Brazil – Bishop Scaramussa Vicar General "ad interim" for the Archdiocese of São Paulo |
Brazil - The Rector Major visits Vitoria |
Vatican – Fr Scaramussa Auxiliary Bishop of San Paolo |
About 20 Bishops including Bishop Valerio Breda SDB, of Penedo, and about fifty priests were present. Taking part in the ordination were Fr Pascual Chávez, Rector Major of the Salesians, his Vicar Fr Adriano Bregolin and the Regional Councillors for America South Cone Fr Natale Vitale, and for Italy-Middle East, Fr Pier Fausto Frisoli. Representing the Department for Social Communication in Rome of which Bishop Scaramussa had been Councillor until the day of his appointment was Bro Jesus Garcia. There was also a significant number of political and civil authorities present.
There were many people from the parishes of the area and in particular from the archdiocese of San Paolo, where Bishop Scaramussa will undertake his pastoral ministry as auxiliary Bishop. Various Salesian houses were well-represented including many young people from the Brazilian Province of Bello Horizonte (BBH), where Bishop Scaramussa had been Provincial between 1996 and 2002.
In his homily, Cardinal Scherer reminded the faithful of the importance of the ministry carried out by the apostles and by the bishops their successors. After having thanked Bishop Scaramussa for being ready to accept the office of Bishop the Cardinal asked the people to accompany with their prayers the new Bishop, “made an apostle for the service of the Church and the sanctification of her people.”
At the end of the celebration, the Rector Major was invited to speak and he told Bishop Scaramussa: “You will be a good Bishop thanks to your formation at the school of St Francis of Sales and of Don Bosco and your pastoral awareness.”
“Dom” Scaramussa – as Bishops are called in Brazil – in his turn, expressed his thanks to God for all the people he had met on his journey through life, especially his parents, relatives and the Salesian Family.
The celebration of the ordination of Bishop Scaramussa, who for his motto has chosen “E habitou entre nós” (And He came to dwell among us), received considerable coverage in the Catholic media and the whole of it was broadcast by radio throughout the diocese of San Paolo.
Published 21/04/2008