By Katie Vasquez
By Currents News
Currents News offers a special look at the historic ordination and installation of the sixth Bishop of Palm Beach, Florida, Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez.
By Currents News
At the ordination and installation as the sixth bishop of Palm Beach, Florida, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami gave the homily.
Below is the full text:
Today this local Church of Palm Beach will witness the episcopal ordination of its new chief shepherd and “high” priest. And at 6 foot seven inches tall he is certainly a high priest. So, as he assumes his new duties as the sixth bishop of this local Church, I believe that – with God’s grace and your support and prayers – he will not be “in over his head.”
I welcome the bishop-elect’s relatives and friends who have traveled here, including priests and former parishioners from the Diocese of Brooklyn. Bienvenidos a los que han venido desde la Republica Dominicana. The Gold Coast of Florida has been described as the sixth borough of New York City. So Bishop Rodriguez will quickly come to feel at home here among the palm trees and warm breezes that will also remind him of the Dominican Republic, the land of his birth.
Also, a special welcome to the bishops who will join me in the laying of hands through which Bishop-elect Rodriguez becomes a successor of the apostles and a member of the College of Bishops.
Joining us and representing the Holy Father is the Apostolic Nuncio, Cardinal Christophe Pierre. Cardinal Pierre, the clergy and the people of Palm Beach thank Pope Leo for the gift of this new shepherd.
And a special word of thanks to Bishop Gerald Barbarito. Thank you for your years of service to the people of the Diocese of Palm Beach. As I tell a priest when he retires, retirement means you can be occupied as much as you wish to be without being preoccupied by the demands of administration. You can take some holy pride in your stewardship of this diocese; and your work here for the Church of Palm has borne much good fruit. Your priestly integrity has brought much healing to this local Church,
My dear people, when Pope Leo appointed Father Manuel de Jesus Rodriguez as your new bishop, the promise God made through the prophet Jeremiah is once again fulfilled: “I will give you shepherds after my own heart. (Jeremiah 3: 15)
Like the Good Shepherd himself, Bishop Rodriguez will strive to lay down his life for you, the sheep of his new flock. And, in the days, months and years ahead, you will come to know him, and he will come to know you.
As the image of God, the Father and the vicar of Christ in a particular Church, the bishop, in the words of Pope St. John Paul II, “is called in a particular way to be a prophet, witness and servant of hope.” This task of a bishop perhaps is more daunting than ever because of the relativism and subjectivism which mar so much of contemporary culture. Indeed, the ascendant secularism of our age, by closing the doors to the Infinite and thus to the source of all hope, is changing how people perceive reality, leaving them confused as to why they live and about how they should live their lives. We see signs of this loss of hope all around us. We see it in some people’s seemingly insatiable appetite for illegal drugs, fleeting pleasures or elusive riches. Without hope, people do not make any enduring or lasting commitments to the future by responding to the call of a religious or priestly vocation or to the call of the project called marriage and a family. And a society that exiles God by reducing religion to the “private” and belief to merely subjective opinion expels hope from its midst.
And while globalization has made us all neighbors it has not made us brothers and sisters. The “globalization of indifference” increasingly closes our hearts to the other: the stranger, the immigrant, are seen as threats and the weak and vulnerable as inconvenient nuisances.
A bishop, through his triple “munera” of teaching, sanctifying and governing, is to be a “prophet, witness and servant” of that hope that will never disappoint, the hope that has a human face: Jesus Christ. Through the preaching of the Gospel, through the celebration of the sacred liturgy, through works of charity, under the leadership and oversight of their pastor, the Christian community shows the world that God does matter; and in doing so offers the world in Christ a future of hope.
A servant of Jesus Christ for the hope of the world, the bishop must therefore be filled with the courage of humility; not asking what prevailing opinion says about him but following the criterion of God’s truth and taking his stand accordingly, whether opportune or not. A bishop seeks to “discern wherever he exercises his ministry, the signs of life which are able to uproot the seeds of destruction and death. Hope sustains him as he transforms conflicts themselves into an opportunity for growth and for reconciliation.” (Pastores Gregis)
My brother, Manuel de Jesus, the liturgy of episcopal ordination interprets the essential features of a bishop’s ministry in the questions which I will shortly pose to you. “Do you resolve…?” I will ask you eight times. Each question solicits from you a statement of your intention, your willingness to undertake what is being asked of you; and each question points out a path for you to follow in the exercise of your episcopal ministry: And what is asked of you? What are those paths to be followed? You are asked to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ; to go ahead of and lead God’s people; you are asked to teach the sacred heritage of our past; to defend and promote the doctrinal unity of the faithful; to show mercy and charity to the needy and the poor; you are asked to pray without ceasing. These questions set before you a road map, or itinerary, to be followed in the exercise of your episcopal office.
