Whispers in the loggia: Wichita Lands A Lincoln – Springfield VG to Kansas... and For Miami, An Island Aux.

As Pope Francis' first Consistory revs up, the longest Stateside vacancy has likewise been resolved: at Roman Noon, Papa Bergoglio named Msgr Carl Kemme (left), 53, vicar-general of Springfield in Illinois, as bishop of Wichita.



In the Kansas post leading 125,000 Catholics – home to one of the nation's largest crops of seminarians, a rare tuition-free school system funded through active stewardship and all around, an unusually energized ecclesial hotspot – Kemme succeeds Michael Jackels, who was named archbishop of Dubuque last April in one of Francis' first major US appointments.



Having pastored five parishes in Illinois' capital church, Kemme – a product of St Louis' Kenrick Seminary – was named vicar-general by then-Bishop George Lucas in 2002, while keeping his full-time ministry in the trenches. After serving as diocesan administrator for the year between Lucas' 2009 transfer to Omaha and Bishop Thomas Paprocki's arrival, the "Holy Goalie" kept today's appointee as his top deputy.



In a tweet announcing the move, Paprocki said that Kemme's ordination is set for May 1st.

Alongside the Wichita nod, the Pope named Msgr Peter Baldacchino, 53 – a Malta-born priest of Newark currently overseeing the Turks and Caicos islands, which the Jersey archdiocese holds as a mission territory – as auxiliary bishop of Miami.



The first auxiliary given to South Florida – with 1.3 million Catholics, the Southeast's largest diocese – since the 2010 homecoming of Archbishop Thomas Wenski, the long-awaited pick speaks all three of the local church's three main languages: English, Spanish and of course, Haitian Creole. In addition, he likewise becomes the first Maltese to be named a bishop in the US.



Since the quick promotions of Bishops John Noonan to Orlando in late 2010 and Felipe Estevez to St Augustine six months later, Miami has lacked an active auxiliary. That said, the place hasn't been completely shorthanded – Pueblo's recently-retired Bishop Fernando Isern returned to his hometown after his June release from the Colorado post, and has taken a pastorate alongside helping out with episcopal functions.



In an unusually quick turnaround, Baldacchino will be ordained on 19 March, the feast of St Joseph, patron of the universal church – and likewise, the first anniversary of Francis' inauguration of his Petrine ministry.



As ever, more to come.



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by Rocco Palmo via Whispers in the Loggia