The Vatican delegate to the U.S., the Most Rev. Carlo Maria Vigano, read aloud the apostolic letter appointing Sample. Then Vigano formally presented the new archbishop to Mary Jo Tully, chancellor of the archdiocese. Sample assumed the cathedra, the chair designated for a bishop (or archbishop, in this case) in his diocese. The congregation, gathered from throughout the archdiocese, applauded.
Sample called to mind his own episcopal motto: "to contemplate the face of Christ."
"This is much more than just a nice phrase," he said. "It speaks clearly of my vision for our work together."
Sample challenged the Catholics of western Oregon to proclaim the good news of Jesus' resurrection boldly.
But he referred to the day's Gospel and observed that it took a moment for Mary Magdalen to recognize the risen Jesus.
He quoted and translated a Latin proverb, "no one can give what one does not have."
"Before we can proclaim him to others, we must first recognize him."
--snip--
The bishop of the Diocese of Marquette, Mich., since 2005, Sample was born in Kalispell, Mont., and has undergraduate and graduate degrees in metallurgical engineering. He earned a master's degree in divinity and a licentiate in canon law in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1990.
People filled the aisles to receive the Eucharist, or Communion. Cardinal William J. Levada, who was archbishop of Portland from 1986-1995, was present, along with 30 other bishops and abbots and 200 priests from the archdiocese and beyond.
Sample will celebrate regional Masses throughout western Oregon in the coming weeks, though details have not been announced. He succeeds Portland's retiring archbishop, the Most Rev. John G. Vlazny, 76, who has said he plans to live quietly on the Beaverton campus of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon.
The first Mass celebrated in what is now Oregon took place on Jan. 6, 1839, in St. Paul. Pope Gregory XVI designated the Oregon Territory as an apostolic vicariate in 1843. It became the Archdiocese of Oregon City in 1846 and was renamed the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon in 1928. Baltimore became the first U.S. archdiocese in 1808.
