morning he moved to the episcopal residence and began to receive visitors. The first was Father John Coma from Beeville. Sisters of Mercy and the Ursulines from Laredo and Mother Augustine from Refugio visited next. Visitors came all day. Ten days after arriving in Corpus Christi, Bishop Nussbaum made an episcopal visit to Laredo and on Aug. 9, 1913 he made his first visit to the Rio Grande Valley. It was an auspicious start for the young bishop, which would end seven years later rather dishearteningly with Bishop Nussbaum resigning at the age of 49 for health reasons. Two years later, he was named bishop for the Diocese of Marquette, Wisconsin where he served until his death in 1935 at the age of 64.
Bishop Nussbaum’s response to his welcome “Rt. Rev. Monsignor [Claude Jaillet], Very Rev. and Rev. fathers of the diocesan and monastic clergy, and dearly beloved faithful of the laity: “The Pontifical letter just read tells you who I am, who sent me, and for what purpose I have been sent. The Chief Shepherd of Christ’s flock on Earth, the Holy Father, Pope Pius X, has sent me into this newly erected See of Corpus Christi to join forces with you; and he has commissioned me to direct our combined efforts for the salvation of souls and the glory of God. “My advent among you is the result of the Church’s Catholicity or Universality, in virtue of which the Chief Shepherd details a man from the north to the south, from the east to the west, or vice versa, as he judges wise and prudent; it is the result of unity of faith and loyalty of obedience God’s grace enables us to hold and to give. “A stranger to you in name. I am no stranger to you in that spiritual relationship which is begotten not of the will of man, nor of the blood, but of God. Our faith and obedience makes us to be of one mind and one heart.
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“Perhaps the thought is in your minds as to what the policy of the new bishop will be. It is not hard to state it. For what other could be any policy of a bishop of the One Holy, Roman, Catholic Apostolic Church of Christ, but entire loyalty to the Holy See. I hold this office by the grace of God and the favor of the Apostolic See, and the least I can do is to administer it according to the mandates of the Holy See. “Again the See by its very name is Roman, and I venture to say it gave the Holy Father much joy to erect this See whose name embodies his own specific devotion. For certainly, he will go down the ages as the reviver and restorer of devotion among the faithful to the Sacramental God. “Holding, then, a See by command of the successor of St. Peter, and that See bearing the Roman name of Corpus Christi, and it being my fortune to constitute the first link of that chain which joins this See to the Apostolicity of the Church, it shall be my aim to so thoroughly weld it as to withstand every strain it may have to bear. What better plan can I adopt than to imitate the men of missionary zeal and self-sacrifice who, following the wise regulations of the Councils of the Church succeeded in establishing the Kingdom of Christ in these parts. Thus shall I aim to emulate them in preaching the faith, establishing schools, urging the frequent reception of the Sacraments, spreading farther the Kingdom of Christ and of Him crucified. “And to you, my priests, I say remember that while I differ from you in my livery, I am still a priest; I am not a stranger to missionary work. I know how helpless I am without your co-operation. I will look for the expression of confidence from you and will value your suggestions, all the while deeming myself only your co-laborer. Let my home be yours, and yours mine. Thus we shall have harmony, union and full understanding. “And you, beloved brethren of this flock, be assured that I shall strive to imitate the Good Shepherd in my care and solitude for you. I beg your fervent prayers that God may shed His fruitful grace upon our new diocese.”
W W W. L AT I E N D I TA R E S A L E . W E B S . C O M
48
SOUTH TEX AS CATHOLIC
APRIL 2012
www.SouthTexasCatholic.com