Dale and Donald

It's a momentous day for the Roman Catholic faithful in northwest Indiana as Donald Hying is installed as Bishop of the Diocese of Gary, and Dale Melczek heads into retirement.  (I notice that among those listed as present for the Installation Mass in the program is Cardinal George, Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago, the first instance I've seen of his activity in retirement.)

I take note of this installation having attended St. Teresa of Avila (Roman) Catholic Student Center in Valparaiso, a church community in the Diocese of Gary, during my time as a student at Valparaiso University.

It was a pleasure having the opportunity to experience the ministry and spirituality of Dale Melczek on five different occasions--and personally speaking with him on three of those.  He is the first sitting US diocesan bishop I've met outside the Archdiocese of Chicago.  The first time I met him was after the Confirmation Mass at St. Teresa's back on October 15, 2010, which was also the 5-year anniversary of my Confirmation.  Father Kevin at St. Teresa's introduced me to Bishop Melczek that day.  It was momentous for me to finally meet him, after a year of hearing the priest invoke his name, "Dale" during the Eucharistic prayer at Mass.

Two months later, at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary, I saw him preside over the Ordination Mass for Father Ted Mauch, who was assigned to serve as a deacon at St. Teresa's in the months leading right up to his ordination.  (Now Father Ted and all the other diocesan priests continue their vow of obedience to Bishop Melczek's successor.)

A few days later that same month, Bishop Melczek celebrated Mass at St. Teresa's on Gaudete Sunday, and right afterwards, dedicated and blessed the New Ministry Life Center addition to the St. Teresa's property.  (And to think he made the effort to come out on a day of a significant snow event!)

A half-year later, I was in attendance when he presided over a Mass at the Cathedral in Gary for the ordination of several deacons, including Deacon Bob at St. Teresa's.

And then, the most recent time I saw him was when he celebrated a Red Mass at St. Teresa's in October 2011.  (Before all these meetings, when I attended a Kairos Retreat during my freshman year at ValpU, he wrote a letter of encouragement and affirmation that was read to us during the retreat.)

At each of these Masses, he did a superb job with his homily.  He took the occasion at hand and put it in the context of salvation history, and then put in the context of how we live out our faith in our own lives at present.  Indeed, he truly encouraged us to live out our faith, the same faith of our ancestors who looked to God to empower them, as He has for His people throughout the ages.

Now the people of the Diocese of Gary have the opportunity to experience the ministry of Donald Hying.  I've read a few things about him:  He's served as pastor of various parishes in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, as well as that Archdiocese's parish in the Dominican Republic, and in roles at the seminary there, all before becoming Auxiliary Bishop.  He certainly brings with him a variety of experiences, and with different groups of people--his experiences in the Dominican Republic surely will allow him to engage well with the sizable Hispanic population in the Diocese.  He's sure to be pastoral and people-oriented, which shall serve him well among the diverse people groups in the Diocese of Gary.

So God Bless and Godspeed to Bishop Donald Hying as he takes the reigns and as Dale Melczek settles into his new role as Bishop Emeritus.