Bishop Boyea installed as fifth bishop of Lansing

Published: 2008-05-02

EAST LANSING, Mich. (CNS) -- Bishop Earl A. Boyea knocked on the door of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in East Lansing April 29, but he almost didn't want to come in. Bishop Boyea, 57, said he got very emotional "walking into church at the beginning of Mass." Shortly after his installation Mass, he said, "I didn't think I was going to make it. I started tearing up and thought, 'Oh no, don't start now. It's a long Mass.' But God gave me grace." He also had a lot of support. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, was on hand to read the letter from Pope Benedict XVI formally naming Bishop Boyea, an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Detroit since 2002, as the successor to Lansing Bishop Carl F. Mengeling. Also on hand were more than 25 bishops. Bishop Boyea's parents, Earl and Helen, came down from their Cheboygan retirement home to witness the installation of the oldest of their 10 children. They also carried the gifts to him and got hugs from him in return. "They are gems," he said of his parents.

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .