A New Cardinal in the Crossroads of America

As the world already knows, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis is proud to be home to one of Pope Francis’ newly appointed Cardinals, Joseph Tobin. He released a statement to his Archdiocese this morning:

“Early this morning I learned that Pope Francis had appointed me to the College of Cardinals. […] I will continue as the Archbishop of Indianapolis. I have come to love deeply the people of the Catholic communities of central and southern Indiana and count as a precious blessing the numerous friendships I have with civic and religious leaders throughout the state. I ask all people of faith to pray for me. I hope this new responsibility will make me a better servant of all Hoosiers.”

This past Saturday, then Archbishop Tobin spent the eve of his appointment with the Women of the Church conference, hosted by the Benedictine Sisters of Immaculate Conception Monastery in Ferdinand, Indiana, and St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.

On behalf of “all Hoosiers”–many blessings on our new Cardinal!

Katharine E. Harmon

Katharine E. Harmon, Ph.D., is Project Director for the Obsculta Preaching Initiative at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota.  A Roman Catholic pastoral liturgist and American Catholic historian, Harmon is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s liturgical studies program.  She has contributed over a dozen articles and chapters to the fields of both liturgical studies and American Catholicism.  She is the author of  There Were Also Many Women There: Lay Women in the Liturgical Movement in the United States, 1926-1959 (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2013) and Mary and the Liturgical Year: A Pastoral Resource  (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2023). She edits the blog, Pray Tell.

Please leave a reply.

Comments

4 responses to “A New Cardinal in the Crossroads of America”

  1. Lee Bacchi

    Any connection between the two events?

    Reply
    1. Katharine E. Harmon

      @Lee Bacchi:
      I’d like to think that the good graces and prayers of the conference attendees were directly responsible for his appointment!

      But, I raised his whereabouts the day before, because Archbishop actually had, I think, at least three engagements that day in different parts of his Archdiocese–from attending a lecture by a prominent popular theologian at a parish, to a confirmation program in the far outreaches of southern Indiana, to taking time to be part of a panel in Ferdinand. When he says he appreciates the “people of central and southern Indiana,” he certainly doesn’t mean from afar!

      Reply
  2. Alan Hommerding

    Another midwesterner, Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago, also appointed as a new cardinal.

    Reply
  3. Todd Flowerday

    He seems like a good pick. As for cardinal-electors, I wouldn’t mind seeing a significant chunk of lay people, or even parish priests and religious on board.

    That said, giving red hats to good bishops, not big sees, has to be good news for the sake of catholicity, if nothing else.

    Reply

Posted

in

,

by

Katharine E. Harmon

Tags:

Discover more from Home

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading