An exuberant Archbishop Edward Egan officially became shepherd to the New York Archdiocese’s 2.4 million Catholics yesterday and said he’s “captivated by the wonder and goodness” of the Big Apple.
“I come with joy to serve you in all three boroughs and seven counties … with the best of my ability,” Egan told 3,000 invited guests at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
“I am immensely privileged to join you in all of this,” Egan said in his first homily as archbishop.
Today, Egan will be formally installed at a 2 p.m. Mass at the cathedral.
Some 3,500 guests, including New York Senate rivals Rick Lazio and Hillary Rodham Clinton, are expected for the majestic ceremony, which begins with a procession at 1:15 p.m. of about 600 priests, more than 100 bishops and archbishops and eight cardinals at 51st Street and Madison Avenue.
Yesterday’s congregation gave a standing ovation to Egan, the former 12-year bishop of Bridgeport, Conn., as he was led through the front doors of the cathedral and to the altar by Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the Vatican ambassador to the U.S., and eight cardinals and dozens of bishops and priests.
Priests from Egan’s former dioceses in his native Chicago, Rome and Connecticut were also present.
A choir serenaded Egan during the ceremony as banners representing the people of his new flock stood alongside the church. About 40 of his family members, including numerous nieces and nephews, sat in the first pew.
His position as spiritual leader to New York’s Catholics is considered the most prominent church post in the country.
“My heart is filled with gratitude to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the great grace to come to serve you in the Archdiocese of New York,” said Egan, speaking on the Feast of the Holy Trinity. The archdiocese covers Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island, and seven upstate counties.
Montalvo read a letter of Egan’s appointment from the pope.
The letter noted the “sad passing of our venerable brother John Joseph O’Connor,” who died of cancer 11 days before Egan was appointed May 11.
Egan served as vicar of education for the New York Archdiocese for three years in the early 1980s under O’Connor.
In his homily, Egan, 68, spoke about how New Yorkers touched his life back then.
He recalled attending an ordination Mass at a Bronx church with Mother Teresa, who ran an order of nuns in the High Bridge section.
During the ceremony, Egan recalled, a bloodied man staggered down the aisle, cursing. He had been beaten. Mother Teresa and her aides “calmed the man, washed the blood off him and arranged a place for him to stay.”
After the Mass, a “young man” went to Egan and told him he was making money in the stock market “but I need to be part of what I witnessed.”
The man eventually was ordained a priest by Egan in 1991.
“This is what I am coming to join,” Egan reflected, “a community of faith whose compassion and sacrificial self-giving can melt the heart of a young man making a fortune on Wall Street.”
Egan said the priest died two years later of leukemia. Yesterday, the archbishop wore a gold cross given to him by the priest.
Egan, who was known for his ability to recruit priests in Connecticut, was welcomed by New Yorkers.
“He’s a first-class act,” said the Rev. Robert Aufieri, who runs parish councils for the archdiocese. “He has eloquence.”
Egan’s niece, Julie Kramer from Illinois, said: “It’s a huge thrill for all of us. I know he will do great things for New York. He’s very devoted to his faith.”