PRESS CONFERENCE STATEMENT OF THE

MOST REVEREND THOMAS JOHN PAPROCKI

UPON HIS APPOINTMENT AS THE NINTH BISHOP OF SPRINGFIELD IN ILLINOIS

April 20, 2010

Thank you, Monsignor Kemme, not only for introducing me, but especially for

doing such a wonderful job as Administrator of the Diocese of Springfield for the past

eleven months. The fact that the pastoral care of the Catholic community in central

Illinois has been in your capable hands has been a blessing for the clergy, religious and

laity of the Diocese of Springfield and will certainly be a great help for me. I look

forward to working closely with you and will rely on your assistance in making a smooth

transition as I begin my pastoral care of this community of faith.

I am not a stranger to Springfield. I was here just last month and in fact the past

two years for “Catholics at the Capitol” with the Catholic Conference of Illinois. Over the

years I have been here on various occasions, including the Mass for the 150 th anniversary

of the Diocese of Springfield in 2003 shortly after I became Auxiliary Bishop. Actually, I

visited Springfield for the first time on my eighth grade class trip when I was a student at

St. Casimir School. We made that trip by bus. I returned to Springfield on my senior class

trip before graduating from our high school seminary. We made that trip by train. Those

visits introduced me to our state capital and to the world of Abraham Lincoln. Since that

time, the sixteenth President of the United States has been a hero of mine. One of my

hobbies is reading biographies and other books about Mr. Lincoln. I also visited the

Abraham Lincoln Museum shortly after it opened, it having been dedicated the same day

that Pope Benedict was elected to the papacy, five years ago yesterday, April 19, 2005.
 In a speech given in Springfield on January 27, 1838, Abraham Lincoln said, “We

find ourselves under the government of a system of political institutions, conducting

more essentially to the ends of civil and religious liberty, than any of which the history of

former times tells us. We, when mounting the stage of existence, found ourselves the

legal inheritors of these fundamental blessings.”

It is indeed a “fundamental blessing” which I am profoundly privileged to inherit

as the new shepherd of the flock that comprises the Catholic community of central

Illinois. I am deeply grateful for the confidence shown by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict

XVI, in appointing me to serve as the ninth Bishop of Springfield in Illinois. I look

forward to working with the priests, deacons, men and women religious, the lay Christian

faithful and all people of good will here in our State Capital to carry out the mission

entrusted to us by Jesus Christ to proclaim the Gospel.

The spirit with which I intend to approach my pastoral ministry is best expressed

in the episcopal motto that I chose when I was first named to be a bishop by Pope John

Paul II seven years ago, which is, “Lex Cordis Caritas,” Latin for, “The Heart of the Law

is Love.” My hope is to radiate the love of Christ to everyone that I meet in my pastoral

care. I pledge to do my best with the help of God’s grace and your support to build on the

“fundamental blessings” established through the dedicated ministry of the previous

bishops of Springfield, especially my immediate predecessor, the Most Reverend George

Lucas, now Archbishop of Omaha.

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my fellow priests and bishops of the

Archdiocese of Chicago with whom I have been fortunate to work for the past thirty-two

years. Most of all, I thank His Eminence, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I, Archbishop of
Chicago, for being a true mentor over the past thirteen years during which I was

privileged to serve as his Chancellor, as a parish Pastor and as his Auxiliary Bishop. I am

pleased that we will continue to be co-workers in the vineyard of the State of Illinois that

comprises the Province of Chicago. I am happy that Cardinal George will preside at my

Installation here in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on June 22nd, the feast of

the English martyrs, Saints Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher.

Here in the Diocese of Springfield we will have lots of time to get to know each

other as I come to parishes, schools and various places for Confirmation Masses, parish

visits and other special events. I look forward to meeting many of our government and

civic officials here in our state capital. This season of planting seeds is a fitting time to

begin a fresh springtime of new relationships and to grow in our communion as brothers

and sisters in Christ. I pray that God who has begun this good work will bring it to

fruition.

Before I open the floor to questions, there are a couple of other things you should

know about me. One, I am a marathon runner. I have run sixteen marathons since 1995.

As I marathon runner I have developed a sense of endurance and a commitment to going

the distance. So you may see me from time to time literally running around town. Of

course, I won’t be dressed like this, but you’ll recognize me by the SOX cap that I’ll be

wearing. Second, my favorite sport is hockey. I still play hockey. I am a goalie. My

nickname is, the “Holy Goalie.” If you’re trying to figure out how my mind works, you

should know that most hockey players say that goalies are different. I get enjoyment from

standing in front of a hockey net and having people shoot pucks at me at 100 miles per

hour. I am used to taking shots. With that in mind, I will now take your questions!