Bishop Richard Henning
The annual meeting of Major Superiors with the bishop took place in Providence on Monday, October 23. Brother Sixtus Roslevich represented Portsmouth Abbey at the gathering, the group’s first session with His Excellency, Bishop Richard G. Henning. Beginning with a coffee reception in the 1875 Episcopal Residence and followed by midmorning prayers led by Bishop Henning in his private chapel, the group of 25 then moved next door to Cathedral Hall to hear an update on diocesan plans and Initiatives, which he described as “less of a spiritual reflection” than we might have been expecting. The day was organized and facilitated by Sister Elizabeth Castro, H.M.S.P., the head of the Diocesan Office for Religious which provides support and services to the hundreds of religious men and women residing throughout the diocese. In his opening remarks, referring to the 2015 Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis (“On Care for Our Common Home”), Bishop Henning said that Sister Elizabeth should instead be called “Sister Laudato si because she is a source of renewable energy!” Previously, during his Solemn Mass of Reception on January 26, he told the overflow crowd in the Cathedral that Sister Elizabeth could easily be running a small country somewhere in the world. He clearly has respect for the consecrated religious.
Bishop’s chapel, Providence residence
Clear, too, is the fact that he has made it his mission to visit all of the parishes under his jurisdiction, as small in area as it is, being situated in the smallest state in the U.S. He told a priest from New York attending the meeting, “In Rhode Island, we’re impressed when someone comes from Warwick!” Addressing the parochial nature of his months since becoming bishop on May 1, upon the official retirement of his predecessor, The Most Reverend Thomas J. Tobin, he said, “It’s imperative for our people to see me and know me, not in an egotistical sense, but I mean it in a ‘mission’ sense. I am also human, with a mission purpose, both universal and particular. In Rhode Island it is idiosyncratic.” He expressed his belief that his outreach “is appreciated, even if it’s only a brief encounter with parishioners.” He spoke of “the tribes of Rhode Island” and their mindset that, “it wasn’t good enough to build just one parish, but better to build five. There is a passionate attachment to place.”
The bishop offered the group some of his vision for the diocese. Currently there are 121 parishes and Bishop Henning assured the group of their vital importance: “The parishes are key and fundamental in the life of the diocese. I consider the schools a priority, and Catholic education in the diocese is stable. Since Covid, we’ve seen admissions rise,” which speaks to, “the evangelizing mission of our schools. To gauge the Catholic identity of our schools will involve site visits. it can’t just be a quantitative numeric analysis of finances and enrollment. There is no easy answer. Is the parish involved in the sacramental life of the students? In other words, are they learning the Mass, the rosary, and do they participate in Eucharistic Adoration?” In past years, he said, “these mergers, the joining and linking [of parishes], have worked. But by its very nature, that organic strategy is slow.” Citing a shift in demographics, he noted that 40% of the population of Providence is now Spanish-speaking.
Although only six months into his episcopacy, the bishop acknowledged being “in the last stages of the honeymoon period.” With that thought, he shifted the discussion to his clergy and personnel issue, particularly noting that twenty-two of the pastors currently serving are aged 70 or older. “We are in an aging state [Rhode Island],” he admitted, “and the population is diminishing. This is not just rearranging the men on a chessboard.” In response to his own question “Where is the mission?” he said: “The Lord, the Word, his Eucharist. I try to be joyful but there are challenges that literally wake me up in the night. How do we bring people alive in the faith of Our Lord, Jesus Christ? What does it mean to be freed by Jesus Christ?”