Celebrating his first Mass as bishop-elect, Father Michael Izen addressed parishioners at St. Michael in Stillwater Jan. 5 where he has served the last seven years.
“I am just so honored and grateful” for Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s confidence, “because I would not have thought of myself as a candidate for this,” Bishop-elect Izen said before the daily 7:30 a.m. Mass started, only hours after his appointment was announced.
Anticipating activities scheduled for later in the day, he said, “I think what I’ll say today at the press conference is I would have never expected this, and would have never pursued it, but I also would never say no to the Church.”
Archbishop Hebda introduced the bishop-elect to the congregation of about 90 people, eliciting sustained applause.
“What wonderful news that our Holy Father has named your pastor, Father Izen, as the next auxiliary bishop of this archdiocese,” the archbishop said. “It’s a wonderful sign of confidence, not only in Bishop-elect Izen’s capabilities, but also in the wonderful presbyterate that we have here in the archdiocese. I’m so grateful to our priests of this archdiocese, and most especially the priests who have served here in Stillwater.”
Bishop-elect Izen’s appointment follows the appointment to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis of Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Williams, a native of Stillwater who also celebrated the Mass, one year ago. The three will serve a 12-county area that encompasses the Twin Cities and includes about 725,000 Catholics.
Stephen Horan, a longtime friend and former supervisor of Bishop-elect Izen when the two worked together at 3M, attended the Mass after receiving a telephone call from his friend shortly after 5 a.m.
“’Are you sitting down,’” Bishop-elect Izen had asked. “I said yes, I am laying down, I’m sleeping. Why are you calling so early?”
Horan said his friend, who spent summers living at his house in Woodbury while attending The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, has “such a pure heart. He really does. I think we Catholics need that.”
