New Archbishop of Paris, France is Installed - Archbishop Ulrich Calls on the Faithful to Pray and Offers the Example of Many French Saints
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On May 23, 2022, the new archbishop of Paris, France was installed at the Church of Saint-Sulplice (used for the Archbishop until reparations of Notre Dame are completed). On April 26, 2022, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris (see video below) . He was received 142nd Archbishop of Paris on Monday May 23, 2022 . On May 7, 2022, the appointment of Bishop Laurent Ulrich as Ordinary of Catholics of the Eastern Churches residing in France and not having their own ordinary was published.
Brief Biography: Laurent Ulrich was born on September 7, 1951 in Dijon. Priestly ordination on December 2, 1979 for the Archdiocese of Dijon. Episcopal ordination on June 6, 2000 in Chambéry. Studies and diplomas Master's degree in philosophy at the University of Dijon and in GFU; Master of Theology at the Catholic University of Lyon. Ordinations and Appointments Ordained a priest on December 2, 1979, in the Cathedral of Dijon, for the Archdiocese of Dijon; Appointed Archbishop of Chambéry on June 6, 2000 and ordained on September 10, 2000; Appointed Archbishop of Lille on February 1, 2008. Notably, from 2007-2013 he was the Vice-President of the Conference of Bishops of France.
In his homily of installation Archbishop Ulrich called on the faithful to pray and call on the Holy Spirit; he also invoked the Saints of France as an example.
Key Excerpts from the Installation Homily of Archbishop Ulrich:
The hour of Jesus is now for us, since the passion, the cross and the resurrection are intimately linked and permanently present in the life of the world, in the life of the Church, in the personal life of believers: it is always simultaneously for us the hour of compassion, of the deepest pain and that of joy.
At this exact moment, we are in the joy of this liturgical welcome, because the Lord through the ministry of Pope Francis has given a pastor to the Church which is in Paris, but we do not forget the pain of those who around the world face the pain of war and terrorism – we pray in communion with them and for them, some of these brothers are represented among us this evening; without forgetting either the sorrow of you, diocesan of Paris marked by the sudden departure of my predecessor Mgr Michel Aupetit to whom I express my esteem and my friendship; without forgetting again that if we are in this church, it is because our Notre-Dame cathedral was seriously injured three years ago, creating intense emotion in Paris,
This recognition can legitimately be attributed to the symbol that this building carries within it, to the attraction it exerts on innumerable crowds; but there is more: what we saw was the intensity of a prayer mixed with the drama that unfolded before our eyes, and I am sure that many men and women who do not pray like us, I mean the Catholic way of praying, or who do not pray often or never, have found no other word to testify to their communion than those of such a spontaneous prayer.
Let us welcome the Spirit of truth who guides our walk, and who takes care of our world, keeps it alive in the midst of fortunes and misfortunes.
Thus he did at the beginning of the evangelical preaching for Paul and his companions in this passage from the book of the Acts of the Apostles: we see there this small group, perhaps even this very small group, responding to a call unexpected.t.
We have not strayed far from our topicality nor far from our Scriptures: it was a few people around the apostle Paul and the people of the house of Lydia who took this act of faith and hope that we can take on our account.
I address myself particularly to the people of Paris, to the Catholics, to the Christians and to the other believers, to all those who simply want together to nourish a hope in these times of desolation: to pay attention to the pains and the sufferings of an era does not mean not take pleasure in it, but look at the world as it is and open it up to a future. Believers that we are, we don't have answers to all the problems that beset us, but we have a hope to articulate. And it is not because we renounce a spirit of domination which developed in previous centuries that we have nothing more to say, and above all no one to show. The one whom our hand and our gaze point to is Christ, whose "light shines on the face of the Church" ( Lumen Gentium1) when she becomes a servant, when she is not afraid, when she calls for respect for the dignity of every human being, when she forges and promotes bonds of brotherhood among all, when she reveals by her joy the hope who inhabits it.
To develop a missionary spirit and a collaborative spirit, which is really the synodal spirit, in the Church today, in our diocese of Paris, following the great intuitions of Cardinal Lustiger, maintained and developed by Cardinal Vingt-Trois and Monseigneur Aupetit means continuing to arouse vocations in the service of the gospel, it means pursuing charitable work and solidarity with the most precarious, which marks the parishes so much, it means mingling with conversations and debates means continuing to hear the cry of the victims of abuse and remedying as we have already undertaken to do to restore a trust that will do good to all, it means participating in forums and inviting artists, it is to hear the aspirations of our society even when they surprise and worry us,it is listening to the youngest who are already telling us what will be… This is not a program, it is an attitude that changes and transforms us, that makes us witnesses of the living Christ in the world in which we live ourselves.
