BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — The Diocese of Birmingham’s wait for a new shepherd came to an end June 23 with the celebration of the Mass of installation for Bishop Steven J. Raica at the Cathedral of St. Paul in downtown Birmingham.

Unlike the night before during solemn vespers, the sun was shining brightly as the clergy lined up outside the cathedral to begin the procession.

Once all the clergy and servers were inside, the cathedral doors were closed so Raica could make the ceremonious knock. With the custom hammer, handmade by cathedral employee Philipp Szabo, Raica knocked on the door three times, after which Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile, Alabama, opened the door and welcomed Raica.

Following his entrance, the bishop venerated the crucifix held by Father Bryan Jerabek, the cathedral’s pastor and rector, then blessed those in the narthex with holy water.

Rodi greeted everyone and thanked retired Bishop Robert J. Baker for his service to the church in Birmingham from 2007 until the pope accepted the 76-year-old prelate’s resignation March 25 and named Raica his successor.

Mobile’s archbishop asked Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, to read the apostolic letter appointing Raica. After the letter was read, it was handed to Raica, who carried it throughout the cathedral for all to see.

The last part of the rite of installation followed with the nuncio and the archbishop walking the fifth bishop of Birmingham to his cathedra, or bishop’s chair. Rodi then handed a smiling Raica the crosier of Bishop Joseph G. Vath, Birmingham’s first bishop.

Vath was auxiliary bishop of Mobile-Birmingham from 1966 to 1969, when he was named bishop of Birmingham and the diocese was split into the Diocese of Birmingham and what is now the Archdiocese of Mobile. He died July 14, 1987, at age 69.

Concelebrating bishops included Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, Michigan; Bishop Kurt R. Burnette of the Ruthenian Eparchy of Passaic, New Jersey; Tennessee Bishops J. Mark Spalding of Nashville, Richard F. Stika of Knoxville and David P. Talley of Memphis; Mississippi Bishops Joseph R. Kopacz of Jackson and Louis F. Kihneman III of Biloxi; Bishop William A. Wack of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida; and Bishop Baker.

Birmingham’s new bishop began his homily welcoming those present and acknowledging those unable to physically attend due to current pandemic restrictions. He thanked Bishop Baker for his “tenure of faithful episcopal ministry.”

“The priests, deacons, religious and faithful of Birmingham have been truly blessed by your dedication to ministry and your steadfast discipleship with Christ our Lord! I can already see that I have some big shoes to fill!” said Raica, who before being appointed to Birmingham had been bishop of Gaylord, Michigan, since 2014.

He assured the faithful he is committed to being their shepherd “for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, and he highlighted three keys to help the Catholic Church of Birmingham “unlock the precise meaning” of the day.

The first key, he said, was the “yes” that is required as witnessed through Mary, the Mother of Christ, and Mother of the Incarnate Word.

“The formal announcement of my transfer from Gaylord to Birmingham occurred on March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation. … That announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to Mary is one of the most significant, and I dare say, the most revolutionary events in Christian history,” Raica said.

“No longer did we have to try to go and find God somewhere in the heavens, as if everything depended on our reaching out to a mystery hoping that we might catch a glimpse of God,” he added. “Rather, we are told, ‘The Word became flesh.’ God’s Son, took our flesh. He came to find us!”

Mary’s “yes” and subsequent conception of Jesus “opened for us a relationship that is now unbounded by time and dimension, but a reality that confronts us day in and day out,” he continued. “It allows us to see that a relationship with a person, whose voice we can know, invites us to know that our humanity is profoundly loved beyond anything we could ever imagine.

“It has profound dignity because each human being — especially in light of our recent civil turmoil and unrest, reflects the very image and likeness of God regardless of our age, whether we are unborn or in our waning years, the color of our skin or economic status. All are part of the one human family with a mosaic of experiences and cultures.”

He said the second key was “looking” for Christ.

With his installation Mass celebrated as a votive Mass of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Bishop Raica noted the saint’s words from the Gospel of John: “Look, there’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

In any form of evangelization, he stressed, the very first word is “look.” In fact, he said, we must open our eyes, ears, minds and hearts, for the “One you have been waiting for … is here!”

The last key of “going forth on mission,” he said, is exemplified by the patron of the Diocese of Birmingham, St. Paul, who became an ardent evangelist and his life has “become a point of reference in mission.”

Raica told the congregation that as Paul proclaimed Christ, “so must we.”

“Our faith doesn’t settle for minimums, but for real total engagement with reality. May we be bold to live up to the noble calling of becoming truly ourselves, what God has planned and purposed for each of us — people who are redeemed, joyful, fulfilled and free,” he proclaimed.

Raica concluded his homily by bringing together the three keys that he said will “open the door for a fruitful life as a Christian here in the Diocese of Birmingham.”

“To say ‘yes’ to God’s invitation, to ‘look’ and see Christ around us as the answer to our hearts’ deepest longing; and, to ‘go’ out and embark on a mission of witnessing God’s love by our lives … becoming a ‘missionary disciple’ offering hope to a world marred by violence, hate and lack of respect for others,” he said. “That is a noble mission and one we should not shirk from each and every day, leaving a unique mark behind that says — through me, one could see Christ, know Christ and experience Christ’s love.”

It’s “a ‘yes’ to God’s invitation, to ‘look’ and see Christ around and with us, and ‘going out’ on mission,” he said. “May God provide us with the grace and strength to live for him each and every day!”

Dillard is editor and art director of One Voice, newspaper of the Diocese of Birmingham.