MILWAUKEE — Dozens packed into the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist for a vigil welcoming the next archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
On Monday night, Catholics welcomed Archbishop-designate Jeffrey Grob with songs and prayers.
On Tuesday, the Wisconsin native will officially be installed as the 12th archbishop of the diocese.
Shawn Dooley attended Monday night’s welcome for the archbishop and shared what she looks forward to with the new leader of the church.
Tuesday Livestream: SJCathedralMKE - YouTube
“The grace and blessings he will bring to our diocese, building the church and bringing people together in unity, are things we need so much right now, and we're excited,” said Dooley.
Grob comes from the Archdiocese of Chicago, where he served as an auxiliary bishop.
Previous Coverage: https://www.tmj4.com/news/milwaukee-county/students-share-how-milwaukees-new-archbishop-can-connect-with-young-catholics
The 63-year-old will replace Archbishop Jerome Listecki, who is retiring.
“It is a new archbishop, not only for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee but also for the entire state of Wisconsin, so it’s really exciting,” said Rebecca Ruesch.
Watch: Catholics celebrate Archbishop-Designate Jeffrey Grob ahead of installation
On Monday, he took his first steps by knocking on the door of St. John the Evangelist.
“It’s kind of similar to a presidential inauguration,” Ruesch said of the process over the next two days.
She has served as a canon lawyer and currently works for Marquette University Law School. She said Monday night’s door-knocking ceremony was a significant step in the process.
“It’s really just the moment of Archbishop-designate Grob arriving in Milwaukee to begin his ministry and kind of announcing, ‘I’m here, I’m ready to minister.’ It’s just that ceremonial moment of arrival in the beginning,” said Ruesch.
She said those watching Tuesday’s special celebration should take note of some historical elements, including the crucifix and the large number of clergy in attendance.
“It’s just going to be a really beautiful moment of everyone coming together to celebrate Archbishop Grob and this moment in the history of the archdiocese,” said Ruesch.
Ahead of Monday night’s special prayer vigil, members of Nate’s Mission, the largest organization of clergy sexual abuse survivors and advocates, held a press conference to express their concerns to the archbishop-designate.
“The first thing we want this archbishop to do is to call us what we want to be called, which is survivors,” said Peter Isely, a clergy sexual abuse survivor and director of Nate’s Mission.
They presented a letter with demands for the archbishop-designate for his first 100 days.
Read the Letter: https://www.natesmission.org/press-releases/victims-to-grob-we-are-your-problem-now
“They want to pretend like these people don't exist, like what happened to them didn't happen, like it's over and done and dealt with, and it's not,” said Sarah Pearson, deputy director of Nate’s Mission.
The organization announced later Monday night that they successfully delivered the letter to the archbishop, who agreed to meet with them in the near future.
The archbishop-designate will begin addressing those concerns, along with a declining Catholic population, on Tuesday when he is officially installed.
The ceremony is not open to the public but will be live-streamed here: SJCathedralMKE - YouTube.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
