Reflecting on his first year as a bishop and an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Bishop Michael Izen recalled a bright and joyful ordination day, shaking hands with Pope Francis in Rome and helping people spiritually. He also shared some upcoming responsibilities. This April 10 interview has been edited for clarity and length. Listen to the interview as a TCS Podcast at TheCatholicSpirit.com/Podcasts.

Q) Bishop Izen, thank you for joining us at The Catholic Spirit and the Office of Communications. Well, I’ve got to ask you, what did you do to celebrate the first anniversary of your April 11, 2023, ordination?

A) Well, not a whole lot. My parish (St. Francis of Assisi in Lake St. Croix Beach) did have a little coffee and donuts after Mass this morning (April 10). That’s not unusual for Wednesday, but they had German chocolate cake, which is one of my favorite cakes. So, somebody did their homework. I wouldn’t normally have that at 10 in the morning, but …

Q) Do you remember the day of your ordination?

A) Of course, yeah. It was amazing. Obviously, there was a lot building up to that. The announcement was in January and then the anniversary is April 11. But I remember a full Cathedral (of St. Paul in St. Paul). It was a bright day and a lot of joy. It was amazing and surreal in some ways that there was so much joy in that Cathedral. And I was the only person getting ordained!

Q) I do recall the apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre — who is now a cardinal — commenting that you were kind of nervous going into the bishop’s role. How do you feel now, a year later?

A) Well, yes, he’s the one who gave me the call. He got my first reaction. And yeah, it was, “I never would have seen it coming.” That’s a lot more responsibility, a lot more stress. Am I really called to this? I would say after one year, I can honestly say it has been a joy, and certainly, a lot less stressful than I feared. Maybe that’s because I’m not in charge of a diocese yet. The pressures aren’t where they will be someday. But it’s been good.

Q) We certainly have been blessed on our side, so thank you. I know that in January you spoke with the “Practicing Catholic” radio show about your first year and “bishop’s school” in Rome and at least briefly meeting with the pope. What was that like?

A) This is the first Holy Father that I met. I was certainly looking forward to it. And I remember he spoke to us as a group, but all in Italian. When we were standing in line to meet him, I said, “I hope he speaks a little English, because I want to know what he says to me.” Well, he did speak just a little English. I had 10 to 15 seconds with him.

Q) Do you remember what he said?

A) I first thanked him for appointing me as auxiliary bishop of St. Paul, Minneapolis. And he said something like, “Aah, St. Paul …” like he knew exactly where the diocese is — or he had heard of St. Paul before. I thought he probably recognized the name of the diocese, but I’m not sure. But he said that, and then he told me to pray for him. I said, of course. Which is easy — we pray for him at every Mass. It was a great moment.

Q) You share auxiliary bishop duties with Bishop Williams, and you both work with Archbishop Hebda. How is that working relationship?

A) Two great men, as you know. I’ve known Bishop Joseph since I started seminary … since 1998. And of course, like most of the archdiocese, I’ve known the archbishop since 2015. I would say the archbishop serves that role as a father, I would say, wonderfully, which I think all the priests in the archdiocese appreciate. But when you become auxiliary bishop, you appreciate it even more because you’ve got someone who you can lean on and who’s going to help you with any questions. He’s been great as far as being a supportive and a fatherly figure. And then as you might guess Bishop Joseph would be more like a brother. We’re both auxiliaries. He’d be a big brother because he’s been at it longer than I have. But they’re both so wise, and men of prayer.

Q) Have any particular responsibilities as a bishop come your way in this archdiocese?

A) “Practicing Catholic” asked that in January, and then the answer was more, “Maybe I’m kind of the catch-all guy.” Bishop Joseph, I don’t know his list, but he’s got a lot of particular concentrations, like the (Archdiocesan) Synod and Latino Ministry. … I really haven’t had that. I’ve been kind of more, “OK, this school would like a bishop to come” and I’m the guy. Or I go to (another) parish for a festival. … Now, more recently, I am the bishop who’s kind of working, as kind of the head of, the (National) Eucharistic Revival and procession as it goes through St. Paul, Minneapolis. … And then also — although I haven’t had much work in this area yet — with our 175th anniversary (as a diocese), the archbishop has hinted that he’d like me to the lead on some of that as well. Which is next year.

