Most Rev. Samuel Aquila, the new archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver, brought his time in the Diocese of Fargo to an end this morning as he celebrated a Mass of Farewell at Saint Mary's Cathedral.
It is a time of both joy and sadness for the archbishop and members of the diocese as they prepare for new beginnings.
At first Aquila was overwhelmed. He says, "You leave everything you know. You leave behind everything and truly learn obedience to God and the Church."
But now he is ready for the new changes. "As I have continued to surrender to the plan of God with docility and receptivity, the love that is revealed by God is far greater than I could ever have imagined," he explains. He sends a special message to those he served saying, "All of you will always be close to my heart, and I will always continue to pray for you."
The members of the Fargo Diocese will not forget him either. St. Mary's Cathedral parishioner Karla Wiegrefe says, "He'll always be loved by us, and this will always be a little bit of his home too."
Members says the archbishop's Christian example has touched the hearts, minds and souls of many. Wiegrefe's family has especially been impacted. She says, "Our boys serve at the altar, and they have really learned so much from him and been inspired by his example."
Aquila explains that he does not just inspire the people, the people have inspired him and helped him become who he is today. "I have never lived in a place that is as pro-family and pro-life in every sense of the word," says Aquila.
He considers this relationship between him and the members of the Fargo Diocese a blessing he will carry with him to Denver and the people there.
Wiegrefe does not think it will take long for the archbishop to adjust to his new surroundings saying, "I think that he'll do a great job there. I think they're very blessed to be getting a bishop like this."
Aquila knows that surrendering to God's plans will be best for the people of his new archdiocese, and he hopes that his time here has really touched the lives of everyone in the Diocese of Fargo. "I pray that over these past 11 years their faith has grown, their hope has grown, their charity has grown, and that they have come to a much deeper conversion in their relationship with the Lord," says the archbishop.
Aquila will officially be installed as archbishop in Denver on July 18th.
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