Bishop Richard Malone has officially been installed as the 14th Bishop of the Buffalo Catholic Diocese, with a Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral. The installation began with a procession of priests, followed by mass. About 1,200 people attended.
Outgoing Bishop Edward Kmiec, who arrived in Buffalo eight years ago almost to the day, addressed the congregation first.
In thanking the community for their love and support he seemed to choke up for a moment before continuing with his remarks.
Evangelization was the theme of Bishop Malone's address, and he seemed to place special emphasis on bringing lapsed Catholics back into the fold.
When listing the functions of the church in peoples' lives he made a pointed reference to marriage being sanctified "between a man and a woman."
The reading of a letter from Pope Benedict officially installing Malone as the 14th bishop of Buffalo in the diocese's 165-year history was handled by a substitute; the papal nuncio's plane had been delayed.
He did arrive in time to congratulate Malone at the end of the ceremony.Bishop Malone promised to be in Buffalo "a long, long time."
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York; Cardinal Edward Egan, archbishop emeritus of New York; Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley, archbishop of Boston; Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States; Archbishop Henry J. Mansell, archbishop of Hartford and former bishop of Buffalo; Bishop Robert J. Cunningham, bishop of Syracuse and former chancellor of the Diocese of Buffalo, and Bishop Donald Trautman, bishop of Erie and Buffalo native, were in attendance.