CBS 4
April 20, 2010
http://cbs4.com/local/favalora.archbishop.retires.2.1643958.html
Bishop Thomas Wenski, a South Florida native with a long history of serving the Catholic church in the Archdiocese of Miami, will now lead the Archdiocese as its 4th Archbishop, named to the post early Tuesday morning by Pope Benedict. Wenski will replace Archbishop John Favalora, who announced his retirement Tuesday morning.
The new Archbishop spoke at a formal announcement held at the Archdiocese headquarters, and said he welcomes the chance to come home to South Florida.
He will be formally installed as Archbishop June 1.
At 74, Archbishop Favalora is just shy of the Church's retirement age of 75. He was elevated to the position of Archbishop in 1994 upon the retirement of Edward McCarthy. Prior to that he was bishop of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Alexandria, Louisiana. Previously, he worked at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.
He is just the third bishop in the history of the Archdiocese, which covers Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties.
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| Bishop Thomas Wenski, named Tuesday as the new Archbishop of Miami |
Word of the Archbishop's retirement broke late Monday, and as speculation grew about who would replace him, the Vatican both confirmed the retirement and announced the new Archbishop would be Bishop Wenski, currently in the Diocese of Orlando but a cleric with a lengthy history in South Florida.
Wenski, 59, was born in Palm Beach county and attended seminary in Miami-Dade county. He was ordained in 1976, and served at various posts in the Archdiocese for 26 years, including director of the Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center. He became identified with ministering to the Haitian community, and worked with newly arrived Haitian migrants.
He also served as director of Catholic Charities, and in 1997, was named an auxiliary Bishop. He was assigned to the Orlando diocese in 2003.
The new Archbishop will take the helm of the Archdiocese at a troubled time. Waning finances have forced local Catholic leaders to close Catholic schools, shutter churches and merge parishes.
Like many dioceses in the US, the Miami Archdiocese has struggled with allegations of priests sexually molesting young boys. High profile priest Alberto Cutié shocked his parishioners when undercover video showed him enjoying the company of a woman on the beach, despite his vow of celibacy. After a national scandal, he left the church, became an Episcopalian, and married the woman who co-starred in the video.
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