SIXTH BISHOP OF PENSACOLA-TALLAHASSEE ORDAINED AND INSTALLED TUESDAY

PENSACOLA, FL, August 23, 2017– Thousands of the faithful gathered at the Pensacola Bay Center Tuesday, August 22 while viewers watched worldwide the live broadcast of the Ordination and Installation of the sixth bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee, the Most Reverend William A. Wack CSC. To the ethereal music of a 150-member choir singing in both English and Spanish, the Knights of Columbus in full regalia lined the aisles as a procession of 235 priests, 40 deacons, and 18 bishops entered the arena and moved towards the raised platform, followed by the principal consecrator, Archbishop of Miami Thomas J. Wenski DD, and co-consecrators Bishop Joe S. Vasquez DD of Austin and Bishop Daniel R. Jenky CSC of Peoria.  
“In your ministry as bishop you are called to be a father and a brother to all, especially to your coworkers, the priests and the deacons,” said Archbishop Wenski during his homily. “But also be especially attentive to the poor, the weak, the immigrants and the stranger; those who are victims of today’s disposable culture and of the globalization of indifference.”
In addition to 95 of Bishop Wack’s family members who were in attendance, there were 18 bishops representing Florida, Illinois, Texas and Alabama, as well as the Diocesis de Chosica, and the Diocese of Fort Portal, Uganda. EWTN, Catholic TV and Guadalupe Radio Network provided coverage of the event.
After serving 23 years in the priesthood and the past eight years as pastor of St. Ignatius Martyr Parish in Austin, TX, Bishop Wack was named by Pope Francis on May 29 as bishop of the 49-parish Diocese of northwest Florida, which includes 18 counties that stretch from Pensacola to Tallahassee. Bishop Wack was ordained to the priesthood in 1994 after taking vows in 1993 to the order of the Congregation of Holy Cross.
In his homily, Archbishop Wenski stated, “In the words of Father Thomas O’Hara, superior of the Holy Cross fathers, ‘William Wack is strong enough to lead and humble enough to listen.'"