From Sinking Rocks to Living Stones

Celebrating the Inaugural Mass of Archbishop Robert G. Casey

by Dr. Kenneth Craycraft

On April 3, 2025, the Most Reverend Robert G. Casey was installed as the tenth Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains, succeeding the Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr. The Mass of Installation was a jubilant occasion, gathering about 160 priests and 80 deacons of the archdiocese in a celebration of spiritual fraternity, optimism, and joy. The Mass was celebrated in the presence of His Eminence Christophe Cardinal Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. He was joined in the sanctuary by His Eminence Blase Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, and over 30 visiting archbishops and bishops from around the United States. Government officials, representatives from every parish in the archdiocese, as well as representatives from other Christian faith communities and non-Christian traditions also attended to witness this historic occasion.

Archbishop Casey has been an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Chicago, where he was born and raised, since 2018. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in English from Chicago’s Loyola University in 1989, Archbishop Casey entered Mundelein Seminary, from which he earned his Master of Divinity degree in 1994. On May 21, 1994, he was ordained to the priesthood by the former Archbishop of Cincinnati, the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, then Archbishop of Chicago. The son of Irish immigrant Michael A. Casey and Margaret A. Carmody Casey, both deceased, the new Cincinnati archbishop is a proud son of Ireland, to which he plans to return in October to run a marathon. Active in Hispanic ministry in Chicago, Archbishop Casey speaks Spanish fluently. This was reflected Archbishop Casey’s concluding words of gratitude which he shared in both Spanish and English.

Archbishop Casey’s inauguration homily emphasized the rich symbolism of the occasion, combining personal anecdote with rich theological reflection. Drawing upon the legacy of St. Peter the Apostle and his own growth in discipleship, the new Archbishop began by describing his difficulty learning to swim as a young boy. “Attempting to float” in the shallow end of the pool, he explained, he instead sunk “like a rock.” Coughing up water, young Robert looked ruefully toward his older brother in the deep end, diving off the high board to the adulation of all those around him. Gradually learning to swim—and making his way to the deep end of the pool—serves as a metaphor for Archbishop Casey’s growth in his own discipleship with Christ, and encouragement for ours.

In the Gospel of St. Matthew, Jesus told his apostle Simon that henceforth he would be known as “Peter,” the anglicized version of the Greek word for stone, “petra” (Mt. 16:18). “Upon this rock,” Jesus declared, “I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.” Thus did Jesus establish the office of the bishop (Greek: “episcopos”), the living magisterium through which God guides his Church into the fullness of truth. While we rightfully think of the Bishop of Rome as the successor to the See of Peter, every bishop stands in succession to St. Peter and the other apostle-bishops to whom Jesus granted spiritual authority (Mt. 18:18). Thus, all bishops are participants in the united apostolic and episcopal ministry of St. Peter.

Preaching from the ambo of St. Peter’s cathedral, Archbishop Casey built upon the image of St. Peter as a rock to draw out a lovely extended metaphor. “What confidence Jesus had in Simon Peter,” the archbishop exclaimed, “that Peter would have the strength and stamina, the resolution and the resolve, to bear the weight of the Church.” As Jesus entrusted the care of the Church to St. Peter the rock, so he extends that trust to Peter’s successors to bear the heavy burden caring for souls.

Yet, Archbishop Casey reminded the hushed congregation, St. Peter was very far from perfect. He denied knowing Jesus, for example, and fled from the crucifixion to take shelter in Galilee (Mk. 16:7). And, like the young Robert Casey, Peter sometimes sunk like a rock. As recounted in Matthew 14, when his eyes of faith looked away from Jesus, Peter began to flounder in the waves of the Sea of Galilee. Only after his eyes were refocused on the Savior was Peter able to rise to become a “living stone,” walking toward Jesus, rather than sinking away from Him like an inert rock. And thus, rising to the occasion, did Archbishop Casey weave together three biblical images from the life and letters of St. Peter, in whose Cathedral he preached and in whose chair he now sits.

Like the Church throughout the U.S., the Archdiocese of Cincinnati faces many challenges today. But with Jesus as the Cornerstone, and His bishops, priests, and laypeople as living stones, we have reason for hope and optimism. With his youth, vigor, and humble discipleship, we pray that Archbishop Robert G. Casey will find the strength and resolve to lead us forward so that we don’t sink in the shallow end, but swim confidently into the depths of faithful discipleship.