Advice, and content

Bishops share their episcopal experiences when getting ‘the call’

By Bill Brewer

“Say goodbye well so that you can say hello well.”— Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre

Among bishops, there is a common thread woven through them that connects their episcopacies.

It is that unexpected moment when they said yes to becoming the shepherd of a diocese after years spent serving as a parish priest.

Common denominators they most often recall are faith, humility, grace, uncertainty, relationships, and even tears.

Bishop Mark Beckman is now attached by that thread following his July 26 ordination and installation as the Diocese of Knoxville’s fourth shepherd.

For the ordination, Bishop Beckman selected as his principal consecrator Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre and as co-consecrators Bishop J. Mark Spalding and Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. Bishop Beckman also asked Bishop Emeritus Joseph E. Kurtz, the third bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville and retired archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville, to sit near him at the altar.

The veteran bishops who joined with the newest member of the episcopal fraternity at his ordination last month recently recollected their experiences in saying “yes” at that unexpected moment and how it changed their lives and their ministries and impacted their vocations.

Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz

Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz was a senior member of the July 26 ordination Mass, having retired in February 2022 at age 75. He was succeeded in Louisville by Archbishop Fabre.

His ordination to the episcopacy remains fresh on his mind.

“This October will be 25 years ago that I received the call. And I’m coming up on the 25th anniversary of my anniversary as a bishop on Dec. 8,” Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz noted.

And like virtually every bishop, he remembers when he received “the call” and what he was doing. He recalled that he was pastor of Notre Dame Parish in Bethlehem, Pa., and had been visiting residents of a nursing home. His secretary informed him that he had received a phone call from Washington, D.C. It was Oct. 26, 1999.

“When I returned the call, the person said, ‘Could you hold on? The nuncio wishes to speak with you.’ I remember thinking, what in the world is going on,” Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz said. “Sure enough, it was Archbishop (Gabriel) Montalvo, who at that time was the papal nuncio, representative of the pope in the United States. He said, ‘The Holy Father has appointed you as the bishop of Knoxville; he actually said, ‘Kuh-noxville.’ And he said, ‘Do you accept?’”

Despite the surprise, the retired archbishop did not hesitate or equivocate.

“I’ve taken spiritual pride in being able to say yes to any appointment that I’ve been able to say yes to, from my diaconate all the way to the present. It’s very freeing because it’s really God’s will. I’m not seeking out anything specifically. So, I immediately said yes. I thought I’ll fill in the blanks later,” he remembered.

That common thread linking bishops also involves the post-acceptance whirlwind, when the realization of what is happening sets in. For Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz, it also was a bit of culture shock.

“It was a bit of a sleigh ride from then on. Before I knew it, there I was getting on an airplane to come down to East Tennessee. I had never been in Tennessee before in my life. It was quite an adventure,” he shared.

And for Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz, there were other considerations as well. He noted how his older brother, George, would be accompanying him to Knoxville to live. He was the caretaker of George, who had Down’s syndrome. George was beloved and a popular companion to then-Bishop Kurtz. George passed away in 2002.

“He and I were living together along with some other priests at the parish where I was. So, my mind was going like anyone who has a family. Gee, is Georgie going to adjust to this? Where am I going to stay, and is there room for Georgie? All the things that families go through. The adrenaline had me prepare, and it was only later on that I sat back in a deeper way and reflected on what had just happened,” the archbishop said.

And just as with his appointment as bishop, Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz keenly remembers a similar process when he was asked to lead the Archdiocese of Louisville. He received the call in 2007 from then-nuncio Archbishop Pietro Sambi while he was in Colorado preparing for the funeral of the father of Deacon Sean Smith, Diocese of Knoxville chancellor.

“I said yes right away. If the Holy Father is going to appoint me, I will serve. Maybe that was a little different than other people, but I must say that has consistently been my reaction when I was asked, whether as a young priest to go to another diocese like Scranton to be director of Catholic Charities, or as pastor on two different occasions at two different parishes. My immediate response was yes, then I had to figure out what had just happened,” he said.

