Bishop Andrew Cozzens, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, does not believe in coincidence. Consider a recent series of events.
He was ordained a bishop on Dec. 9, 2013, the transferred solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. He will be installed as bishop of the Diocese of Crookston on Dec. 6, the feast day of St. Nicholas, who was a bishop — and two days before the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
At a news conference in Crookston Oct. 18 following his appointment by Pope Francis — held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Crookston — Bishop Cozzens stood underneath the words, “I am the Immaculate Conception,” our Blessed Mother’s words to St. Bernadette.
“I believe that things don’t happen by accident, and that God reveals his plan in the way that things come about and the way things happen,” Bishop Cozzens said.
He received the call about his appointment from the papal nuncio on Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. “And of course, St. Francis was told by the Lord ‘go and rebuild my Church,’” he said. “So, I believe that that’s part of what God wants me to do in Crookston, is to help rebuild the Church there.”
Maria Wiering, editor-in-chief of The Catholic Spirit, recently interviewed Bishop Cozzens for an upcoming episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show to discuss the recent series of events and how his service to the archdiocese has prepared him for his new role in Crookston.
He is no stranger to Crookston and the surrounding area. Before Bishop Cozzens entered the seminary, he served from 1991 to 1992 as a team leader of NET (National Evangelization Teams) Ministries, a St. Paul-based traveling missionary outreach to youth. His first NET Ministries assignment was to the Crookston diocese. Among locations, the 11 people on his NET team spent time in Crookston; Barnesville, the southern border of the diocese; Warroad, the northern tip of the diocese, on Lake of the Woods; Moorhead; and East Grand Forks.
“So, it was beautiful for me to go back to those places, and the memories come back too,” he said. He is grateful that, for many of the locations, it won’t be the first time he visits, he said.
Bishop Cozzens is also grateful for what he learned during his service to the archdiocese, from what’s important “as we go forward as a Church” to learning how to be a good leader. “I’ve certainly learned from Archbishop (Bernard) Hebda the importance of consultation and involving people in decision-making. He’s so very good at that.”
He also learned the importance of making sure “you do what you say you’re going to do, and that you don’t say something if you’re not going to do it — just making sure that, as a leader, you can be received as a person of authenticity, and as a person of humility and even vulnerability.”
Other experiences that will be valuable in his future role, he said, include his work in strengthening Catholic education and schools, evangelization and the Archdiocesan Synod process, and assigning and helping priests be strengthened in their ministry and ongoing formation.
“So, I do feel grateful … that I have a lot of experience, and I’ve seen a lot and experienced a lot here that I know will serve me in the future,” he said.
To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show. It airs at 9 p.m. Oct. 29, 1 p.m. Oct. 30 and 2 p.m. Oct. 31 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Father Kyle Kowalczyk and Angela Cahill, who preview Miss the Boat Theatre’s latest offering, “Moonshine Abbey: A Musical,” and Father Michael Van Sloun, who offers insight on All Saints’ Day.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at
