Solemn Mass of Installation for new Bishop of Providence. Ceremonial features, reception.

A Solemn Mass of Installation for His Excellency Most Reverend Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R. as the Tenth Bishop of Providence will be held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 2 pm at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, in downtown Providence.

A Solemn Mass of Installation will be celebrated welcoming His Excellency, Most Reverend Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., as the tenth Bishop of Providence on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Providence. The principal celebrant will be Most Reverend Christopher J. Coyne, Metropolitan Archbishop of Hartford; Bishop Lewandowski will be the homilist.

The Solemn Mass of Installation will begin with a Prelude Concert at 1 p.m., procession into the cathedral will begin at 1:30 p.m., and Holy Mass begins at 2 p.m.

The order of events for Mass are as follows:

Bishop Lewandowski will knock on the front doors of the Cathedral and be welcomed by Archbishop Coyne.

After a brief Rite of Reception at the rear of the Cathedral, he and the other prelates present will process to the altar.

Archbishop Coyne will open Mass and extend words of welcome.

Archbishop Coyne will introduce Monsignor John Paul Pedrera, representative of the Apostolic Nunciature to the United States and the Diplomatic Mission of the Holy See and of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, who will greet the local Church and will read an English translation of the Apostolic Mandate issued (in Latin) by His Late Holiness Pope Francis appointing Bishop Lewandowski as Bishop of Providence.

Monsignor Pedrera will ask Bishop Lewandowski if he accepts the mandate.

After his affirmation, the Apostolic Mandate will then be shown to the College of Consultors, which is a group of appointed priests who collaborate closely with the Bishop on administrative and pastoral matters in the diocese. The inspection of the Apostolic Mandate by the Consultors is the official moment of the commencement of his ministry as the tenth Bishop of Providence.

The Bishop receives the crosier—a symbol of his role as shepherd of the local church—and he then sits in the cathedra, the chair symbolizing his office.

Various representatives of the diocese will then greet the new bishop at the cathedra. Mass will follow in the usual way from this point. 

See the full program for an outline of the Order of Mass.

The Solemn Mass of Installation will be livestreamed from the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul beginning at 1 p.m. on the diocesan YouTube channel, https://provd.io/live. It will be broadcast (tape delay) on national cable television via EWTN at 7 p.m. Eastern.

A public reception for Bishop Lewandowski will follow the Cathedral Mass and be held at the Omni Hotel Providence from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Important parking/shuttle details for the public are available at dioceseofprovidence.org/may20.