And while yes was an immediate reaction on both occasions, there also were moments of doubt, especially following the initial “yes.” Very early in his bishopry, Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz recalled humorously that the bishop’s secretary at the time, Andrea Cox, addressed him as bishop, “and I looked away to see who she was talking to.”

“It was an instinct. And I said to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s going to be hard getting used to being called the bishop.’ And she said, ‘Oh, you’ll get used to it.’ We laughed about that,” he said.

And while he did adjust to the change, the learning curve made an impact.

“I never had a moment where I thought maybe I should have said no. But I will tell you this: I had never served in a Chancery, so I was never in a bishop’s office. I had either been a pastor or head of Catholic Charities. I did not worry as much, but I wondered if my lack of experience in a Chancery would be a negative. I hadn’t studied canon law like Bishop Vann (James V. Johnston Jr.), who went to study canon law, so he knew much more about Church law,” said Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz, noting that then-Father Johnston served as his chancellor in the Diocese of Knoxville with him.

“I had to learn it from the bootstraps. I must admit, that was the only wariness I had. I have not found that to be a negative. If anything, people ask me when you look back on it, what prepared you the most to be a good bishop? I would say the first thing is my family. Being a bishop is all about forming good relationships: your relationship with Christ; your relationship with priests and Sisters and deacons and lay leaders with whom you work; and obviously your relationship with the people you are serving. I think you learn an awful lot about that in your family,” he added.

Also invaluable to him were his experiences as a pastor and his administrative work with Catholic Charities and the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. While serving in Louisville, he also was president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2013-16.

Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz was appointed bishop of Knoxville by Pope John Paul II and archbishop of Louisville by Pope Benedict XVI.

Archbishop Fabre

Archbishop Fabre immediately recollects receiving “the call” and agrees it is a moment no bishop ever forgets.

“I got that call the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2006. I was getting ready to go to bed. It was around 9:30 at night. I got my phone call from Archbishop Alfred Hughes of New Orleans. I was being appointed auxiliary bishop of New Orleans. The decision by Pope Benedict to name me a bishop came down when the nuncio was out of the country. So, Archbishop Hughes asked him if he could call and tell me. And the nuncio gave him permission.

Archbishop Fabre said he had worked with Archbishop Hughes when the latter was bishop of Baton Rouge, La., prior to becoming archbishop of New Orleans.

To say he was surprised is an understatement.

“I was shocked. I knew what I expected my priesthood to be was changing. I wanted to do what God wanted me to do, even though it’s not what I expected or maybe even wanted to do. I surrendered myself to what I believe was God’s will. But I knew at that moment my life was changing and going in a direction I did not expect.

“However, as I have told people many times, that moment was a call for me to believe what I profess, that I want what God wants, and the Lord speaks through the Church, and the Lord speaks through the pope. I either believe that or I don’t. So, I said I do believe that, and I surrendered myself to it. It has been a great joy, and I have known abundant grace serving as a bishop. But my heart is still in parish ministry. That is my real love,” Archbishop Fabre said.

He shared that saying no to Archbishop Hughes, who served as the shepherd of the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 2002-09, was never a consideration. He noted that the phone call from Archbishop Hughes was very conversational and lasted about an hour.

Another common denominator among bishops is that soon after receiving the call from the nuncio, they are required by canon law to make a personal retreat.

Archbishop Fabre shared that he offered advice to the Diocese of Knoxville’s new shepherd on transitioning from priest to bishop.

“I have learned that it is very important to say goodbye well so that you can say hello well. Part of that was in saying goodbye to the parish where I had been serving. Part of it was saying goodbye to the priests in service to the Lord that I had known. And I deeply entered into that. There were some tears. I will not deny that. There were lots of tears. I prepared to become a bishop by saying goodbye well to the people whom I was serving and to the priesthood that I knew at that time so I could say hello to what the Lord was calling me to, so that I could say hello in the best way that I could.

