Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / Abp. Vigneron shares thoughts on challenges, blessings of coming home
Abp. Vigneron shares thoughts on challenges, blessings of coming home
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published February 6, 2009
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Larry A. Peplin | The Michigan Catholic
Archbishop Allen Vigneron addresses the media hours before his installation Mass. |
Detroit — Hours before Archbishop Allen Vigneron was installed as the Archdiocese of Detroit's 10th chief shepherd, he spoke to a small group of the news media about the challenges and blessings of leading 1.4 million Catholics and returning to Detroit.
"Lots of bishops don't ever have the opportunity I have to come back and be reconnected with the experiences, the roots of their faith," he said. "This to me is a great blessing, one I don't take for granted. I'm very happy for my parents. This means a great deal to them."
He said that from his time in Oakland, Calif., he's learned of the importance for pastors to be attentive to families and to help them be strong in their faith. Oakland also helped him learn about leading a community of such ethnic diversity, as is Detroit. "I had to find my own way to think about how do I create or help create from these communities, a community, kind of a harmonizing," he said. "…We need to look at cultural differences as blessings, as gifts, so that people of different cultures need to share those gifts with one another. … There are very profound human virtues that get emphasized in each culture. And that's something that I would like to apply here."
Among the culturally diverse celebrations in which he participated in Oakland include Our Lady of Guadalupe in December; Chautauqua, an autumn celebration of all different ethnic groups; the feast day of the Vietnamese martyrs of the faith; and also cultural practices of Filipinos. "I always try to encourage those and participate in them whenever I could," he said.
Archbishop Vigneron said two of the Scripture verses he's kept close to him during this time is "Here I am, I come to do your will" (Hebrews 10:7), as well as "I hand on to you what was handed on to me," which appears twice in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, in verses 11 and 15. "It kind of encapsulates, captures, my sense of coming back," he said. "Faith is what was handed on to me, here, and now it's my turn to take leadership make sure we hand it on to the next generation."
Being from Detroit, he said he might have an easier time immediately addressing the region's difficulties, and pulling more people together. He also talked about how he would like to see lay people "take more responsibility for developing the life of the Church," not through leadership positions but by seeing lay movements grow.
Archbishop Vigneron also cracked a few jokes, about being a Lions fan ("Sure I am — you have to be loyal!") and how it was nice not needing snow boots for the past six years.
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