Archbishop of Milan
After the death of Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster in 1954, Montini was appointed Archbishop of Milan, which made him automatically the speaker of the Italian Bishop Conference. Pope Pius XII presented the new Archbishop Giovanni Battista Montini "as his personal gift to Milan". Both had tears in their eyes when Montini parted for his dioceses with 1,000 churches, 2,500 priests and 3,500,000 souls. He was consecrated in Saint Peter's Basilica by Cardinal Eugene Tisserant, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, since Pius XII was forced to stay in bed due to his severe illness. The Pope however, delivered the sermon about Giovanni Batista Montini from his sick-bed over radio to the many faithful assembled in St. Peter's on 12 December 1954. On 6 January 1955, Montini formally took possession of his Cathedral of Milan. Pius XII, who always wanted to be a pastor rather than a Vatican bureaucrat, gladly granted Montini this opportunity which was denied to him. Montini after a period of preparation, liked his new tasks as archbishop, connecting to all groups of faithful in Milan. He enjoyed meetings with intellectuals, artists and writers.
Read more about this topic: Pope Paul VI
Famous quotes containing the word archbishop:
“The archbishop is away. The church is gray.
He has left his robes folded in camphor
And, dressed in black, he walks
Among fireflies.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)