PITTSBURGH - The Rev. Frank Karwacki, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, said it's a great honor to have a Coal Region native such as the Very Rev. William J. Waltersheid being ordained auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
"It was joyful and there was a lot of applause from the people from Locust Gap," said the pastor by phone moments after the ceremony ended Monday afternoon in Saint Paul Cathedral in the city's Oakland neighborhood.
Waltersheid, a Locust Gap native, also becomes episcopal vicar for clergy and secretary for clergy for the diocese. In that position, he will be responsible for meeting and assessing the needs of the clergy of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, priests and deacons.
His appointment, which took place during an event that started at 2 p.m. returns the diocese to an administration with two priests, a model it had maintained for many years in the past.
"The increasing genuine needs of our priests" was the reason cited by Bishop David A. Zubik, in a letter to all priests of the diocese in March, for returning to this model. Zubik first announced the appointment on Feb. 25.
Karwacki said Zubik, in his presentation, admires three virtues of Waltersheid: the love of the priesthood, being a man of prayer and a gift of preaching.
Before his appointment to Pittsburgh, Waltersheid served as diocesan Secretary for Clergy and Consecrated life in the Diocese of Harrisburg. He also served three years as vice rector for the Pontifical North American College in Rome, a seminary for men from North America studying for the priesthood.
In his message, said Karwacki, Waltersheid spoke of his Coal Region heritage and how his parents gave him the greatest treasure: the gift of faith.
"His desire is to be a holy bishop and pour out his life for Christ," said Karwacki.
Karwacki and more than 40 members of the church traveled by bus together to the city to attend the service, but said there were a lot more that traveled on their own.
He also noted that when Karwacki was a Mount Carmel Area public school teacher, he had Waltersheid in his home room class.
"He was a good kid and well behaved. I am very excited for him," he said.
An auxiliary bishop is appointed to a diocese when the pastoral needs of a diocese suggest it and the bishop of a diocese requests it. The auxiliary bishop assists the diocesan bishop in carrying out his administrative responsibilities.
The last auxiliary bishop in Pittsburgh was the Most Rev. William J. Winter, who resigned in May 2005 when he reached the age of 75. The Diocese of Harrisburg has not had an auxiliary bishop since Cardinal William Keeler was an auxiliary to Bishop Daley in the 1980s.
Waltersheid is the fourth priest from the Diocese of Harrisburg to be appointed as a bishop. The first was Bishop Lawrence F. Schott, who served as an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Harrisburg from 1956 until his death in 1963. Keeler, retired of Baltimore, was named as an auxiliary bishop for the diocese in 1979. In 2004, then-Father Kevin C. Rhoades became the third priest of the diocese to rise to bishop when he was appointed to lead the Diocese of Harrisburg. In 1990, a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh - Nicholas C. Dattilo - became the bishop of Harrisburg, serving until his death in 2004.
Background as nurse
Waltersheid was born in Ashland, the son of the late William F. and Margaret M. (Deane) Waltersheid. He was baptized in St. Joseph Church in Locust Gap and spent his childhood and early adult years there.
An only child, he lived with his parents and maternal grandfather. He was educated in the Mount Carmel Area school system and was given religious instruction by the Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice (Felician Sisters) of Holy Spirit School in Mount Carmel.
After having graduated Mount Carmel Area High School in 1974, he worked in the health care field. He was graduated from the Pottsville Hospital School of Nursing in 1983.
He was very active in his home parish of St. Joseph in Locust Gap, and taught religious education classes in neighboring parishes as an adult. In 1985, he was accepted as a candidate for the seminary formation program of the Diocese of Harrisburg. He studied at St. John Seminary College in Brighton, Mass., and earned a bachelor's degree in liberal arts with a concentration in philosophy and classical languages.
Studied in Rome
In 1988, Waltersheid was sent by Keeler to the Pontifical North American College in Rome for continued formation for the priesthood. He earned a bachelor's degree in theology in 1991 from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology from that same university.
He was ordained a deacon in Rome on April 30, 1992, by Pio Cardinal Laghi, and a priest in Harrisburg on July 11, 1992, by Dattilo. He remained in Rome for further studies until 1995, when he returned to the Diocese of Harrisburg and was assigned as parochial vicar at Prince of Peace Parish in Steelton.
In 1999, Waltersheid returned to Rome and served on the faculty of the Pontifical North American College until 2003. He served for one year as director of apostolic works and then for three years as vice rector of the seminary. In June 2003, he was appointed pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Carlisle, and in June 2006, he was appointed to his position as secretary for clergy and consecrated life.