Bishop-elect Keehner to receive ring, cross at farewell Mass

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
On Sunday afternoon, Bishop-elect John E. Keehner will receive a bit of Youngstown, Ohio, history at his farewell Mass held at the St. Columba Cathedral. Bishop David Bonnar of the Diocese of Youngstown will preside at the Mass.
 
Bishop Bonnar will present a pectoral cross and an episcopal ring to the bishop-elect that belonged to Bishop James. W. Malone, who was the third bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown and former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is known as having attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council from 1962-65.
 
 Bishop Malone ordained Bishop-elect Keehner a deacon Dec. 12, 1992, and then as a priest on June 12, 1993.
 

Then - Father John Keeher, Bishop James W. Malone and Father Leo Wehrlin at the June 1992 priestly ordination./Youngstown Diocese photo

When the current Youngstown bishop learned that one of his priests was selected by Pope Francis to serve as the shepherd of the Diocese of Sioux City, he was quick to help the new bishop-elect prepare for his role including providing him with a zucchetto and vestments for a photography session. He then headed to the diocesan archives to find something more permanent for his priest. 

“I looked at some of our patrimony relative to the episcopal rings and pectoral crosses,” Bishop Bonnar said, adding he later invited the bishop-elect to review the archived items with him. “He chose a simple, humble ring, worn by Bishop Malone … (Bishop-elect) Keehner chose a pectoral cross from him as well and it was a very special connection there.”
 
“I am very honored to have been gifted with his ring and cross,” Bishop-elect Keehner said of receiving patrimony from his former bishop.
 
Bishop-elect’s crozier is being crafted and will be a gift from the priests of his home diocese, but will not be completed in time for the farewell Mass.
 
“He can know he takes with him part of his native Diocese of Youngstown,” Bishop Bonnar said of the crozier and Bishop Malone’s ring and cross.
 
With the crozier not yet completed, the bishop-elect borrowed a crozier earlier this month for his official portraits.
 
“For the photoshoot, I used an old crozier from the archives. It’s very plain, I like it. It’s a dark wood and the one I’m having made is mahogany, which is a dark wood. It’s very simple, so it will be very similar,” he said.Bishop-elect Keehner 

The location of the farewell Mass is significant as it will be celebrated in the Cathedral of St. Columba where the bishop-elect served both as rector and vice-rector for a total of 12 years. The Diocese of Youngstown invites the faithful in the Diocese of Sioux City to watch the livestream of the farewell Mass at 3 p.m. Central at www.catholicecho.org/live.
 
The episcopal ordination of Bishop John E. Keehner will be May 1 at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on KTIV Channel 4, the Sioux City-based NBC affiliate and also livestreamed on the Diocese of Sioux City YouTube account at www.youtube.com/@DioceseofSiouxCity.
 
The April 30 vespers service will also be livestreamed on the diocesan YouTube channel at 5:30 p.m. Both services will be held at the Cathedral of the Epiphany.