“That is a piece of advice that I gave to Bishop Beckman. I knew that I had to say goodbye well so that I could give myself over completely to the hello that I also was about to give,” said Archbishop Fabre, who was appointed bishop at the age of 43 by Pope Benedict XVI.

While the appointments of Bishop Beckman, Bishop Spalding, Bishop Johnston, and Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz were to immediately lead dioceses, Archbishop Fabre feels he benefited as an auxiliary bishop with on-the-job training and the recipient of very good guidance and counseling along the way.

“I had been a priest for 17 years, and I was 43 years old. Did I feel ready? No, which is why I am deeply grateful to God and to the Holy Spirit and to the Church that I was named an auxiliary bishop. I got to be an auxiliary bishop for six years. As an auxiliary bishop, I had a chance to work with Archbishop Hughes and Bishop (Roger P.) Morin in New Orleans. They helped me to make my way through,” Archbishop Fabre said.

“It is a different challenge when, like Bishop Beckman, you are being named the bishop of a diocese, and you are going to be the bishop,” he added.

He also noted that while he was ordained a bishop on Feb. 28, 2007, in New Orleans, his installation as bishop did not occur until six years later when he became bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana.

He fondly recalls that his parents attended his ordination as did family members and friends.

When asked what advice he would give a bishop-elect who had received the papal (phone) call to serve in the bishopry, Archbishop Fabre said, “Never ever forget that the people, in their faith example, and their lived faith experience, also have a lot to teach you. You have a lot to teach them. But they also have a lot to teach you. That would be the first thing I would say.

“The second thing I would say is stay very close to the lifelong friends you have made. They can lift you up and they can keep you humble. My final piece of advice would just be to pray and trust the Lord and to be consultative. You don’t have all the gifts. Be consultative and rely on the gifts of others as well. You don’t have to do it all by yourself. Though the decisions may be yours to make, that does not mean you have to make them (without guidance),” he noted.

Archbishop Fabre said he is grateful to the Catholic faithful of East Tennessee, including priests, deacons, and religious, for how they welcomed him and supported him during his time as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Knoxville.

He pointed out that in every diocese he has served, he has valued and learned from the relationships he made. He encouraged Bishop Beckman to do the same.

“It’s the faith relationships that I was able to benefit from, from the people whom I serve. That’s very important for me. I always reference the diocese that I serve. I’m sent here to serve. To the best of my ability, I serve them, and I’m grateful and proud of the faith relationships that I have formed there in all of those places, even as a priest of Baton Rouge,” he said.

Bishop Johnston

Bishop Johnston instantly recalled receiving “the call” during the Christmas holiday in 2007. And while he said “yes” definitively, he asked for time to prayerfully digest the news.

He was serving as pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa and the then-mission of St. Francis of Assisi in Townsend.

“It was two days after Christmas, Dec. 27, 2007, I remember very clearly. It was a quiet morning, as those mornings during Christmas week are. I was at the rectory, and Shelby McMillan, the receptionist at the Chancery, called and said, ‘Father, the nuncio called and wants to speak to you.’ At the time, we were awaiting a new bishop, and I thought he might be calling to talk about that. Bishop Kurtz had gone to Louisville.

“I called him back. At the time the nuncio was Archbishop Pietro Sambi, and he just came right to the point and said Pope Benedict XVI had appointed me the next bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in Missouri. He encouraged me to respond as the first Apostles did when they were called by Christ. And then he said, ‘Do you accept?’

“I was in stunned silence for a while because it was a very to-the-point call they make, especially if you’re not expecting to be asked that. It was kind of paralyzing in a way. You almost don’t know what to say or how you’re supposed to respond. But they immediately ask if you accept the appointment,” Bishop Johnston shared. “I said something along the lines of ‘Can I have some time to just absorb this and pray about it?’ He said, ‘Yes; I’ll give you 24 hours, so call me back tomorrow.’ While I did ask for some time, they didn’t give me a lot.”

