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March 20, 2010

Excitement builds for home-grown bishop's ordination

'I'm on my knees every night and morning, thanking God'

By SUZANNE MOORE

MOOERS FORKS — It was in Price Chopper, of all places, that the Rev. Gerald Cerank learned the Rev. Terry LaValley would be next bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg.

"Did you hear the news?" the Rev. James Delbel of St. Mary's in Champlain asked as he encountered Cerank while shopping.

"I came racing home," said Cerank, pastor of St. Ann's Parish in Mooers Forks.

He wanted to see the official e-mail with his own eyes confirming that one of St. Ann's own would lead the diocese.

"It's an honor, a wonderful honor," he said.

Since that day, the excitement over LaValley's selection has multiplied like loaves and fishes.

This was no miracle perhaps, but the Mooers Forks man is the first native of the diocese to be chosen bishop in many, many years.

Last May, when the Most Rev. Robert Cunningham left Ogdensburg to lead the Diocese of Syracuse, LaValley was named administrator. As the process to select a new bishop ensued, locals began hoping then that he might be chosen.

"But suspicion kind of died off because it took so long," Cerank said. "We thought if they chose somebody local, it would be quicker."

"It was a very nice surprise," said LaValley's sister Sheila Miller. "It's been really nice — the support (people) have been showing."

The LaValley family jokes around a lot, and so Miller didn't take her brother seriously at first when he called her with the news.

The bishop-elect said his mother, Doris, found herself speechless.

He understood their reaction of incredulity, for they closely mirrored his own.

"It was just never in the cards," he said. "We're just normal, average people of the North Country."

LaValley remains humbled by both the outpouring of joy and support he's received since the announcement and the papal honor.

He finds it overwhelming, in a sense, too.

"I'm on my knees every night and every morning, thanking God and certainly seeking his guidance," he said.

NATIVE SON
Reality is now sinking in, with invitations to LaValley's April 30 ordination/installation arriving in mailboxes around the North Country

The problem is, said Cerank, "everybody's hoping to go."

St. Ann's is conducting a lottery to fill the seats made available to that parish.

And for those who lose out, the good news is the new bishop will come home to celebrate a 2 p.m. Mass of thanksgiving at St. Ann's May 2; a big reception will follow.

St. Ann's seats about 400, and Cerank expects it will fill to overflowing. As anyone local knows, the bishop-elect has a huge extended family — his late father, Ronald, was one of five children and his mom grew up with five siblings, so cousins abound.

Cerank is looking for someone who can provide a closed-circuit live broadcast of the May 2 Mass that can be shown in the parish center.

And the bishop will return again May 7 for confirmation.

"We'll be with him three days in a week," Cerank said.

Also, LaValley will visit each of the diocesan deaneries, beginning with Clinton Deanery May 3. A 6:30 p.m. vespers service at St. Alexander's Church in Morrisonville will be followed by a public reception, said the Rev. Doug Lucia, director of worship for the diocese.

MANY DETAILS
But first, there's the pomp and pageantry of the last day of April, when LaValley will be ordained a bishop and installed as leader of his home diocese.

One of the biggest challenges, Lucia said, is making sure there's enough seating in St. Mary's Cathedral for everyone invited.

This will be his third time acting as master of ceremonies for an incoming bishop, but past experience doesn't remove the pressure of making sure all goes well.

"There are little details," Lucia said. "The program is done, I've met with the musicians, all the liturgical ministers have been assigned ..."

Earlier this week, he checked on the progress of the hand-carved coat of arms that will adorn the bishop's chair at the ceremony; that crest will also appear on his stationary and the seal with which he will stamp documents.

"It's a symbol of where he's come from," Lucia said.

Lucia, himself, grew up in Altona, just a few miles from LaValley's home in Mooers Forks. They didn't know one another then but became close friends at Wadhams Hall Seminary in Ogdensburg.

"For me, it's really like one of the family becoming a leader," Lucia said. "I have always seen these qualities in him, so this doesn't surprise me.

Past bishops served with wisdom and devotion, he said.

"(But) as a priest of the diocese, I'm happy "¦ this time a native son has been chosen.

"I think it was time for that."

E-mail Suzanne Moore at: smoore@pressrepublican.com

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