WASHINGTON (CNS) Bishops William J. Muhm and Joseph L. Coffey were ordained Auxiliary Bishops for the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services on March 25 at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
Army and Navy families, as well as kin of the two to be ordained bishops, packed the middle of the national shrine and waved excitedly as their beloved priests walked by.
Their ordination fills the spaces left by former Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. Coyle, who was transferred to the Diocese of Rockville Centre, and Auxiliary Bishop Richard B. Higgins, who is retiring.
The celebrant was Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, head of the military archdiocese, who delivered an impassioned homily asking Bishops-designate Coffey and Muhm to keep alive in their hearts in their new mission the example of Mary the mother of God in receiving God’s will during the Annunciation.
“Episcopal ministry in this global archdiocese is not easy. Travel dominates the weeks. Bureaucracy muddles the relationship between bishop and priest. Many masters compete for attention,” Archbishop Broglio warned.
The Archbsihop said “Pope Benedict XVI … defined the ministry of a bishop in terms of the original Greek ‘episcopos’ that contains the verb ‘to see.’… Seeing from God’s perspective is seeing with love that wants to serve the other, wants to help him become truly himself.”
“In seeing from God’s viewpoint, one has an overall vision, one sees the dangers as well as the hope and possibilities” he declared.
Finally, Archbishop Broglio expressed his confidence that the two new auxiliaries would carry out their duties faithfully despite struggles: “No one can deny that you begin in a very challenging time when the past sins of some bishops and clergy have been widely publicized. … I have watched you interact and minister to our people. You know what you are doing.”
After the ordination ceremony and Communion, newly minted Auxiliary Bishops Muhm and Coffey stepped up to the ambo to thank those that had brought them to this point.
Voicing his gratitude to his parents, fellow priests, and even his pro-life friends in Philadelphia, Bishop Coffey remarked “It’s been so great to serve alongside you in the great adventure of being a priest.”
Bishop Muhm shared similar sentiments, remembering that the service of all those he had ministered to in the military archdiocese had reminded him of Mary’s words “let it be done to me according to your will.”
Bishop Coffey, 58, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, has served since 2001 as a U.S. Navy chaplain, holding the rank of captain.
Bishop Muhm, 61, is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and since November has served as administrator of Most Precious Blood Parish in Walden, New York. He served as a Navy chaplain from 2008 until last November.