First ever cardinal for New Jersey

WITH THE CARDINAL  Cardinal Joseph Tobin stopped after the prayer service for religious at Sacred Heart Basilica in Newark Jan. 5, the evening before his installation Jan. 6 as the Archbishop of Newark, to greet Mother Mary Thomas, superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor, at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa.

NEWARK  Cardinal Joseph Tobin was installed as archbishop of the Newark Archdiocese on Jan. 6 — the first ever cardinal for New Jersey — in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart here, during a joyful Mass attended by faithful from the Garden State and beyond, including Bishop Serratelli and others from the Paterson Diocese.

Worshippers filled the Cathedral Basilica to welcome the 65-year-old Cardinal Tobin as archbishop of the Newark, home to 1.5 million Catholics, where Bishop Serratelli had previously served as an auxiliary bishop before being named Bishop of Paterson. In October, Pope Francis announced that then-archbishop of Indianapolis would be made a cardinal, followed by the Vatican’s announcement a few weeks later that he would be the next Archbishop of Newark, succeeding Archbishop John Myers, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in July.

In front of the enthusiastic congregation, which included six cardinals and more than 60 bishops, also among them Bishop Emeritus Rodimer, Cardinal Tobin expressed “the confident belief that my assignment to this archdiocese is part of the saving plan of God.”

“I can say to my beloved brothers and sisters of this Church: Rejoice in the Lord! Rejoice, because God is with us. Rejoice, because we will grow in unity and humility and, in the process, discover joy and peace in our life together. Rejoice, because our kindness will be known to all: to the searching young and the forgotten elderly, to the stranger and the voiceless, to the powerful and the cynical,” said Cardinal Tobin, who was ordained a Redemptorist priest in 1978 and speaks five languages. “I thank God for summoning me to the Archdiocese of Newark. I am grateful to all of you for your warm welcome,” he said.

“With great enthusiasm, the faithful of the Archdiocese of Newark welcomed Cardinal Tobin as their new archbishop,” Bishop Serratelli said. “In the Mass of Installation, the presence of so many from within and outside the archdiocese gave strong witness to the vibrant role the Church needs to continually play in our society. The presence of Newark’s two former archbishops, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Archbishop Myers, was visible sign of the continuity of apostolic succession. Archbishop Myers’ opening remarks express well the prayers and hopes of all of us for Cardinal Tobin,” the bishop said.

Among the faithful from the Paterson Diocese who participated in or attended the installation, in addition to Bishop Serratelli and Bishop Emeritus Rodimer, were Sister of Christian Charity Joan Daniel Healy, diocesan vice chancellor and delegate for religious; Father Kevin Corcoran, Bishop Serratelli’s priest-secretary and vice chancellor; Sister of Christian Charity Mary Edward Spohrer, the order’s provincial superior; and Sister of Christian Charity Joseph Spring, president of Assumption College for Sisters, Denville.

Bishop Rodimer called the spirit of the congregation “so positive and so exciting. The Cathedral Basilica was jammed with people. The liturgy was beautiful.”

“It seemed the beginning of something very new. A lot of hope came through that day,” said Bishop Rodimer, who noted Cardinal Tobin’s humility, when during the Mass, he greeted a married couple and their four children by leaving the throne on the altar, walking to them and kneeling down to meet the kids. “That was very touching,” he said.

Sister Joan Daniel recalled the “unforgettable experience” of sitting in the Cathedral Basilica and “just absorbing the different happenings beginning with the procession of different guests, followed by the knocking on the door of the Cathedral Basilica and being opened to welcome the new archbishop.”

“The Cathedral was filled to overflowing with many people standing outside. I thought to myself what a demonstration of faith all this is, what love these people have for the Church and how many others would be here if there was room,” Sister Joan Daniel said.

Sister Joan Daniel also called Cardinal Tobin “so down to earth. Being from a family of 13 children and a native of Detroit helped him to be open and caring. With his Redemptorist vocation, he developed a missionary spirit and a special love for the poor and the immigrants.”

“Since I grew up in a Redemptorist parish in New York where the priests would stop in the tell us all about Our Lady of Perpetual Help and the missions, I was doubly happy that I was able to be present at the Cathedral for the installation of the new archbishop, a Redemptorist!” Sister Joan Daniel said.

On Facebook, Joanne DePasquale Parent, current associate director of Catechetical Office of the Newark Archdiocese and former Confirmation coordinator and youth minster at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish, Cedar Knolls, posted photos and video of Cardinal Tobin’s installation.