Greeting a Bishop

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dixieagle said:
Sensible and useful information, as always, Brother.

My husband and I spent some of last Saturday with Francis Cardinal George at a performance at a conference in Chicago. We had some time to chat, and I bowed slightly, and referred to him as " Your Eminence", of course. He was a humble, very pleasant man and we were honored to meet him. (At the end of the evening when we were saying our goodbyes, my husband thanked him for his strong stand for the unborn, and he seemed a little surprised, though pleased. Maybe he doesn’t hear that often…)
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I’m so glad that you and your husband said that to him. Cardinal George has been a defender of the unborn for a long time. He is also a faithful son of St. Eugene, the founder of the Oblates. Many lay people, Catholic and non-Catholic, declared open season on the clergy. Since he was the president of the conference, he took the greatest number of hits. Either they didn’t know enough or did not care to learn. Cardinal George is an Oblate. They walk, talk, work, and pray like Oblates.

It makes me very happy to hear that you appreciate the man as he is, not as people say he should be. He’s a very good man and his congregation is awesome. I learned from one of my Oblate superior friends that Cardinal George alwasy akss himself, “What would St. Eugene do?” He is so faithful to St. Eugene, it’s awe inspiring. St. Eugene de Mazenod was one of the most amazing missionaries in our history. He was one of those missionaries who focussed on the dysfunctional family in our society. We need a few thousand Eugenes.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
JReducation said:
I’m so glad that you and your husband said that to him. Cardinal George has been a defender of the unborn for a long time. He is also a faithful son of St. Eugene, the founder of the Oblates. Many lay people, Catholic and non-Catholic, declared open season on the clergy. Since he was the president of the conference, he took the greatest number of hits. Either they didn’t know enough or did not care to learn. Cardinal George is an Oblate. They walk, talk, work, and pray like Oblates.

It makes me very happy to hear that you appreciate the man as he is, not as people say he should be. He’s a very good man and his congregation is awesome. I learned from one of my Oblate superior friends that Cardinal George alwasy akss himself, “What would St. Eugene do?” He is so faithful to St. Eugene, it’s awe inspiring. St. Eugene de Mazenod was one of the most amazing missionaries in our history. He was one of those missionaries who focussed on the dysfunctional family in our society. We need a few thousand Eugenes.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
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👍
 
When i greet the bishops I genuflect and kiss his ring say my lord is a wonderful custom and the way to do it is on you left knee. The right knee is for God and the left, for God’s workers.
 
Aran_Houlihan said:
When i greet the bishops I genuflect and kiss his ring say my lord is a wonderful custom and the way to do it is on you left knee. The right knee is for God and the left, for God’s workers.
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See post 7, among others.
 
JReducation said:
I’m so glad that you and your husband said that to him. Cardinal George has been a defender of the unborn for a long time. He is also a faithful son of St. Eugene, the founder of the Oblates. Many lay people, Catholic and non-Catholic, declared open season on the clergy. Since he was the president of the conference, he took the greatest number of hits. Either they didn’t know enough or did not care to learn. Cardinal George is an Oblate. They walk, talk, work, and pray like Oblates.

It makes me very happy to hear that you appreciate the man as he is, not as people say he should be. He’s a very good man and his congregation is awesome. I learned from one of my Oblate superior friends that Cardinal George alwasy akss himself, “What would St. Eugene do?” He is so faithful to St. Eugene, it’s awe inspiring. St. Eugene de Mazenod was one of the most amazing missionaries in our history. He was one of those missionaries who focussed on the dysfunctional family in our society. We need a few thousand Eugenes.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
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FYI, for what it is worth, the good Cardinal George’s middle name also happens to be “Eugene”.
 
In UK we call the Bishop ‘My Lord’, an Archbishop ‘Your Grace’
 
In the Byzantine Catholic Churches, when addressing a Bishop (or higher), we call him Master. Some may use Vladyka in the Slavonic usage and Despota in the Greek usage, however, the English word is Master.

You might say, “Father bless” or “Father give the blessing to a priest.” With a Bishop you would say, “Master bless”, or “Master give the blessing.”

This is of course for the Byzantine Catholic Churches. 🙂
 
Vicars, canons, provincials, deans and rectors

Direct address: Reverend Smith or Father Smith
Written address: The Very Reverend Father Provincial Thomas R. Smith
(ab. The Very Rev.) Formal introduction: The Very Reverend Vicar General James Dean Protocol: the same as for Priests.
 
Aran_Houlihan said:
Vicars, canons, provincials, deans and rectors

Direct address: Reverend Smith or Father Smith
Written address: The Very Reverend Father Provincial Thomas R. Smith
(ab. The Very Rev.) Formal introduction: The Very Reverend Vicar General James Dean Protocol: the same as for Priests.
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Thanks! Adding that to that list of etiquette stuff my mum and school made me learn years ago—it does come up! 🙂
 
We address our Archbishop informally, as in “Good morning, Archbishop,” or “Good morning, your Grace.” I rarely see anyone kiss his ring.
 
I work for my diocese, and see the Bishop quite often, so I just call him ‘Bishop’.

We had a special event not too long ago and had 14 Bishops & 2 Cardinals visiting. If I had to genuflect & kiss their rings I never would have been able to do any work!! 😛
 
Oneofthewomen said:
I work for my diocese, and see the Bishop quite often, so I just call him ‘Bishop’.

We had a special event not too long ago and had 14 Bishops & 2 Cardinals visiting. If I had to genuflect & kiss their rings I never would have been able to do any work!! 😛
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I am sort of the same situation. I see him so often it’s just greeting the boss at work.
 
JReducation said:
You can either shake his hand or you can bend over and kiss his ring. Genuflecting is not expected when in a crowd, because it slows things down. If you’re in a crowd, the bishop will want to keep moving from person to person. He will appreciate it if you keep the greeting simple and brief.

All you have to do is say “Your Excellency” and kiss the ring. If you want to say more, you can say, “I’m happy to meet you, Bishop.” You’ll have to judge, depending on the size of the group. Also, some bishops do not like it. Ask someone who knows him, if he likes the kissing of the ring.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
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Thank you Brother. I’ve always wondered if there was a difference between saying, or a different meaning when “Your Eminence” or “Your Excellency” is said?
 
Joannm said:
I am sort of the same situation. I see him so often it’s just greeting the boss at work.
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While he wasn’t my boss, I spoke to mine often when I worked at the parish. He’d call and introduce himself by his first name, no title. I called him ‘Bishop’. Never kissed his ring when I was in his presence.
 
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