It is no longer a secret in Detroit that Adam Cardinal Maida, the oldest serving Prince of the Church in the US, will soon be getting on in retirement, something he has longed for. Several times since Cardinal Maida turned 75, the rumor mill buzzed about potential replacements, then fell silent. In August 2006, it was thought that Abp John J. Myers of Newark would get the helm in Detroit, then that faded. More recent speculations included Bishop Wenski of Orlando, Florida. My own speculation, based on nothing scientific, other than a gut hunch, is that it could be Bishop Allen Vigneron of Oakland, CA - a former rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary here in Detroit. With all of this speculation, Divine Justice will probably grace us with someone totally unexpected and relatively unknown.
There has even been speculation on the date, with many thinking we would hear something by the time Pope Benedict XVI visited the US several weeks ago. However, as I watched the ordinations this past Saturday, it made sense that we had heard nothing. Even if it had nothing to do with awaiting Detroit ordinations, somewhere out there, a new bishop, Detroit-bound, may have unfinished business. We'll simply have to wait.....
Detroit isn't the only place waiting. As Rocco Palmo writes with regards to Cardinal Egan: In Big Apple, the Drumbeat Begins
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