St. Augustine students prepare for installation of new Bishop

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - On Wednesday history will be made when a new Bishop is installed to lead the Catholic People of southern Arizona.

Some students in Tucson have been learning about the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson and the installation process.

Students at St. Augustine High School have been studying the history of the fairly new diocese and the man now chosen to lead it - Bishop Edward Weisenberger from Salina, Kansas.

Stephanie Rambaran, the Director of Ministry at the school & Head of the Theology Department says it's rare students will get to experience something like this in their lifetime. "There are so many misunderstandings about the happenings of the church and so I think that we really have an opportunity to talk about it and to talk about what it means and what I actually entails," said Rambaran.

From how the Vatican took on a worldwide search to choose a new bishop and ultimately appointed Bishop Wisenberger.

Students have also been learning about the 25 bishops who will attend the event to special letter from the pope that will be read during Wednesday's installation mass.

Seniors Julia Kaysel and Valeria Villafaña are the only two students from their school chosen to witness the installation mass first hand.

"Being here I get to practice my faith and just experiencing this is so exciting for me because I know I'm not going to be able to experience this ever again," said Villafaña.

Like so many people who have come to know Bishop Kicanas during the past 16 years, these students have a special bond with him. The Bishop's house sits on the school's campus.

"I've known Bishop Kicanas my whole life and I'm going to miss him a lot you know, but I'm really excited to meet the new bishop, Bishop Edward and I think he's going to be a great addition to our diocese," said Kaysel.

In a world with so many distractions, these young minds are looking to their faith to guide them.

"You're not anything other than your religion first, and so try to lead with kindness and generosity and just try to kind of live by that and try to see the good in things," said Kaysel.

Catholic or not, it's a lesson we could all learn a little something from.

Tucson News Now sat down exclusively with the newly appointed Bishop Weisenburger and now retired Bishop Kicanas.

Watch for special coverage of the Bishop Installation Ceremony all week.

Tucson News Now will be streaming the mass exclusively on Wednesday.

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