| by Rita McInerney
The first priest of the archdiocese of Atlanta to be named bishop, Bishop
Eusebius J. Beltran, was to be installed Jan. 22 as archbishop of Oklahoma
City. He served as bishop of the Tulsa diocese since 1978.
He succeeds Archbishop Charles Salatka, who will be 75 on Feb. 26.
Archbishop Salatka led the archdiocese in central and western Oklahoma for 15
years and installed Bishop Beltran in Tulsa.
Archbishop-designate Beltran, 58, had been pastor of St. Anthony’s
parish in Atlanta for six years when his appointment as bishop of Tulsa was
announced. He was installed as second bishop of that eastern Oklahoma diocese
April 20, 1978.
The installation will be held at the Civic Center Music Hall In Oklahoma
City. Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, apostolic pronuncio to the U.S., will
install Archbishop-designate Beltran as third archbishop of the archdiocese.
A large group of family members will be on hand for the Liturgy. His older
brother, Father Joseph Beltran, administrator of St. Gabriel’s Mission,
Fayetteville; sister, Angie Cebulski, her husband, Henry, of Conyers, their
eight children and seven grandchildren, younger brother Frank, and his wife,
Carol, of Atlanta, will fly from Atlanta. Also attending will be a sister,
Dolores Carrier, her husband and daughter, from Philadelphia, and a sister,
Helen Maria Beltran, from Philadelphia. Sister Mary Sponsa Beltran, a
Bernardine nun, is in Liberia.
About 10 former parishioners from Holy Cross parish are also traveling west
for the installation.
Father Richard Morrow, pastor of Good Shepherd in Cumming, and Father Edward
O’Connor, pastor of Holy Trinity in Peachtree City, will be in Oklahoma
City for the installation of their close friend. Father Morrow said he spent a
few days with the archbishop-designate I Florida the week of Jan. 10 and said
the bishop was “ready for his new challenge.”
He said Archbishop-designate Beltran expects to do a lot more driving in his
new post. That won’t be anything unusual since “he’s always on
the move.” The archdiocese of Oklahoma City was established in 1973 and is
made up of 46 counties over 42,470 square miles. Tulsa diocese consists of 31
counties in 26,417 square miles.
Archbishop-designate Beltran, a native of Ashley, Pa., was ordained for the
diocese of Atlanta in 1960 and was first assigned to Christ the King as an
assistant pastor. Between 1960 and 1978 he served at Sts. Peter and Paul
Church, Decatur; was pastor at St. Mary’s, Rome, and Holy Cross, Atlanta.
At the time of his appointment as bishop he was serving as vicar general, as a
pro-synodal judge of the Metropolitan Tribunal, and as a member of the board of
consultors.
While pastor at St. Anthony’s he began the serving of a daily meal for
the neighborhood needy, a day care center, and activities for senior
parishioners. In Tulsa, working through Catholic Charities, he has developed
innovative programs including a residence for people with AIDS, Madonna House
for young pregnant women, St. Elizabeth Lodge for homeless families, a house
for migrants and refugees, and a home for women released from prison.
In an article on the archbishop-designate in The Sooner Catholic,
newspaper of the archdiocese of Oklahoma City, he is described by associates in
Tulsa as an active participant in interfaith activities, a compassionate bishop
reaching out to people in need, a bishop deeply interested in the welfare of
his priests, a man of deep personal faith who shares responsibility, is modest
and unpretentious and at the same time decisive and strong.
More than 3,500 invitations were mailed for the event. Coordinators say
there will be seating for all. The event is open to the public.
|
