By Chris Riggs

Special to the Register

SALINA — The Rev. Paul S. Coakley, a priest of the Diocese of Wichita, was ordained the 10th bishop of the Diocese of Salina at Sacred Heart Cathedral Dec. 28, 2004.

The Most Rev. James P. Keleher, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, was the principal consecrator. Co-consecrators were the Most Rev. George K. Fitzsimons, bishop emeritus of Salina, and the Most Rev. Eugene J. Gerber, bishop emeritus of Wichita.

Participating in the ordination were Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the papal representative, 20 bishops from throughout Kansas and the Midwest, and nearly 100 priests from the dioceses of Wichita and Salina. An overflow crowd of more than 1,200 filled the Cathedral and spilled over into an adjoining room with closed-circuit television monitors.

In his homily, Archbishop Keleher said, "...Today the Salina Diocese rejoices to receive such a fine bishop to assume the awesome responsibilities carried by Bishop George Fitzsimons, who only with this ceremony relinquishes them after 20 grand years of faithful stewardship. The Dodge City Diocese also is honored, having been for so many years a part of the Wichita Diocese and not least, we of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, where you lived for so many years and where your dear family still dwells, take pride in our native son.

"Vatican II suggests that ‘the bishop’s calling asks for three things: a man who will teach the Gospel clearly; a man who will be a gentle shepherd to the faithful committed to his care; and a priest of holy life.’"

Archbishop Keleher said Bishop Coakley gives a prophetic call at a time when everyone will not listen. "Like John Paul, the Bishop of Rome, you are to speak the truth but do it with love, and still there will be many outside the church and even some within who will not accept your words," Archbishop Keleher said.

He said one of the most rewarding aspects of leading a diocese is the opportunity to show a shepherd’s care. "Your celibate love makes you a Father to your people," he said.

Archbishop Keleher said as head of the Diocese of Salina, Bishop Coakley "will be able to be a superb teacher and an admirable shepherd, and also the holy, chaste and prayerful priest you have always been."

Bishop Gerber, who ordained Bishop Coakley to the priesthood on May 21, 1983, said God’s call for the newly-ordained bishop has now changed. "We do not become who God creates us to be without those God calls us to serve. For 21 years Father Coakley and we have enjoyed this mutuality in Christ, some of us more closely than others."

Bishop Gerber said the sign of this mutuality in Christ is gratitude for the reciprocal love that Bishop Coakley "and we" enjoy. "This love is itself a manifestation of the love of Jesus, the Chief Shepherd of the whole Church and the entire human family."

Bishop Gilmore, a former priest of the Diocese of Wichita, had worked closely with Bishop Coakley. In a previously published article, Bishop Gilmore said the new bishop is being sent as an apostle of Jesus Christ. "He is being sent, (as St. Paul tells Titus), ‘for the sake of the faith of those whom God has chosen.’ He will go among the people of northwest Kansas carrying the message of Jesus Christ, and nothing else. He will ‘hold fast to that authentic message.’ His presence, his voice, his limbs, his imagination, his mind, his heart: all will body forth Jesus Christ for them."

Bishop Coakley will move in their midst in such a way as to deepen their faith, Bishop Gilmore said. "He will open for them its treasures, help them explore more thoroughly its many halls and rooms and secret places," he added. "They will see him and want to know what made him who he is."

The newly-ordained bishop most recently served the Diocese of Wichita as a vice-chancellor and administrator for the Church of the Magdalen.

The Diocese of Salina covers 31 counties in north-central and northwest Kansas and includes 88 parishes.