New bishop takes oath of fidelity

Also present to witness the ceremony were the bishop-elect�s younger brother, John, recently arrived from Malta, his wife, Maria, three of their children � Francesca, Daniela and Chiara � and a niece, Sophie, daughter of the youngest Baldacchino brother, Robert.

After Bishop-elect Baldacchino professed the oath, Archbishop Wenski blessed the insignia that the bishop will receive at his ordination March 19: the ring, the miter and the crosier, or bishop�s staff. 

The Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity is required of anyone �assuming an office to be exercised in the name of the Church.� That includes vicars general, judicial vicars, pastors, rectors of seminaries and Catholic universities, deacons, professors of theology and morals in universities, and religious superiors.

The oath was instituted by Pope John Paul II in his apostolic letter motu proprio �Ad Tuendam Fidem� (In Order to Safeguard the Faith), issued in 1998. 

The vespers took place the evening of March 16, three days before Bishop-elect Baldacchino�s ordination and official installation as auxiliary bishop of Miami.

In his reflection at the vespers, Archbishop Wenski noted that Bishop-elect Baldacchino is not the first native of Malta to serve in the Archdiocese of Miami. Many years ago, another Malta native, Father Francis Fenech, served as pastor at several Miami churches � St. Thomas the Apostle, Corpus Christi and St. Brendan � and eventually became pastor of the archbishop�s own home parish, Sacred Heart in Lake Worth.

Archbishop Wenski described Bishop-elect Baldacchino as �not only a priest but a missionary priest.�

He said his work as a missionary in the Turks and Caicos for the past 15 years had prepared him well for his ministry in Miami. But, he joked, �nothing could have prepared him for the traffic here in South Florida.�

�We wish for him that he may be a good pastor for all of us, and he may guide us,� said Father Israel Mago, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Doral, and one of dozens of priests and seminarians who attended the vespers. �We are here to support him with our prayers and with our presence.�

�I can feel that this is a good man,� said Father Reginald Jean-Mary, pastor of Notre Dame d�Haiti Church in Miami. �His presence in Miami will be a big plus for the pastoral life of the archdiocese.�

Father Jean-Mary added that, because the new bishop speaks Spanish and Creole in addition to English, �He�s going to blend with the mosaic of cultures (here) very well. We are very happy to have him.