First-Day Jitters

At the traditional Appointment Morning Presser, Bishop-elect Jim Wall of Gallup admitted to being "a little nervous":

"[B]eing appointed bishop is not something that happens every day," Wall told reporters, adding that he was "gratefully humbled to be appointed."...

His parents, who met at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, converted to Catholicism after coming into contact with two Franciscan priests, he said.

[Bishop Thomas] Olmsted alluded to that in a lighthearted introduction, saying that when Wall was conceived his parents were not Catholic, but they were when he was born.

While no firm ordination date was announced, 23 April was floated as the likely choice.

On a history note, the 44 year-old appointee -- born on the Navajo nation -- is the first priest of Phoenix ever tapped for the high-hat.

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