Q) And that’s a big one.

A) We’ll probably be talking more, you and me.

Q) I’m sure that’s right. I look forward to it. What has surprised you about your leadership role as a bishop?

A) I don’t know if I would say that it was a surprise, but I find it to be a challenge, is saying “no” to things or being double or triple booked. It’s kind of a stress that maybe I have to figure out how to deal with, because you wouldn’t think that would be a big problem. But sometimes it’s my biggest problem. I can’t do everything. That’s one thing that comes to mind.

Q) What’s been the most rewarding in this first year?

A) One of the graces that I’ve noticed is, how the Lord can work through me. It’s interesting because I remember even before I was ordained, when I was bishop-elect, it came to me in my prayer, that idea of being a little nervous and scared about being a bishop. But it came to me, well, of course I can’t do this by myself. But God can do it through me. So that gave me peace of mind. I’ve seen that happen a few times now, whether it’s in giving a talk and I say, “Well, that went pretty well. Who was THAT?”

I gave a talk about prayer, at Epiphany, I think that was in February. And then, a few weeks ago, I ran into a guy who was there. I remembered him because he was a young dad, and he came up and asked for a blessing with his wife and their newborn, and he said some very affirming words. He said, “Bishop Izen, I remember meeting you and you were so personable and kind and humble.” And he liked my talk. And I thanked him afterward. It’s nice to hear that you make some kind of impact. Little blessings that have been rewarding.

Q) A distinguishing feature for you and Bishop Williams is that you are a bishop and you’re pastor. How do you balance that?

A) It’s a challenge. (Monday is a day off, Tuesday is spent at the parish, Wednesday and Thursday at the archdiocese, Friday is a “catch-all” day, Saturday and Sunday are spent at the parish). I don’t have just one desk.

Q) So, right! Like, “where did I leave that one thing?”

A) I’ve got to move stuff around. I find even, between the parish office and when I’m home on Friday, the office is closed, so I’m usually working from my dining room table. And then I have a desk here at the archdiocese, so I have three home bases. You get a little scattered. I can go from a one-on-one meeting with my faith formation person, and then I’m off to a St. Thomas Academy (in Mendota Heights) board meeting, driving across the (Twin) Cities. And then today, I’m here at the archdiocese, with four meetings. Then you do bishop stuff that isn’t at any of these sites either.

Q) That’s a lot. We’re all focused — and should be — on implementing the archbishop’s pastoral letter, “You Will Be My Witnesses: Gathered and Sent From the Upper Room.” How are you playing into that as a bishop, but also as a pastor?

A) Good question. I don’t know if I have had to take on any more responsibility than a typical pastor would, although I think it’s easier for me to see the benefit of it because I’m close to Bishop Joseph, and I can see wisdom in what he’s doing and the wisdom of what the archbishop has handed down. Just in what we’re doing this year. Small groups.

One of the ways I support it as a pastor is in my preaching.  this past Easter Sunday — for whatever reason — it wasn’t really part of my initial notes. I usually script up a homily, but I found myself talking about how the whole Gospel message spreads, ever since the Resurrection. It’s by people who care about each other, communicating with each other. If you think of the Resurrection Gospels, there’s so many times where they recounted what had happened along the way, or they heard that the Lord had appeared to Simon, or Mary Magdalene says, “they’ve taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they put him.” All those things where the message of the Resurrection wasn’t immediately that everybody saw the risen Jesus. But they’re talking to people they trust who have, and they’re witnessing to it. I think that’s a big part of the wisdom of small groups.

Q) Well, thank you for your time. Is there anything you’d like to add?

A) It’s been good. God is good. I’d like to re-emphasize how grateful I am to see how he’s worked through me on some of those things where I would have doubted a year ago that I could do some of this.

Q) Would you close with a blessing for us? For the listeners and the readers.

A) Of course. All right. The Lord be with you. May Almighty God bless all of you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.