how it happens.”
Further reflecting on how Saint Patrick has always been part of his life, he described the call he received from the papal nuncio in May: He was to be the ninth Bishop of Camden after Pope Francis accepted the retirement of Bishop Dennis Sullivan on the prelate’s 80th birthday – March 17, Saint Patrick’s Day.
Bishop Williams said that he could “only look up to heaven, and realize that even this was in God’s providence. It confirmed in me where God wanted me to serve. What a gift, what a privilege.”
Bishop Williams also showcased the three-leafed shamrock placed in his crozier, a symbol of the Blessed Trinity.
After communion, and a spirited rendition of the “Lady of Knock” Marian hymn, Bishop Williams spoke of Bishop Sullivan, saying that “somewhere in South Jersey, the heart of a bishop emeritus is dancing with joy.”
Expressing “gratitude for God’s instrument here in Camden for the past 12 years,” Bishop Williams called Bishop Sullivan “a worker and laborer for the flock, who definitely had the smell of the sheep,” and led all in a Hail Mary, “that Our Lady put her mantle on him in these days of retirement.”
Near the end of Mass, Bishop Williams called to the order of deacon seminarian Nickolas Naticchione, who will be ordained to the diaconate on May 10 at Saint James Church (Holy Trinity Parish) in Ventnor.
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