Episcopal ordination to be held at Nativity

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
December 1, 2005

Three weeks after the announcement that Denver priest Msgr. R. Walker Nickless was named the seventh bishop for the Diocese of Sioux City, planning for his episcopal ordination is in full force.

"The planning for Bishop-elect Nickless' ordination is going at an accelerated pace because the time we have between the announcement and the ordination is not great. Particularly with the holidays, we lose some days," noted Jim Wharton, director of communications for the diocese and a member of the ordination executive planning committee. "Things are happening at a rapid pace to make sure that the events we have surrounding the ordination are well planned and ready to go come mid-January."

The appointment of Msgr. Nickless was announced simultaneously Nov. 10 at the Vatican, in Sioux City and in Denver. That same day, it was announced that the ordination was slated for Jan. 20. The time has been set for 2 p.m.

While it was originally announced that the episcopal ordination would take place at the Cathedral of the Epiphany, the location for this sacred service has changed.

"With Bishop-elect Nickeless, we are expecting a fairly significant contingency of people from his home Archdiocese of Denver in Sioux City for his ordination," said Wharton. "Because of that, the decision was made to have the ordination at the Church of the Nativity, which is the same church of Bishop DiNardo's episcopal ordination back in 1997."

It is estimated that at least 200 more people can attend the service at Nativity as opposed to Cathedral. The bishop-elect made this decision.

"Bishop-elect Nickless thought it was important that we try to accommodate as many people as possible," said Wharton. "That was his intent. The last thing you would want to do is have a big group of people coming in from Denver to show their support for the new bishop and not have a place to put them."

In addition to the bishop-elect's family and the contingency from Denver, hundreds from the Diocese of Sioux City will be among those invited to the celebration including clergy, various boards and commissions as well as representation from every parish.

The reception following the ordination will be held at Nativity's parish center.

The vespers service, which is slated for Jan. 19, will be held at Cathedral of the Epiphany.

"Because of the crowd that we are anticipating, there are probably going to be a good number of people that would have liked to have gone to the ordination but will not be able to attend. We will have extensive media coverage of this," he said. "In addition to live television, the diocese is working on a multi-station radio network across the diocese that would broadcast the ordination live."

The diocese is also working on the latest in hi-tech coverage as they investigate the possibility of a live Web cast on the internet.

"This would mean that people in Denver could watch the ordination on their computers. Our seminarians in Rome could watch - people anywhere in the world," noted Wharton.

Just as with other aspects of the ordination, the specific details of the media coverage has yet to be worked out but plans are certainly underway.