May Saint Denis and Saint Geneviève help us: they are models of courage and confidence in the face of the challenges of their time. May the great founders of the University in the 13th century, with the masters who brought it to light, Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas, inspire us. May the great spiritual people of the 17th century, who were also great charitable people like Saint Vincent de Paul, continue to arouse generosity nourished by a close relationship with Christ; they also had fine successors in 19th century Paris with Saint Catherine Labouré, Blessed Rosalie Rendu and Blessed Frédéric Ozanam. That Saint Charles de Foucauld and the one who led him to Christ, Father Henri Huvelin to Saint Augustin, with whom I associate – without taking her to Lyon! – Blessed since yesterday Pauline Jaricot,
We are not lacking in models or intercessors: they have been courageous witnesses and above all simple servants… May the grace of the Lord thus make us bear fruit.
At this exact moment, we are in the joy of this liturgical welcome, because the Lord through the ministry of Pope Francis has given a pastor to the Church which is in Paris, but we do not forget the pain of those who around the world face the pain of war and terrorism – we pray in communion with them and for them, some of these brothers are represented among us this evening; without forgetting either the sorrow of you, diocesan of Paris marked by the sudden departure of my predecessor Mgr Michel Aupetit to whom I express my esteem and my friendship; without forgetting again that if we are in this church, it is because our Notre-Dame cathedral was seriously injured three years ago, creating intense emotion in Paris,
This recognition can legitimately be attributed to the symbol that this building carries within it, to the attraction it exerts on innumerable crowds; but there is more: what we saw was the intensity of a prayer mixed with the drama that unfolded before our eyes, and I am sure that many men and women who do not pray like us, I mean the Catholic way of praying, or who do not pray often or never, have found no other word to testify to their communion than those of such a spontaneous prayer.
Let us welcome the Spirit of truth who guides our walk, and who takes care of our world, keeps it alive in the midst of fortunes and misfortunes.
Thus he did at the beginning of the evangelical preaching for Paul and his companions in this passage from the book of the Acts of the Apostles: we see there this small group, perhaps even this very small group, responding to a call unexpected.t.
We have not strayed far from our topicality nor far from our Scriptures: it was a few people around the apostle Paul and the people of the house of Lydia who took this act of faith and hope that we can take on our account.
I address myself particularly to the people of Paris, to the Catholics, to the Christians and to the other believers, to all those who simply want together to nourish a hope in these times of desolation: to pay attention to the pains and the sufferings of an era does not mean not take pleasure in it, but look at the world as it is and open it up to a future. Believers that we are, we don't have answers to all the problems that beset us, but we have a hope to articulate. And it is not because we renounce a spirit of domination which developed in previous centuries that we have nothing more to say, and above all no one to show. The one whom our hand and our gaze point to is Christ, whose "light shines on the face of the Church" ( Lumen Gentium1) when she becomes a servant, when she is not afraid, when she calls for respect for the dignity of every human being, when she forges and promotes bonds of brotherhood among all, when she reveals by her joy the hope who inhabits it.
To develop a missionary spirit and a collaborative spirit, which is really the synodal spirit, in the Church today, in our diocese of Paris, following the great intuitions of Cardinal Lustiger, maintained and developed by Cardinal Vingt-Trois and Monseigneur Aupetit means continuing to arouse vocations in the service of the gospel, it means pursuing charitable work and solidarity with the most precarious, which marks the parishes so much, it means mingling with conversations and debates means continuing to hear the cry of the victims of abuse and remedying as we have already undertaken to do to restore a trust that will do good to all, it means participating in forums and inviting artists, it is to hear the aspirations of our society even when they surprise and worry us,it is listening to the youngest who are already telling us what will be… This is not a program, it is an attitude that changes and transforms us, that makes us witnesses of the living Christ in the world in which we live ourselves.
May Saint Denis and Saint Geneviève help us: they are models of courage and confidence in the face of the challenges of their time. May the great founders of the University in the 13th century, with the masters who brought it to light, Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas, inspire us. May the great spiritual people of the 17th century, who were also great charitable people like Saint Vincent de Paul, continue to arouse generosity nourished by a close relationship with Christ; they also had fine successors in 19th century Paris with Saint Catherine Labouré, Blessed Rosalie Rendu and Blessed Frédéric Ozanam. That Saint Charles de Foucauld and the one who led him to Christ, Father Henri Huvelin to Saint Augustin, with whom I associate – without taking her to Lyon! – Blessed since yesterday Pauline Jaricot,
We are not lacking in models or intercessors: they have been courageous witnesses and above all simple servants… May the grace of the Lord thus make us bear fruit.
Sources: https://www.paris.catholique.fr/-mgr-laurent-ulrich-.html
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