The morning after

From The Sioux City Journal:


'The mission has begun,' Nickless tells flock

With resounding trumpets and all the pageantry of the Roman Catholic Church, the Rev. R. Walker Nickless was ordained and installed Friday as the seventh bishop in the 103-year history of the Diocese of Sioux City, ending the longest episcopal vacancy in the United States.
[...]

Eleven archbishops, including the Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, archbishop of Nickless' home Diocese of Denver, two dozen bishops and more than 100 priests, processed into the Church of the Nativity Our Lord Jesus Christ in Sioux City, replete in white robes and flanked by a Knights of Columbus honor guard in plumed hats, their ceremonial swords held at attention.

Nickless' parents, five sisters and four brothers were also among the nearly 1,000 people who filled the vast sanctuary.
[...]

Following Scripture readings in Spanish, Vietnamese and English, Archbishop Jerome Hanus of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, served as principal consecrator and also delivered the homily.
[...]

Despite massive crowd, everything goes smoothly before ordination

When Jim and Theresa Larson of Denver needed a baby sitter, they would call up R. Walker Nickless.

Nickless and his younger sisters cared for the couple's six children decades ago, teaching them "patience."

"We wish he was still baby-sitting them," Jim Larson said.

The Larsons and another Denver couple, Don and Jeanne Ping, drove to Sioux City to witness the ordination of their former baby sitter.
[...]

Photo: Mary Chind/The Register