Bishop to visit Sacred Heart Chapel

Thomas current administrator of Cleveland diocese

One of northern Ohio’s Roman Catholic Church leaders will visit Lorain as part of worship services June 11.

Bishop Daniel E. Thomas will celebrate the noon mass at Sacred Heart Chapel, 4301 Pearl Ave. in South Lorain.

The event will mark Thomas’ first formal visit to Lorain County since his appointment as apostolic administrator of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese. Thomas was appointed in December to administer the affairs of the diocese due to the retirement of Bishop Richard Lennon, who stepped down due to health reasons.

Thomas’ visit is not necessarily affiliated with a special event or reason at the parish.

“It’s just part of his effort to be present to all the people across the eight counties of the diocese,” said Robert Tayek, spokesman for the Cleveland Catholic Diocese. “It’s just to be present to the people.”

Sacred Heart Chapel is one of eight parishes across the Cleveland diocese that are predominantly Spanish speaking, Tayek said. The church schedules its noon mass as a Spanish language service, and Thomas intends to honor that.

“He’s conversant in Spanish, that’s why he going to attempt to celebrate the mass in Spanish,” the spokesman said.

Thomas is bishop of the Toledo diocese, which includes an area with Spanish-speaking agricultural workers across northwest Ohio, Tayek said. Thomas recognizes the importance of serving them, and the Spanish speaking parishes of the Cleveland diocese, along with all the parishes across the two areas, Tayek said.

Sacred Heart Chapel also could see a spike in attendance at the Sunday service, Tayek said.

“When (people) find out the bishop’s coming, absolutely they want to be there, they want to see him and meet him,” Tayek said.

Anyone attending should not expect an announcement about the appointment of the next bishop of the diocese, he said. That process takes time and ultimately will be decided at the Vatican in Rome, he said.

A native of Philadelphia, Thomas, 57, studied dogmatic theology at Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Among his church work, Thomas in 1995, was named chaplain to Pope John Paul II.

Thomas first planned to visit Lorain County at St. Peter Parish in North Ridgeville over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend earlier this year. However, he fell ill and was not able to attend, Tayek said.

Thomas