Bishop Johnston also remembers the nuncio emphasizing to him that he couldn’t share their conversation with anyone. He also recalls coming to terms with the nuncio’s news.

“These conversations are under what is known as the pontifical secret, which means it is at the highest level of secrecy, so you really can’t tell anyone. I did have a chance to pray about it. So, I called him back the next day and accepted it. I don’t know if you would call it fear, but it was a sobering realization that my life was forever going to change. It wasn’t fear in the sense that you understand fear as being ‘I can’t do this.’ It was basically an awareness that my life will forever change and I’m heading into something totally unknown,” Bishop Johnston said.

“It was a spiritual time for me to pray and to really surrender and trust. But I realized I would be moving away from everything in East Tennessee, including my family and all the friends I had made over the course of my whole life, and would not get to see people nearly as often. Also, I would then be called to embrace another family in my new diocese and give my life to that.

“That’s a very sobering, awesome thing to contemplate. When you become a priest, you have a lot of these moments where you’re asked to do something, and you renew your own gift of yourself that you made on your ordination day to serve God’s kingdom. There’s a freedom in it, too, not just apprehension. There was a certain freedom in realizing this is part of my vocation, and this is what God is calling me to. If it’s God’s call, I can trust it,” he continued.

Once he said yes, he was permitted to share the news with a very small circle of people.

“If I remember right, I was then able to tell my parents, but that was pretty much it. I also received permission to talk to Bishop (John J.) Leibrecht, who was the bishop I was succeeding in Springfield-Cape Girardeau. I could talk to him. But that was it until the formal announcement, which was Jan. 24 (2008), the feast of St. Francis de Sales. No one in my family knew, other than my parents.

“My parents’ response was similar to mine. There was a part of them that was very sad that I wouldn’t be around them as frequently anymore. But I think they also were very proud of me. And they have been very supportive. But there was that element that I wouldn’t be dropping by for Sunday dinner as often as I had been,” Bishop Johnston recalled.

He said his siblings—two sisters and a brother—also were sad that he would no longer be close by, but they were excited and happy for him that he was becoming a bishop. He has 10 nieces and nephews who received the news with the same mixed feelings.

Bishop Johnston, like his colleagues following their appointments, immediately began to study his new diocese, including having discussions with his predecessor, who was retiring.

“A lot of it was just learning as much as I could from my predecessor about the diocese. I had many conversations with Bishop Leibrecht, and I asked a lot of questions. He filled me in on the state of the diocese and some of the priests and the parishes, and some of the challenges but also some of the things that were really bearing a lot of fruit. I got to educate myself on where I was going. At the same time, I was beginning, in my own way, to think about where I was serving at Our Lady of Fatima and St. Francis of Assisi and also my role at the Chancery. I also was thinking about some of the things that were going to have to happen and anticipating all that was going to unfold once the announcement was made,” he said.

Although he would be managing a diocese for the first time, Bishop Johnston remembers having the benefit of serving in a chancery for several years, working closely with then-Bishop Kurtz, as well as serving in a variety of parishes.

“I felt like I could do it, but I knew there was going to be a lot I had to learn as well. I did have some confidence that I could catch up to what I didn’t yet know,” he said. “I had an idea of what a bishop’s life was like. I had the benefit of seeing the bishop from behind the scenes as well as in front of the scenes. I consider Bishop Kurtz as one of the best role models I could have ever had. I couldn’t have had a better role model and example as him. I had that added help going into this.”

Bishop Johnston said the transition from priest to bishop was unique in that a bishop is still a priest with pastoral responsibilities while at the same time managing a diocese and its clergy and employees.

