The archbishop of Cincinnati leads about 450,000 Catholics in 19 counties in Southwestern and West Central Ohio.
In February the Cincinnati archdiocese announced that Casey had been appointed the 11th bishop and tenth metropolitan archbishop of Cincinnati after Pope Francis accepted the retirement of Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr.
The Mass of Installation for Casey will happen at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains in downtown Cincinnati Thursday afternoon.
Forced by a declining number of priests, the archdiocese launched an ambitious reorganization in 2021, grouping 200 parishes into some 60 “families” of parishes, a process called “Beacons of Light.”
Declining Mass attendance and priest numbers are not unique to Southwestern Ohio, however.
“This is not something we do alone,” Casey said. “This is the experience of the Western church. This is the moment in the Western church when we’re coming to a new understanding of ourselves.”
Casey is the fourth of five children of a nurse and a meat cutter from County Wicklow, Ireland. A native of Evergreen Park, Ill., he grew up in Alsip, where he attended public elementary schools, the Archdiocese of Chicago has said.
Casey noted that he is the son of an immigrant.
“For us in the United States, I think we need to recognize that we are a country of migrants,” he said. “As I’ve spoken before, I am the son of an immigrant. My father came here from Ireland looking to establish himself here and give a better life to his wife and children.”
Following graduation from the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, he served in Illinois parishes since 1994. He was appointed auxiliary bishop in July 2018, and ordained in that position that September.
Casey has been an avid long-distance runner and is looking to resume running, he said. Between 2012 and 2018, he ran five marathons and will run another in October, a Chicago archdiocesan newspaper reported.
Schnurr has been dealing with health challenges in recent months. He completed chemotherapy for stage 3 bowel cancer last fall. Upon completion he was given favorable results, the archdiocese said.
Due to ongoing neuropathy following chemotherapy, Schnurr fell at home in early February. He injured his back, but not his spinal cord, the archdiocese said. He had successful surgery in the days following, and his recovery continues.
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