STATEMENT FROM BISHOP R. DANIEL CONLON
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE DIOCESE OF
Nine years is long enough for someone to settle into a
place. Nine years is more than enough
time for a pastor to become attached to a community of faith. After nine years, the Diocese of Steubenville
is very much my place and my community.
I even have a plot picked out in
The Holy Spirit and our Holy Father on earth, Pope Benedict
XVI, have other ideas. On Easter
Tuesday, April 26, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the
I came to the Diocese of Steubenville in 2002 as a complete
stranger. Yet, I came as a member of the
Body of Christ and a priest of the one priesthood of Jesus Christ. So, I never truly felt like a stranger.
We are all pilgrims on the journey to heaven. On holy pilgrimages there are no strangers, just brothers and sisters united in the Spirit, moving in and out of each others’ lives. We hail each other, pray together, care for one another and give witness of faith to those we encounter along the way.
Just as I broke off from the
As to personal feelings, this will not be easy. Separating from the company of such dedicated priests and deacons, setting aside the hopes bound up with seminarians, deacon candidates and new religious communities, missing the talented, hard-working chancery personnel, leaving off so many fruitful and promising enterprises, and losing contact with the thousands of good people throughout our thirteen counties—how incredibly blessed I have been.
Until July 14, Pope Benedict has provided that I will serve
as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Steubenville. Then, the
So, we pilgrims walk on, by faith not by sight. Some days our progress is easy and joy-filled. Some days we experience delay and pain. We go together, though, and Christ leads the way, holding high the banner of victory, ironically, his cross.
I am exuberantly grateful to God for these nine years. I am grateful to the people of the Diocese of Steubenville for accepting me and joining with me to do the Lord’s work. As the hymn proclaims, “How can I keep from singing?”—even as I walk toward a new part of the pilgrimage to heaven.