By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Archbishop Thomas Wenski greets Flossie Abrigo, a Filipino, after Mass.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Korean children process into church for the multicultural Mass.
“Diversity does not divide the Church,” he said in his homily. “The word Catholic means universal. Today, the presence of so many ethnic groups that form part of our archdiocesan community should show that all can and do find a home in the Catholic Church. Our unity is found in Christ.”
The groups included Haitians, Brazilians, Hispanics, Koreans, Filipinos, Chinese, Nigerians, Indians, Vietnamese and Americans. The archbishop said that everyone should feel at home in the Father’s house and the Church will continue its outreach to newcomers.
“We will speak their Mother’s tongue,” he said. “The newcomer, regardless of legal status, is a human person, he is a brother, she is a sister with a claim on our solidarity. We must build bridges, not walls. Bienvenido. Benvenuto. Byenveni. Bem-vindo. Witaj. Ibiala. Isten Hozta Ersek Ur. Maligayang pagdating. Chao mung cac ban. Welcome!”
The archbishop drew a parallel between Jesus’ coming among humanity as a man to a newcomer’s arrival in a strange land.
“We can contemplate the face of Jesus in the face of the immigrant,” said Archbishop Wenski.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
At the reception after Mass, Camilene Francois, 4, told Archbishop Wenski, "I like your dress."
“Immigrants are seen as threats, not as our brothers and sisters,” he said. “The real problem is not the immigrant, but the broken system that tolerates a growing underclass of vulnerable people, outside the protection of the law. Their labor is needed yet the present immigration regime does not provide them or their employers with the necessary avenues that would allow them to access the system and become legal. No human being should be reduced to a problem. It dehumanizes us all.”
Pope Benedict XVI said that globalization has made us all neighbors, but it has not made us brothers and sisters, said Archbishop Wenski.
“We live in a divided world, and what divides us is sin,” he said. “Catholics must be a light to the nations by modeling what a reconciled world looks like.”
Father Robes Charles, pastor of St. Clement, called the appointment of Archbishop Wenski “amazing”.
“He’s a son of our house,” said Father Charles. “He knows our diversity. He will roll up his sleeves and do a good job in the vibrant Church that is the Archdiocese of Miami.”
Several St. Clement parishioners remembered the archbishop as a priest in the archdiocese.
“He helped start Divine Mercy Mission and gave the mission its name,” said Merline Guerrier, a Haitian-American who attended the mission since 1987, until its merger with St. Clement Church in 2009.
Marie Clair Papin, another Haitian-American, stood in line after Mass to greet the new archbishop. She said she had a special memory from his days as a newly-ordained priest at Corpus Christi Church in Miami.
“He was the priest that married me and my husband,” she said. “In those days, he didn’t speak a word of Creole.”
Brazilian-American Leidjene Silva called Archbishop Wenski a wonderful priest.
“He brings people together,” she said.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Adanma Osuji, a member of the Nigerian apostolate, applauds Archbishop Wenski as he enters St. Clement Church.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
rchbishop Wenski exchanges the sign of peace with Father Robés Charles, pastor of St. Clement Church.
