Introducing the Boy Wonder

Alex Sample, the 45 year-old bishop-elect of Marquette, speaks....

It is with a great sense of unworthiness that I have accepted this appointment of Pope Benedict XVI to be the next bishop of the Diocese of Marquette. I am most grateful for the trust and confidence that the Holy Father has placed in me, and I hope, with God’s grace, to faithfully fulfill this office which he has entrusted to me....

To the faithful of the whole Diocese of Marquette, I am humbled to be appointed your shepherd, and I promise to do all in my power, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to be a good, faithful and loving shepherd of the flock entrusted to my care. I wish to minister in the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came “not to be served, but to serve.” I beg your prayers for me as I prepare to assume this ministry, and I will count on those prayers throughout my years of service as your bishop....

I speak a special word to my brother priests from whose ranks I have been chosen. I will soon be a father and pastor to you, but I will also always be your brother. I pledge my concern and support for you as co-workers with me in the vineyard of the Lord. I count especially on your prayers. You are daily in my prayers, and I remember you at the altar of Christ the Lord, where we are one.

Finally, and most importantly, I thank God for the gift of life and salvation and for my vocation. May He ever guide me as I continue to strive to faithfully serve Him in the likeness of Jesus, His Son and the Good Shepherd. Consecrating myself to the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, and relying on the prayerful intercession of the first bishop of Marquette, Frederic Baraga, I hope to be an effective instrument of Christ’s love, mercy and salvation for the people I am sent to serve.

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