Address of the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr Luigi Bonazzi
Saint Peter’s Cathedral Basilica
London, April 14, 2015

Your Eminence, Cardinal Collins,
Your Excellency, Bishop Fabbro,
Dear Bishop Dabrowski,
My brother Bishops,
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

It is beautiful to celebrate an Episcopal Ordination in these days of the Easter Season, the days which – in a special way – invite us to welcome with joy the Good News that is the center of the Christian faith: Christ, who had been crucified, is Risen. Indeed He is Risen! He is alive! He is with us, and his presence fills every corner of the earth.

One of the visible signs of the presence of the Risen Lord are the Bishops. The Bishop, in truth, is always and above all a gift from on High. In the person of the Bishop, in fact, there becomes visible the Lord’s will to remain in the midst of his people as the One who is the Good Shepherd. As the Second Vatican Council teaches: “In the bishops… Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Supreme High Priest, is present in the midst of those who believe” (LG, 21).

Nevertheless, if the Bishop is primarily a gift of God, he is also, at the same time, a gift of the Christian community. He is the gift of a family, of a parish, of a Diocese, and in the case of this Bishop newly ordained, H.E. Msgr. Jozef Dabrowski, also of a Religious Congregation: the Congregation of the Fathers of St. Michael the Archangel.

I wish to extend a profound thanks to the family of Msgr. Dabrowski and to his Religious Congregation. Thank you! I imagine your joy. I think it is a bit like that of a mother who gave birth to a son.

I would also like to extend a special thanks to a Community. Yes, I want to thank in particular the Parish Community of St. Mary’s, who received Father Dabrowski in 1998 and, since then, have constantly sustained and accompanied him. It is true that Msgr. Dabrowski has given a lot to you, dear parishioners of St. Mary’s, but it is also true that you gave him much. You have helped him grow in those human and priestly qualities, in that sanctity of life that led Pope Francis to appoint him Auxiliary Bishop of London.

Thank you, dear Parishioners of St. Mary’s. I share your joy. I guess that for you it is a great sacrifice to lose your beloved Pastor. Please, offer this sacrifice willingly, remembering the words of Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), and also: “Give and gifts will be given to you” (Lk 6:38).

You, dear Msgr. Dabrowski, already belonged to the Church as a priest, but now, with Episcopal ordination, once again and in a more fuller manner, “you are given” to the Church of which you have to be a Pastor. Always remembering that “the Bishop does not gather the people around his person, or his ideas, but around Christ” (Pope Francis, 4^th March 2015).

I encourage everyone to welcome you and I invite you to “entrust yourself” to them. You do not belong any longer to yourself. You belong to the Church, especially the Church of London. You represent a sign of her growth and fruitfulness.

I thank you for accepting this appointment from the Holy Father and I am confident that with the assistance of St. Michael the Archangel, heavenly patron of your religious Congregation, you will have the courage and strength to serve the People of God of the Diocese of London, in closest union with Bishop Fabbro, as also in collaboration with the clergy, religious and lay faithful of this ecclesial community. Always remember that while your appointment has come from the Holy Father, it actually originates in the divine election: “You did not choose me, but I have chosen you” (John 15:16).

My dear friends, on behalf of our Holy Father Pope Francis, I greet each and every one of you and I am pleased to convey in his name, to your esteemed Bishop and his Auxiliary, and to all the faithful entrusted to their care, the Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace and joy in the Risen Lord.