My dear people, the call to the order of the episcopate is a complete abandonment to the mystery of the cross, to the mystery of love. It is dying to self. To cite St. Augustine with you he is a Christian but for you he is a Bishop. Respect him, love him, obey him, and pray for him that his ministry as bishop among you will be fruitful.
By Katie Vasquez
By Currents News
Following his ordination and installation as the sixth bishop of Palm Beach, Florida, Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez shared his vision of pastoral leadership for the Florida faithful.
Below is the full text from his address:
Your Eminence, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States,
Your Excellency, Most Reverend Thomas Wenski, Archbishop of Miami, who
presides over this solemn celebration,
Your Excellency, Most Reverend Héctor R. Rodríguez, Archbishop of Santiago de los Caballeros and President of the Dominican Episcopal Conference,
Your Excellency, Most Reverend Gerald Barbarito, Bishop Emeritus of Palm Beach,
Your Excellency, Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn,
Your Excellencies, the Most Reverend Bishops in attendance,
Very dear priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, and lay faithful of the Diocese of Palm Beach,
Dear visiting priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, and lay faithful from other dioceses,
Dear Brothers and sisters in Christ,
How beautiful is our Church! How beautiful it is to walk in the path of Christ Jesus in the company of so many beloved brothers and sisters! How beautiful is the Diocese of Palm Beach!
At the conclusion of this most solemn liturgical celebration, in which Our Lord has united my humble person to the Diocese of Palm Beach as her Diocesan Bishop, I wish to express a heartfelt word of greeting and gratitude.
The very utterance of these words fills me with awe and trembling — not only because only a few weeks ago I could scarcely have imagined pronouncing them, but also because they recall the timeless affirmation of Saint Augustine: Vobiscum sum Christianus, vobis sum episcopus — “With you I am a Christian; for you I am a bishop.”
Indeed, together we share the same faith and the same commitment to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet it is now my vocation and solemn responsibility to be, for you in this Diocese of Palm Beach, a shepherd and guardian of the faith we hold in common.
Thus, I am a bishop for you—meaning that tonight a new relationship has been born. We are in this together. From this day forward, until the Lord wills otherwise, I am your bishop and you are my people, united for the sake of the one faith we profess as members of the family of Jesus Christ. And together we remain sheep of the one flock shepherded by Him.
Therefore, though ordained today as a bishop, I must always “smell like the sheep,” as our unforgettable Pope Francis so often reminded us.
As the Word of the Lord so clearly proclaimed, the faith that makes us the People of God and His flock is born from the miracle of divine love—a love freely given so that we may never lack the means or opportunities necessary to live the gift of salvation He bestows upon us. Sacred Scripture and the Second Vatican Council teach us that love is the true law of the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium 9; Jn 13:34), and that the salvation of souls is always her supreme law (cf. can. 1752).
Under the loving pastoral care and gracious heart of your Diocesan Bishop until now, Bishop Gerald Barbarito, and through the devoted service of so many priests, deacons, and lay collaborators dedicated entirely to the Kingdom of God, you — the family of the Diocese of Palm Beach — have experienced the renewing power of that love. We must now continue advancing along that same path, knowing that Christ Jesus, Love of all loves, inspires and sustains our journey. We cannot stand still, for we are the Body of Christ here in Palm Beach.
Through our fervent spirit of prayer, this Diocese must continue to adore and reverence the Lord with ever greater devotion and zeal.
Through our apostolic boldness, the Word of God must be proclaimed more widely; the sacraments must be celebrated abundantly; charity must be lived intensely — by visiting the sick and the imprisoned, assisting the poor, accompanying immigrants, educating children and young people in the faith, and listening to and caring for our elderly. Ours is the vocation and the mission to make present in Palm Beach the Kingdom of God — beautiful, flourishing, expansive, united, and radiant.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, let the love of Jesus Christ be our strength and our motivation. We must not allow ourselves to be poisoned by hatred or bitterness, which belong to mentalities foreign to our faith and our identity as Church.
We need not search elsewhere for what we already possess in abundance within our own home: we have Christ and His Gospel of love.
The Church, as Mother and Teacher, instructs us to read the signs of the times and to engage in dialogue with science, with other religions, and with social and political leaders. Yet we do so without ever forgetting the treasure of our own faith—our essential values and principles—and the manner in which we communicate them in the light of Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium.
That is more than enough to make us joyful and to transform the world. For the world is hungry for Jesus Christ—and we can and must share Him with all.
Today it is fitting to recall what Saint Paul proclaimed to the Christians of Ephesus: “You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph 2:19). As Pope Francis and Pope Leo have reminded us, in the Church there are no foreigners or immigrants—only brothers and sisters.
With humility, we recognize one of the marks that makes our Church a beacon of light and a model of communion for humanity. Ours is the Church that enabled Father Thomas F. Reilly, born and raised in Boston, to become the founding Bishop of San Juan de la Maguana in the Dominican Republic and later a courageous defender of human dignity against tyranny.
