NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger
By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on September 25, 2013
Newark Archbishop John J. Myers introduced his new co-archbishop and eventual successor to New Jersey Tuesday, calling the appointment a “gift” that will help him carry out important initiatives and ensure a smooth transition after his retirement.
Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda, whom Pope Francis plucked from a small diocese in Michigan to serve at Myers’ side, was greeted with a standing ovation by dozens of priests and nuns during a press conference at the archdiocese’s headquarters in Newark.
Hebda, 54, a canon lawyer with degrees from Harvard and Columbia universities and more than a decade of Vatican experience in Rome, will begin immediately as Myers’ chief adviser and partner in running the state’s largest diocese.
“If you are wondering if I am as surprised as you are by this appointment, the answer is yes, and yet I am truly thrilled to be here to begin my service,” said Hebda, the nation’s second-youngest archbishop.
Hebda comes to Newark at a time of upheaval for Myers, the subject of intense criticism in recent months over the way he has handled priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse.
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