By George P. Matysek Jr.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for U.S. Military Services ordained one of Baltimore’s own as the next auxiliary bishop of the military archdiocese during a Sept. 8 Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
Bishop F. Richard Spencer, a former pastor of Western Maryland’s St. Peter the Apostle in Oakland and a chaplain in the U.S. Army, laid prostrate on the sanctuary floor while more than 700 people chanted the litany of the saints.
Following an ancient tradition, Archbishop Broglio laid hands on the 59-year-old priest’s head – invoking the power of the Holy Spirit. Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien repeated the gesture along with more than 15 other bishops who welcomed a new spiritual shepherd.
In his homily, Archbishop Broglio said the laying on of hands represents the transmission of what the bishops have received from Christ and passed down through the ages.
“That transmission of divine gifts will open the door for you to share what you have received and be an instrument for the pastoral care of the people of God,” he told Bishop Spencer, a former associate pastor of Sacred Heart, Glyndon, and a former director of the Monsignor O’Dwyer Retreat House in Sparks.
“Your service will take the form of teaching, governing and sanctifying a portion of this particular church over which the sun never sets,” said Archbishop Broglio, referring to a vast military archdiocese that encompasses 220 installations in 29 countries, medical patients in 153 veteran’s administration centers and all federal employees serving overseas in 134 countries – more than 1.5 million people.
Remaining on active duty, Bishop Spencer becomes the first military bishop able to enter war zones. He expects to spend the Christmas and Easter seasons there.
“Today, my friends, we rise (and) clasp our hands together into the hand of Jesus Christ, who invites all of us to follow him,” Bishop Spencer proclaimed at the end of the liturgical celebration. The new bishop added that he approaches his ordination with joy, but also a sense of humility.
“I am profoundly aware of my faults, my flaws and my limitations,” he said. “With your continual support and prayer, and with God’s help and the power of the Holy Spirit, I will fulfill my episcopal motto: ‘listening that I may serve.’ “
One hundred forty priests and several deacons – many from the Baltimore archdiocese – attended the ordination. Cardinal William H. Keeler, Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, Bishop Denis J. Madden and Bishop William C. Newman were also present.
Archbishop O’Brien, who led the military archdiocese for a decade before coming to Baltimore, served as a co-consecrator along with Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl. Father Robert Spencer, a U.S. Naval chaplain and Bishop Spencer’s brother, was also a part of the ceremony.
Archbishop Broglio presented Bishop Spencer with symbols of his office: a ring, a miter and a crosier made of birch from Norway, representing part of Bishop Spencer’s ancestry. The wood also called to mind the 44 years Bishop Spencer’s father had spent working in the Alabama paper mills. Bishop Spencer will also use a second crosier that features the Jerusalem cross.
Frank Spencer, Bishop Spencer’s father, said he was immensely proud of his son.
“The ceremony was wonderful,” he said. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience.”
Betty Eaton, director of religious education at St. Peter who knew Bishop Spencer when he was pastor there, said her entire parish is happy for him.
“All I could think during the liturgy was, ‘May God hold him in his hands and lead him on his way,’ “ she said.
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