Bishop Serratelli installed as seventh bishop of Paterson

Published: 2004-07-08

PATERSON, N.J. (CNS) -- During his installation as the seventh bishop of Paterson July 6, Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli was led to the "cathedra" -- the official chair of the bishop -- at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. "This cathedra is the right fit," Bishop Serratelli quipped at the end of his installation Mass. "And with you -- and God's grace -- may this bishop be the right fit for this diocese." More than 1,000 priests, religious and laity attended the installation Mass, a ceremony steeped in faith, history, pageantry and ritual. During the Mass, Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark officially installed Bishop Serratelli, who had been an auxiliary bishop in Newark since September 2000. A Scripture scholar, he also was at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange for more than 30 years. Bishop Serratelli and other prelates also took time during the ceremony to praise retiring Bishop Frank J. Rodimer, who was a Mass concelebrant. The new bishop called Bishop Rodimer a "faithful, caring shepherd of the diocese."

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