Bishop-Designate Salvatore R. Matano will be installed as the ninth Bishop of Rochester in a ceremony at Sacred Heart Cathedral on Friday Jan. 3, 2014, at 2:30 p.m.
The liturgical ceremony for the installation of a bishop is drawn from the Ceremonial of Bishops, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, and established customs and practices in dioceses across the United States, according to Father Robert Kennedy, chairman of the diocesan liturgical commission.
The reception of the new bishop actually begins on Thursday, Jan. 2, with evening prayer at Sacred Heart at 7:30 p.m. After a musical prelude, Bishop Matano will knock three times on the cathedral door. Bishop Robert J. Cunningham, ordinary of the Diocese of Syracuse and apostolic administrator for the Diocese of Rochester, will proceed with a crossbearer to the door and open it for Bishop Matano. The bishop-designate will be presented with a crucifix, which he will kiss, and will then sprinkle himself and those around him with holy water.
The service, taken from the Liturgy of the Hours, will include the chanting of Psalms, memorials for Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen (whose feasts are celebrated on Jan. 2), a Scripture reading and a homily by the bishop-designate. The service will conclude with additional prayers, a blessing and a reception in the cathedral narthex.
The Friday installation ceremony will be attended by the priests and deacons of the diocese; men and women religious from the diocese; several visiting bishops; New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan; and Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the papal nuncio to the United States. One representative from every worship site in the diocese also will attend, along with Bishop Matano’s family and guests.
After the entrance procession and introductory rites, Archbishop Vigano will read from the ambo the Apostolic Mandate, or letter of appointment from Pope Francis (Related: How does a bishop take possession of a diocese?). After the letter has been visually presented to those present, Archbishop Vigano will ask Bishop Matano if he accepts the appointment.
He will accept with the words: "With faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God in my heart, I do accept the pastoral care of the people of God in the Diocese of Rochester. I resolve to serve faithfully the spiritual needs of this local church."
The assembly will respond with: "Thanks be to God."
The new bishop then will be seated in the cathedra (bishop’s chair), where he will receive his crozier (staff) and be formally welcomed by Rochester-area civic leaders and representatives of other faith denominations. In addition, three representatives from each of the diocese’s seven regions will greet the new bishop as representatives of all the people of the diocese. Among the regional representatives will be the priest-coordinator of each region and others who, ideally, will represent all the ministries of the diocese, such as faith formation, campus ministry, Catholic schools and pastoral musicians.
Following the official welcoming, the installation Mass will proceed with the Liturgy of the Word, including a reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians from which Bishop Matano’s motto is drawn. Bishop Matano will preside over the remainder of the liturgy and deliver his first homily as the ninth Bishop of Rochester.
Due to limited seating at the cathedral, only invited guests with tickets can be seated. The installation, however, will be broadcast live on YNN on Time Warner Cable in the Rochester area and will be streamed live on the Catholic Courier website at www.catholiccourier.com.
