New Baltimore auxiliary bishop ordained, becomes youngest U.S. bishop

Published: 2004-08-26

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- In a centuries-old ritual of the church, filled with tradition and Gospel meaning, Cardinal William H. Keeler consecrated Msgr. Mitchell T. Rozanski as the 14th auxiliary bishop of Baltimore in a two-hour ordination Mass at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen Aug. 24. At 46, Bishop Rozanski becomes the youngest bishop in the United States. Previously, Auxiliary Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Galveston-Houston was the youngest. When Baltimore's first Polish-American bishop entered the packed cathedral, a wave of spontaneous applause greeted him. The former pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Severna Park was accompanied by Cardinal Keeler, retired Archbishop William D. Borders, who had ordained him a priest, 19 bishops and the priests, deacons and seminarians of the archdiocese. "It's a very humbling experience," Bishop Rozanski said just before the ceremony. "It certainly is an experience that I never thought would happen in my lifetime, and I thank (Cardinal Keeler) for his trust and his confidence and I thank our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, for this appointment and this opportunity."

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