Ordination of new Philly auxiliary said to affirm best in church

Published: 2006-08-02

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- The ordination of Bishop Daniel E. Thomas as an auxiliary of Philadelphia was "a wonderful affirmation of everything that is best in the Catholic Church -- the gift of the episcopacy, the gift of the priesthood and above all the gift of faith." That's how Catholic author George Weigel, a close friend of the new bishop, described the July 26 ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. Hundreds of people, including five cardinals, 11 archbishops, 30 bishops and more than 350 priests, lined the streets surrounding the cathedral in a procession led by flag-carrying students of Roman Catholic High School for Boys, the bishop's alma mater. The cathedral was filled to capacity with family members from around the country and friends from all over the world who did not want to miss "the special grace to see such a great priest become a bishop," said Father Marcel Taillon, vocations director for the Diocese of Providence, R. I. He was the first seminarian to have Bishop Thomas as his spiritual director. Bishop Thomas, 47, served at the Vatican for 15 years in the Congregation for Bishops. In those years he was also spiritual director of seminarians at the Pontifical North American College.

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