Vatican City, Oct 8, 2019 / 05:17 am (CNA).- Pope Francis appointed Tuesday Fr. Austin A. Vetter as the next bishop of Helena, Montana.
Vetter, 52, is a priest from the Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota, where he has served as rector of the city’s Cathedral of the Holy Spirit since 2018. Before that he was posted in Rome for six years as the director of spiritual formation for the Pontifical North American College.
Vetter replaces Bishop George Leo Thomas, who led the Diocese of Helena for 15 years.
Pope Francis appointed Thomas to be Bishop of Las Vegas in Feb. 2018. Monsignor Kevin O’Neill has served as diocesan administrator of Helena since Bishop Thomas’ installation in Nevada.
After receiving a B.A. in philosophy from Bismarck’s Cardinal Muench Seminary, Vetter studied sacred theology at the Angelicum in Rome, receiving his S.T.B. in 1992. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 1993.
The North Dakota native has served as the director of continuing education for clergy, a high school teacher, episcopal vicar for the permanent diaconate, and as a pastor for the St. Leo, St. Patrick, and St. Martin parishes. Vetter also has taught at Creighton University’s Institute for Priestly Formation.
The Diocese of Helena was established in 1884. Stretching more than 51,900 square miles, the Montana diocese has 38 missions in addition to its 57 parishes.
The diocese has an estimated 45,400 Catholics, which is just over 7% of the area's total population.
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Landscape view of Sacrofano, Italy, north of Rome. / Credit: Dmitry Taranets/Shutterstock
Rome Newsroom, Apr 29, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).
The World Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod opened on Monday to discuss “how to be a synodal local Chu… […]
Pope Francis addresses pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus, Sunday, July 28, 2024. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jul 28, 2024 / 08:15 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Sunday noted three gestures from the Bible account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes which he argued are mirrored by Jesus at the Last Supper and by the faithful in each Mass.
The pope pointed out “offering, giving thanks, and sharing” as highlights of the miracle recounted in the Gospel of John, offering his reflection on the Sunday Gospel before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered under the scorching sun in St. Peter’s Square.
The temperature for the noonday prayer was already at 95 degrees as many in the crowds sheltered from the heat under colorful umbrellas.
The faithful gather in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus on Sunday, July 28, 2024. Vatican Media
“The Gospel tells us about a boy who has five loaves and two fish,” the pope noted, saying that the boy’s gesture of offering, as well as our own, is an acknowledgment that “we have something good to give, and we say our ‘yes,’ even if what we have is too little compared to what is needed.”
The pope left his text to insist that Catholics are invited to offer what we have and are, even if the offering seems too insignificant and poor.
This offering is lived out in each Mass, as the priest offers the bread and wine, “and each person offers himself, his own life,” he said. This offering becomes the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
“It is a gesture that may seem small, when we think of the immense needs of humanity,” the pope acknowledged, “…but God makes it the material for the greatest miracle there is: that in which He Himself — Himself! — makes Himself present among us, for the salvation of the world.”
Pilgrims display a sign for Pope Francis at the Sunday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, Sunday, July 28, 2024. Vatican Media
“We can ask ourselves,” the pope suggested: “Do I truly believe that, by the grace of God, I have something unique to give to my brothers and sisters?”
Our offering is intimately linked to the next gesture, that of gratitude, the pope argued.
The pope suggested words we can pray to the Father: “All that I have is your gift, Lord, and to give thanks I can only give you back what you first gave me, together with your Son Jesus Christ, adding to it what I can.”
“Each of us can add a little something,” he insisted, inviting the faithful to reflect: “What can I give to the Lord? What can the little one give? Our poor love. Saying, ‘Lord, I love you.’ We poor people: Our love is so small! But we can give it to the Lord, the Lord welcomes it.”
Fruit of everyone’s gift
These gifts then lead to sharing, the pope explained.
“In the Mass is Communion, when together we approach the altar to receive the Body and Blood of Christ: the fruit of everyone’s gift transformed by the Lord into food for all. It is a beautiful moment, that of Communion, which teaches us to live every gesture of love as a gift of grace, both for the giver and the receiver,” he said.
The pope invited the faithful to receive Our Lady’s help to live each Mass with this attitude of faith, “to recognize and savor every day the ‘miracles’ of God’s grace.”
After praying the Angelus and giving his apostolic blessing, the pope assured his closeness to those who have suffered from landslides in Ethiopia.
Landslides hit the remote mountainous zone of Gofa in southern Ethiopia Sunday night into Monday morning, triggered by heavy rains in the region. Well over 200 people are already confirmed dead, with the United Nations projecting that the death toll could end up closer to 500.
The pope then spoke of the continuing problem of world hunger, calling the international community to take a stand against the “scandal” of “wasting resources to fuel wars large and small.”
“While there are so many people in the world suffering from disasters and hunger, we continue to build and sell weapons,” he lamented. He said this “contradicts the spirit of brotherhood of the Olympic Games that have just begun. Let us not forget, brothers and sisters: War is defeat!”
“I will not forsake you”
The pope also noted that today is the 4th World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, a celebration he initiated in 2020. This year’s theme is drawn from Psalm 71: “Do not cast me off in my old age.”
“Today’s day calls us to listen to the voice of the elderly who say, ‘Do not forsake me!’ and to respond, ‘I will not forsake you!’” the pope said.
“Let us say ‘no’ to the loneliness of the elderly! Our future depends greatly on how grandparents and grandchildren learn to live together. Let’s not forget the elderly!” he said, inviting the faithful to a round of applause for all the grandparents.
The pope concluded his weekly meeting with the faithful with his traditional good wishes for a nice lunch, and the request: “Please don’t forget to pray for me.”
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