Welcome Bishop Libasci!!

Bishop Libasci shows off his new Trinity sweatshirt

Today Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Peter Libasci of the Diocese of Rockville Centre (New York) as the 10th Bishop of Manchester.  He replaces Bishop John McCormack who has retired.

Bishop Libasci had a press conference at 10am at the cathedral in Manchester and then came right over to visit Trinity High School.  We found out around 7:30am that he wanted to visit so we all sprung into action.  Everyone came together to get the gym ready for a special assembly, to make a special card, to put signs up all over the school, to decorate bulletin boards, etc.  The bishop arrived around 11am and after meeting some students and administrators, he came into the gym to a THUNDEROUS ovation from all of our students.  They clapped and clapped for about 2 minutes.

Mr. Mailloux gave some words of welcome (which I posted below) and then Bishop Libasci gave a beautiful (and completely off the cuff) talk about the power of Jesus Christ (we should have the audio up later).  Bishop Libasci weaved in the idea of what it means to be a pioneer which meant a lot to the students.

Bishop Libasci visits Campus Ministry
photo credit: Diocese of Manchester

Mr. Mailloux presented the bishop with a card signed by all of the students as well as a Trinity High School sweatshirt.  The bishop put it on to the chant of Li-bas-ci by our students.  Powerful stuff.  The choir then sang a wonderful song during which the bishop bowed in prayer.  Bishop Libasci spent a lot of time talking with students, taking pictures, and touring some of our school.

We should have pictures, audio, etc. up on our Facebook page soon.  In the meantime, below are Mr. Mailloux's words of welcome:

Welcoming of Our New Bishop

Bishop Peter Libasci to Our Diocese and to

Trinity High School

I want to welcome a longtime friend and a new one to Trinity High School. Today, Bishop John McCormack turns over the reigns of our diocese to his successor, Bishop Peter Libasci. Bishop McCormack has been our shepherd and a very dear friend to Trinity since 1998. We have much to thank him for and will miss him dearly. Thank you, Bishop John, for all that you have given us and for always believing in the mission of our Catholic schools.

It is a great honor for Trinity High School to have been selected as the first school in the Diocese of Manchester to welcome Bishop Peter Libasci who comes to us from the Diocese of Rockville Centre, NY, where he has most recently served as auxiliary bishop.

Bishop Libasci, I know I can speak on behalf of all your schools when I say we stand ready and mission-bound to work toward the vision you bring to Catholic education in our diocese and ready to do our part toward building the future of the Catholic Church in New Hampshire. 

Our students prove to us every day that they are ready to learn and to live as individuals empowered by the knowledge, skills and, most importantly, the values of Christian life. They leave our school with aspirations to change the world. We, at Trinity, call ourselves pioneers in the spirit of the religious orders who came to our diocese many years ago to bring Catholic education to generations of daughters and sons. Today, Bishop Libasci, we call you “Pioneer” and welcome you as one of us who continue in the spirit that mission.

On behalf of everyone in the Trinity High School Community, I welcome you, Bishop Libasci, and look forward to the future of our schools and our diocese under your leadership. It is with great honor that I present the Trinity High School Community to you!