Getting ‘home-grown’ bishop pleasant surprise for Fort Worth Catholics

Bishop-designate Michael Olson will be installed bishop of Fort Worth on Jan. 29. Catholic News Service

Father Christopher Stainbrook still remembers the trepidation his parishioners felt when St. Timothy’s, an Anglican congregation, decided to join the Catholic Church as part of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

“People were unsure and feared leaving the familiar for the unknown,” the pastor explained about becoming part of the Houston-based ordinariate, one of several created by the Vatican for former Anglican groups and clergy seeking to become Catholic.

Then-Msgr. Michael F. Olson, who instructed parish members on the sacrament of confirmation, eased their anxiety.

“He made a whole room full of people feel relaxed and welcomed,” Father Stainbrook recalled. “My parishioners are going to be very happy that he’s their new bishop. He’s a teacher—a real people person.”

News that Pope Francis had chosen a priest ordained in the Diocese of Fort Worth to become its next bishop was greeted with surprise, joy and overwhelming approval. He succeeds Bishop Kevin W. Vann, who was named bishop of the Diocese of Orange, Calif., in September 2012.

As soon as the announcement was released Nov. 19, 2013 Patty Tucker’s phone chimed with text messages. Her brother, Bishop-designate Olson, is the first priest from the Diocese of Fort Worth to be named a bishop.

“I’m just so proud of what he’s accomplished with his life so far,” she told the North Texas Catholic, the diocese’s news magazine. “Knowing that he will be the bishop here, where I live, is a little surreal right now.”

Born on June 29, 1966 in Park Ridge, Ill., the bishop-designate is the eldest child and only son of Ronald and Janice Fetzer Olson. Two of his younger sisters, Tucker and Mary Elizabeth Rogers, reside in Fort Worth. A third sister, Lizbeth Schweizer, lives in Maryland.

“We were surprised and happy for him. He’s always enjoyed being a priest,” Ronald Olson said as the family gathered inside St. Patrick Cathedral for Mass celebrated by the newly named bishop. “Whatever they asked him to do, he loved. So I know he will like being a bishop—especially of Fort Worth.”

A very young Michael Olson told his parents he wanted to be a priest while still in grammar school. He was an altar boy for years but surprised his father when he chose to attend Quigley Preparatory Seminary in downtown Chicago for high school. After graduating in 1984, he began studying for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

When a corporate relocation moved his family to north Texas, the young seminarian transferred to the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth. The late Bishop Joseph P. Delaney, the second bishop of the diocese, ordained him to the priesthood in June 1994.

Having a priest in the family is an honor, Tucker said.

“He’ll be a great bishop,” she said. “One of his best assets is a sense of humor, but he also believes strongly in his faith. That’s something he’s had from a young age. He set a good example for us then, and he still does, especially for my children.”

Michael Heaton, Holy Trinity Seminary director of advancement, said the bishop-designate’s presence and example will be missed by the 74 young men attending seminary. He had been seminary rector since July 2008 and taught formation classes.

“The seminarians have a tremendous amount of respect for him. We’re losing a phenomenal person but everyone is very excited,” Heaton said. “Everyone knew this day would come. We just didn’t think it would be this soon.”

Heaton thinks one of the primary themes of the new bishop’s episcopacy will be vocations.

“Building up the priesthood in the diocese is something close to his heart,” he added. “It’s a passion of his.”

After celebrating noon Mass at the cathedral on the day of his appointment, Bishop-designate Olson toured the campus of Our Mother of Mercy School, a historically black Catholic school in southeast Fort Worth. The students greeted him with smiles and cheers. A banner, signed by the school’s 85 students, also welcomed him and Msgr. Stephen J. Berg, former diocesan vicar general who has been serving as diocesan administrator.

“We’re thrilled and feel very blessed,” said Principal Erin Vader, who got to know then-Msgr. Olson when he was pastor of St. Peter the Apostle and she was principal of the parish school.

Vader felt the visit was an indication of the bishop-designate’s commitment to children in general and Catholic education as a valuable tool of evangelization. The vast majority of youngsters attending the school are non-Catholic.

“I think he understood what we do involves the poor, the marginalized and people not always recognized by society. What we do is a mission,” Vader explained. “He’s a thoughtful man and his decision to come to this school certainly made an impression on the children and staff.”
Bishop-designate Olson will be installed on Jan 29.