Bishop Michael C. Barber, S.J., was ordained and installed as Bishop of
Oakland on May 25, promising to follow Pope Francis' emphasis on caring
the poor and the suffering.
“I would like to do for Oakland what Pope Francis is doing for the whole
Church,” Bishop Barber said in his remarks at the end of Mass at the
Cathedral of Christ the Light.
“My vision is this: the priests take care of the people. The bishop
takes care of the priests. And we all take care of the poor, the sick
and the suffering – those suffering physically and spiritually,” he said
to a filled cathedral.
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, the previous Bishop of
Oakland, served as the new bishop’s principal consecrator.
The archbishop delivered the homily, saying that Pope Francis “certainly
has given us much to think about, and not just think but do, to respond
in kind to his example.”
“He is calling us to reexamine our lives, calling us back to basics, to reflect more deeply,” Archbishop Cordileone continued.
“Perhaps, for those in ordained ministry, the most striking of all is
his style of preaching. He is so direct and so down-to-earth, getting
down to the heart of the matter in a pastoral, personal way.”
Bishop Barber emphasized the importance of collaboration, saying that as
a priest he was always grateful “when my superiors allowed – or better
yet, made it easier – for me to do my job.”
He said he did not know what he would do about the diocese’s debt.
“But what I do know is this,” he said. “If we are generous with God and
generous in taking care of his people, God will take care of us.”
Bishop Barber has roots in Oakland, where his father was born. His mother was born across the bay in San Francisco.
The new bishop thanked former San Francisco Archbishop John Rafael
Quinn, who ordained him to the priesthood. He thanked the priest who
baptized him, Father John Cummins, who later served as second Bishop of
Oakland.
He also had special words for Sister Mary Jude, O.P., who taught him religion in eighth grade.
“You may not realize it, but this sister has taught every person in the
diocese of Oakland -- because she taught me the faith, and I will hand
it on to you,” Bishop Barber said. “In honoring her, I honor all
consecrated religious women, all teachers, and all catechists in our
diocese.
Until Pope Francis named him as bishop, Bishop Barber had served as
Director of Spiritual Formation at Saint John’s Seminary in Brighton,
Mass. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1973. He served in numerous
capacities, including as a missionary in Western Samoa, an assistant
professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, a tutor and
chaplain at the University of Oxford, and as chaplain for the U.S. Navy
Reserve.
The bishop took a moment to joke about his Jesuit past.
“I overheard a woman say to a Jesuit before Mass this morning: ‘Thanks
for giving us Father as our bishop.’ The Jesuit replied: ‘Thank you for
taking him!’” Bishop Barber said.
“Good people of Oakland, thank you for taking me!” he added.
“In my 58 years of life, it never entered my mind that I would be bishop
of Oakland,” he concluded. “It probably never entered your minds
either. I know I am unworthy.”
“But I also know that from all eternity it has been in the mind of God
that this is my vocation,” he said. “With your prayers, and the grace of
God, and Mother Mary’s love, I intend to fulfill it.”