The new Archbishop of Southwark today called on every Catholic to be an "evangelising disciple" and serve Jesus through being alongside the downtrodden, the despairing, the weakest and the poorest.
Speaking at his installation at Augustus Pugin's Southwark cathedral, Archbishop John Wilson said: "Each one of us has an irreplaceable part to play in the flourishing of God’s kingdom. The Lord needs you. His Church needs you. This Archdiocese and its Archbishop, its parishes and its schools, needs you so that united in faith, here and now, we can announce anew the joy of the Good News."
He spoke of his surprise – and some apprehension – at his appointment.
"If any of you are surprised to see me standing here today, then let me reassure you that you’re not as surprised as I am. Pope Francis spoke recently of three amazing realties within the life of faith: that ‘God calls, that ‘God surprises,’ and that ‘God loves.’ Everything in our life changes when we know we are loved by God in Christ. In fact, when we truly know this, at the core of our being, everything really begins in the most beautiful way."
He noted that the inauguration fell on the feast day of the Apostle St James of Compostela. "Dear friends, together we will continue to make our pilgrimage of faith, trusting in the overwhelming power that comes, not from us, but from God," he said. "In this journey, each of us has a unique and essential place. For my part, I will do my very best to try and love you as a father, to try and walk beside you as a brother, and to try and serve you as a friend. If the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man, came not to be served, but to give Himself in service, how on earth could I claim to love and follow Him without desiring to do the same? I seek to make His words my own: ‘I come among you as one who serves'."
The cathedral houses a shrine to St Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, martyred in 1980.
Archbishop Wilson said: "Ever since my episcopal ordination in 2016, and particularly in recent weeks, I’ve found myself asking the question: What does it mean to be a Bishop? I could spend hours attempting to provide an answer, but please don’t worry, I’m not going to. As the Bishop of Santiago de Maria, St Oscar Romero wrote a short article about the bishop’s ministry. Quoting his friend, Cardinal Pironio, he said this: ‘A bishop can communicate the things of God and interpret human history and human problems only in terms of the depth of faith…He is simply a man of God in the service of all his brothers and sisters…
"He continued: ‘A bishop is not a technician, an administrator, or a boss. A bishop is essentially a pastor, a father, a brother and a friend. He journeys with other people, sows hope along their path, shares their sorrow and joy, urges them to seek peace, […] justice and love, and teaches them to be brothers and sisters…’
"These are wise words which I take to heart today. As you saw, an important part of the installation liturgy is when the new Bishop is seated in his cathedra, his chair. I am acutely aware that the Lord Jesus has a warning for anyone who might sit upon a throne. When the mother of St James asked Him to give her two sons seats of honour in His kingdom, He in turn asked them a question: ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ With these words the Lord Jesus signalled that following Him means sharing in His cross. Can we drink the cup that He drank? In a sense, we do this whenever we experience suffering, whether personally or in the lives of those around us and in our world. We must always be a Church of Simons of Cyrene, a Church of Veronicas, who help carry others’ burdens, who wipe the faces of the distressed.
"But sharing the cup of the Lord Jesus has another sense too. It means trusting that through the power of the cross everything that is deadly, everything that is destructive, everything that is degrading and disrespectful of human life, can, and will, ultimately be transformed."
At the service, his predecessor Archbishop Peter Smith presided until the Installation had taken place.
The Apostolic Letter of Appointment from Pope Francis was read by Monsignor Matthew Dickens, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Southwark. The Apostolic Nuncio, Edward Adams, invested Archbishop John with the Pallium as a sign that he is a Metropolitan Archbishop, shepherd of his flock and in communion with the Apostolic See.
Following receipt of the pallium, Archbishop Wilson was installed in his cathedra, which is both the Archbishop's throne and diocesan seat. Archbishop Peter Smith handed on the Diocesan Crozier to Archbishop Wilson as a sign of his new pastoral authority.
Archbishop Wilson was previously auxiliary bishop Westminster, ordained to the episcopate by Cardinal Vincent Nichols in 2016.
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