Ours is the Church that led Father Stanley Rother of Oklahoma to serve the Mayan people of Guatemala, to translate the New Testament for them, and to become the first U.S.-born priest to die a martyr and be beatified. Ours is the Church in which a young Augustinian priest from Chicago, generous of heart and missionary in spirit, could become the Successor of Peter and the first American Pope in history.
And ours is the Church in which a boy born in Moca, Dominican Republic, formed in the school of Don Bosco and ordained for service in Brooklyn, now comes to serve as Bishop of Palm Beach. We are such a Church—dynamic, passionate, courageous, and unafraid of renewal.
Let us therefore begin this journey placing all our trust in the one and living God who chooses us and makes us His Church: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain” (Jn 15:16).
The Lord sends us to believe in the beauty and possibility of building joyful Christian families rooted in marriage in the neighborhoods of Delray Beach, Jupiter, and Port St. Lucie.
He urges us to feed the poor in Stuart and Vero Beach, to preach generosity and solidarity in Boca Raton and Wellington. He commands us to defend and cherish the gift of life from conception to natural death, to accompany and protect our children and young people, offering them a true experience of Church and formation in the values of our faith.
To my brother priests I say: Guys, here I am. There we go. Use me and count always on my full support. My beloved Bishop Emeritus of Brooklyn, Nicholas DiMarzio, once told us: “Having a new bishop is like wearing a new pair of shoes—at first it may feel uncomfortable, but eventually the feet adjust.”
I simply pray that these shoes will be neither too tight nor too loose, but just right for walking together along the path of the Lord’s will for His holy people who journey in Palm Beach.
To our seminarians: You are our great joy and our hope, for in you we can touch the future with our hands. Take courage!
Saint John Bosco promised his boys three things: “bread, work, and paradise.” I will add two more: good health and car
insurance—and many followers on Instagram.
To our deacons: Be encouraged—I am here to support and serve you.
To parents: Count on me—you and your families are our highest priority and
deepest concern.
To grandparents and the elderly: You are a treasure; I rely on you as teachers and
guides.
To the men and women of our parishes and schools: Do not be afraid—Christ is our
freedom.
To our youth: We are going to do great things together—prepare yourselves for
World Youth Day.
To our children: You are our peace troops and our troops of joy and hope—Jesus
blesses you.
To our diocesan team and to the Catholic Charities team: Let’s keep the good work
at the service of the Church and the People of God. Thank you for your dedication
and commitment.
To my brother Bishops: it is my honor to join you to share your unwavering
dedication to God’s people. I am here to learn from you and to work with you at the
service of our beloved Church.
May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of the Church and Star of the
Sea, inspire and assist us, together with Saint Joseph her spouse and Saint Michael
the Archangel, to live our Christian vocation with steadfast courage and joyful zeal,
trusting always in God, who never disappoints and never abandons His people.
I cannot claim to know with certainty what the ultimate outcome of this journey
will be, nor how the Lord will choose to unfold its course. Yet, in His Holy Name,
let us begin.
Que viva la Diócesis de Palm Beach!
Viv Dyosèz Palm Beach la!
Mabuhay ang Diyosesis ng Palm Beach!
Ka Diocese nke Palm Beach dịrị ndụ!
Diocese Palm Beach muôn năm!
Viva a Diocese de Palm Beach!
Vive le diocèse de Palm Beach!
May God bless us all.
The Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida is preparing for the ordination and installation of its sixth bishop, Bishop-elect Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez.
A closer look at the Diocese of Palm Beach highlights its history, growth, and changing demographics.
Bishop-elect Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez celebrates one of his first Sunday Masses at St. Juliana Parish in Palm Beach, encouraging Catholics to deepen their prayer life during the Lenten season.
By Katie Vasquez
By Katie Vasquez
Currents News is in Palm Beach, Florida for the ordination and installation of Bishop-designate Manuel de Jesús Rodriguez at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola.
The priest from the Dominican Republic who served as a pastor in the Diocese of Brooklyn will soon be the new shepherd of Floridian Catholics in the diocese.
Tune in to Currents News on YouTube at 6 PM EST Feb. 23, where vespers services led by the bishop-designate will be livestreamed.
Then join us at 1:30 PM EST Tuesday Feb. 24, where Currents News and The Tablet will have full coverage of the installation Mass.
Currents News takes an in-depth look at the Dominican Republic-born priest who has been called from the Diocese of Brooklyn to lead the Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida.
Bishop-designate Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez will be ordained and installed as the new shepherd of Palm Beach at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
From his roots in the Caribbean to his leadership at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Corona, Queens during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Currents News offers you a special look at the legacy he leaves in Brooklyn and Queens as he prepares to enter a new chapter of his ministry in Palm Beach.
This special newscast includes: