From Presbyterian to Catholic Bishop

On 7 July Pope Benedict XVI appointed Msgr Herbert Bevard, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, USA, as Bishop of St Thomas in the Virgin Islands, where the US Region of the Columbans had a mission in the 1960s and 70s. The new bishop was born into a Presbyterian family, as you can read in the article below from The Catholic Standard @ Times, the newspaper for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Notice how the young Herbert was influenced by the Child of Prague. Devotion to the Santo Niño is not confined to the Philippines, as you can read at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_Jesus_of_Prague which ends with this: On May 27, 1995, a solemn procession of the Infant Jesus took place in the streets of Prague with Cardinal Sin of Manila (Philippines) and Cardinal Vlk of Prague leading the procession. This ceremony was the closing highlight of the annual Feast of the Infant Jesus in Prague.

Former Protestant’s remarkable invitation to the Faith

By NADIA POZO
CS&T Staff Writer

Msgr. Herbert Bevard has had some great friends throughout his priesthood, friends who have helped him excel in one of the Church’s most needed apostolates: that of bringing non-Catholics into the Faith.
Who are these friends? Well first, there’s the Blessed Mother, to whom this former Protestant attributes his vocation.

Then, there’s St. Katharine Drexel whose great devotion to the Eucharist and life of service has been such an inspiration. Msgr. Bevard got to experience firsthand her great influence after spending five years as the chaplain for her order, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

Finally, there’s the Infant of Prague. It was the Infant of Prague who gave Msgr. Bevard great comfort as a child, when his parents refused to allow him to become Catholic.

Msgr. Bevard was in fifth grade when he asked his Presbyterian parents if he could take catechetical instructions from the pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oxford, Penn, where Msgr. Bevard grew up.
At first, his parents didn’t think much of it and allowed him to do so. But after 10 classes, Msgr. Bevard began talking about becoming a priest. That was that.

He was pulled from the classes and from his school, and sent to a military boarding school in Baltimore. He was forbidden by his parents to step inside another Catholic church.

Since he was only 11 years old, there wasn’t much Msgr. Bevard could do, except turn to Mary.

Read the full story at http://www.cst-phl.com/050224/second.html