“But you do have to get used to having a different kind of relationship, and you realize it fairly quickly. You’re still friends and a member of the local Church, but your role is unique among all the others. You also realize very quickly that there are a lot of decisions that only you can make. It’s important to find very good people that you can trust in talking to and getting advice. You need to be a quick study, and it’s good to be able to ask other bishops when you don’t know something,” he pointed out.

The bishops joked that the appointment does not come with instructions, which can contribute to any uncertainty about how to lead a diocese.

“At the time, I asked the nuncio how do I learn? Is there a workshop for new bishops? The nuncio’s answer was kind of funny, I thought. He just said, ‘Look at what other bishops do.’ There is no handbook that they give you. You can go back and look at canon law and some of the things that have been written officially about the office of bishop,” Bishop Johnston said. “A lot of it is wisdom you gained as a priest. Ultimately, you’re still a shepherd. A lot of the things that you do as a bishop are carried over from your time as a priest, as a pastor.”

He noted that unlike a priest or a pastor, who sees and visits with his flock at least once a week, a bishop is on the go, visiting many parishes and seeing many people from throughout the diocese.

If he could share any advice to a priest who has just been named a bishop, Bishop Johnston said it boils down to faith.

“My advice would be to trust in God’s loving providence, and that if you are called, unless you have a compelling reason to say no, and there are sometimes reasons to say no, make the same act of faith that you did when you gave your ‘yes’ on your ordination day as a priest and as a deacon.

“Ultimately, we’re servants. And it’s Jesus’ Church. The Holy Spirit guides the Church, and we have that pledge. The Lord has chosen to need us and to call us into His service to His people. You can trust Him to give you the grace that you need to be a good shepherd. Like our Blessed Mother, if the Lord is calling you in this mysterious way, it’s always best to have faith and to give your ‘yes,’” he shared.

He pointed out that the Church is the instrument that God uses to save the world. “The Lord is with us, and we just have to trust Him and step forward when we’re called to help Him.”

Bishop Spalding

Bishop Spalding was enjoying a relaxing cup of coffee on his day off when he received “the call.” It was Nov. 13, 2017.

“All of a sudden, I saw that on my cellphone. When you get a number you do not recognize, you’re always a little leery, thinking it’s going to be a spam call or something. I took the risk of answering it because it had a 202 area code, Washington, D.C. I decided, well, I’m going to see what this is. And the nuncio was on the other side of the call.

“It was humbling. It truly caused me to have a feeling of humility and wondering, OK, this is an awesome assignment; hoping in the midst of that if the Church is asking me to do this, and the Holy Father is asking me to do this, the Holy Spirit, I pray, will be with me. That is what was going through my mind at the time,” Bishop Spalding remembered.

After his initial pause during the conversation with papal nuncio Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Bishop Spalding said his priestly vows quickly came to mind.

“I paused, but my promise of obedience in my diaconate and priesthood ordination extends out through time. I’ve never said no to any of the assignments I’ve ever been asked to take. There was a pause, but I said to the nuncio I will serve with the gifts that God has given me. And his response was, ‘That’s a yes.’ From there we went on with the discussion,” he shared.

Bishop Spalding said he had been serving as pastor of a large parish in the Archdiocese of Louisville, Holy Trinity. And Holy Trinity at that time had attached to it a smaller parish in the inner city of Louisville, Holy Name. He also was serving as a vicar general. How did he prepare to become a bishop once he said yes?

“I started talking to all of the bishops who I knew, and, of course, talked to Archbishop Kurtz. He was very generous in giving advice and sharing his wisdom. I also have two good bishop friends: Archbishop (Charles C.) Thompson in Indianapolis and Bishop (William F.) Medley in Owensboro, Ky. I talked to them and listened carefully to any advice, wisdom, and direction they were willing to give me,” Bishop Spalding said.

He also noted that as a canon lawyer, he reviewed the Church canons, the Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops, and the Vatican II document concerning bishops.

