WASHINGTON
The Spokesman-Review
Nina Culver The Spokesman-Review
The Most Rev. Thomas Daly was installed as the seventh bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane Wednesday as the fifth and sixth bishops looked on.
Hundreds of people packed into the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes for Daly’s installation Mass, including family and friends of Daly’s. Half the church was filled with deacons and priests from all corners of the diocese, which covers 13 counties in Eastern Washington.
Sharon White said she hoped to meet the new bishop Wednesday afternoon but came to the Mass because of her faith.
“There’s just this sense of belonging and faith and love,” she said. “It just brings so much joy to your life.”
Daly, 55, was introduced by Archbishop Peter Sartain. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who is the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States, read the apostolic mandate signed by Pope Francis appointing Daly as the new bishop of Spokane. Vigano prayed for a “special outpouring of the Holy Spirit” on Daly as he takes his new post.
The Spokane Diocese had been without a bishop since the Most Rev. Blase Cupich was named archbishop of Chicago in November. Cupich began serving as bishop of Spokane in September 2010, replacing retiring Bishop William Skylstad. The diocese has struggled in recent years, filing for bankruptcy in the face of numerous sexual abuse lawsuits and then suing the lawyers that represented it in the bankruptcy after accusing them of mishandling the case.
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