Habemus Episcopum!

Well, that was quite the experience. Today was a huge day here on Prince Edward Island, at least for the Catholic part of the island. Today, our new bishop was installed. The prior bishop retired at the height of COVID due to age and cancer, and we've been without a bishop for over two years.

So, as of right now, that is over. Bishop Joseph Dabrowski is officially the Bishop of Charlottetown and all of Prince Edward Island. And my wife and I got to be there, with great seats.

 Bishop Dabrowski is Polish, and the mass was livestreamed so his parents back home could watch it happen. Here's the livestream replay:

How good were the seats? The video starts at 7:30; my wife and I are in the very first shot, behind the Filipino nun (there were two nuns in front of us, but one is hidden behind the man in the next row). Beside us is one of the deacons from our old parish in Ontario and his wife; they know the Bishop well, and wanted to be here for the mass.

The coolest thing about this for us is that Bishop Dabrowski was the auxiliary bishop in our old diocese, the Diocese of London, Ontario. In fact, he confirmed our oldest boy six years ago. So, it was great to see him attain this position; from what we can tell, he is definitely worthy of the post. I pray that our faith is not misplaced.

After the mass, we got to meet the Bishop, and while he didn't remember us (no surprise there), he was very pleasant and said he'd be happy to come to our farm (we grow potatoes, which apparently are a big deal in Poland). Deacon Richard took the picture below for us.

So, plenty of prayers for our new bishop; may God guide him and strengthen him in these trying times, and may he remain faithful to the teachings of the Apostles. We really, really need that today.