“I read those resources to get my bearings and see what is asked of a man who will be serving as a bishop,” he said.

When asked, based on reviewing those resources, did he feel ready to be a bishop on his first day on the job, he laughed and said, “I don’t know if I was ready. Let’s just say the first week is a leap of faith, and you just start doing. You ask God to be with you in the actual activity of the job.”

“I came a few weeks early here (in Nashville) and had a two-week prep before I was ordained and installed. I wanted to get as much context and history as I could in a two-week period. I was able to hit the ground running on day one in a sense of making appointments and assignments that needed to be taken care of,” he noted.

He recalled that right away he had to make decisions that only a bishop could make. Those decisions had been on hold since the death of his predecessor, Bishop David R. Choby, who passed away on June 3, 2017, at age 70.

In preparation for his ordination and installation on Feb. 2, 2018, Bishop Spalding said he read over in detail and prayed over the Rite of Ordination. “I used that as a prayer moment for me,” adding that reading and understanding the rite also served as an intellectual and spiritual exercise that was uplifting for his formation.

He echoed Archbishop Fabre, Archbishop Emeritus Kurtz, and Bishop Johnston in pointing out that among his fondest memories of his ordination and installation was having family, friends, and colleagues present.

“It’s a wonderful sight of all the dear ones of your life are gathered around you in that moment. It’s an awesome experience, something that is wonderful and also can cause fear as well,” he said, laughing.

He shared a bit of advice with Bishop Beckman, whom he has worked with closely in the Diocese of Nashville, based on his own experiences of the recent past.

“Continue to be the man of prayer that you are. In any service within the Church, but particularly being a bishop, you’re going to need a strong spiritual life. You have a good shepherd (Bishop Beckman) who knows that already, but it needs to be emphasized. First, be a man of prayer.

“Secondly, it’s not an easy job, but remember that overwhelmingly people are praying for your success in it. Particularly remember those people on the tough days. There will be moments of anxiety or crisis or trials or troubles. Just remember that overwhelmingly people are praying for you and want for your success personally and the success of the diocese as a whole.

“Get to know your priests and your people well. The best way to do that is to be out among them. I told him to get to as many places and parishes as he possibly can in the next weeks, months, and years. In all of our ministries within the Church, but particularly as priests and bishops, the ministry of presence is significant. In that presence, we bring forth the presence of Christ in Word and in sacrament. You just have to be there,” Bishop Spalding said.

The Diocese of Nashville bishop remarked that his episcopate will be seven years old in February. He is no longer Tennessee’s new bishop.

“It has gone by fast. … I still see myself as a young baby bishop in so many ways. There have been so many good things: the blessing of the ordinations of priests and deacons, the recruitment of vocations—priestly, diaconate, and religious vocations—is going well in the Diocese of Nashville, our Catholic schools are prospering here, we have a blessing of outreach in our Catholic Charities. Each one of these blessings requires constant attention and resources. You have to work at those in being a bishop.

“I see the working of the Holy Spirit in my life. I believe the Holy Spirit led me to say yes to priesthood in the first place and yes to all the assignments I had before I was a bishop, and the Holy Spirit was truly with me when I received that call from the nuncio to say yes in that moment. I see the Holy Spirit at work in my life still. I don’t think that will change,” Bishop Spalding said.

The four bishops agree that meeting and overcoming challenges is key to an episcopate. Among the challenges they have shared are COVID’s impact on a diocese, the Church sexual abuse scandal, and the growth of secularism in the world.

They also agree that Bishop Beckman will never have to shepherd the Diocese of Knoxville by himself.

“Another piece of advice I would give to Bishop Beckman is you do not do this job alone. Don’t let others allow you to do it alone. You need to have the wisdom of good people around you, women and men alike. They are there in the Diocese of Knoxville. Allow them to be in your life, and make sure they know you want them there to give advice on all the major issues that the diocese will be addressing,” Bishop Spalding concluded.