December 27, 2005

Father Choby "honored and humbled' to be bishop

Andy Telli and Theresa Laurence, Tennessee Register

When David R. Choby was introduced on Tuesday, Dec. 20, as the Bishop-elect of Nashville to more than 200 friends from throughout the diocese who had gathered in the Cathedral of the Incarnation’s Fleming Center for the announcement, they rose to their feet and showered him with warm applause and wide smiles.

Pope Benedict XVI had elevated one of their own to be their new shepherd.

Father Choby will be ordained as the 11th Bishop of Nashville on Feb. 27, 2006, at the Cathedral, the church of his childhood.

“I am truly honored and humbled by this appointment,” Father Choby said. “I will do my best to respond to the confidence that Pope Benedict places in me.”

Father Choby, 58, is a native of Nashville and is currently serving as diocesan administrator and pastor of St. John Vianney Church in Gallatin. He is only the second priest of the Diocese of Nashville to be tapped as its bishop; the others have all come from outside the diocese.

The diocese includes 38 counties in Middle Tennessee and has approximately 75,000 Catholics in 51 parishes and three missions.

“Nashville is my home. It is a growing, exciting city,” Father Choby said at the announcement of his appointment. “I am looking forward to my involvement with the whole community, and I am proud to be the bishop of such a vibrant city.”

Praise for the new bishop came from many quarters, including Bishop Edward Kmiec of Buffalo, N.Y., the man Father Choby will follow as the Bishop of Nashville.

“I am grateful and personally elated at the choice of Father David R. Choby to serve as the 11th bishop of Nashville,” Bishop Kmiec said in a written statement. “I came to know Father Choby well during my tenure as bishop of Nashville, and I know him as one endowed with wonderful qualities of priestliness and pastoral zeal which he will now bring to his new office and ministry as bishop of Nashville.”

Beside Father Choby when he was introduced as the Bishop-elect of Nashville were Bishop Terry Steib of Memphis and Bishop Joseph Kurtz of Knoxville.

“The people of Memphis join me in offering congratulations to Bishop-Elect Choby,” Bishop Steib said in a written statement. “I look forward to working with Bishop-Elect Choby so that together we can continue to proclaim the Good News throughout the State of Tennessee.”

“I think it’s great news,” Bishop Steib said after the announcement. “I’m pleased for the people of Nashville. I believe he can serve the people very well.”

As Father Choby’s ordination nears, Bishop Steib warned his new brother bishop with a smile to “get ready for the roller coaster ride.”

Bishop Kurtz said he was not surprised by Father Choby’s appointment. “I have seen, especially over the last year, the many gifts of Father Choby. The diocese of Nashville is very blessed.”

In a written statement, Bishop Kurtz congratulated Father Choby on his appointment: “God has blessed him with intelligence, courage, and wisdom – gifts that will serve him well in the episcopal life and ministry that he embraces.”

“I couldn’t be happier,” with having a hometown bishop, said Bishop James Niedergeses, the retired ninth Bishop of Nashville. “I’m very pleased because we know what we’ve got – a holy, competent, committed person.

“It’s by the grace of God that he is here. The Holy Spirit never makes mistakes.”

“I have observed his skills as a pastor and a teacher … he is dedicated and will spare no effort.” Bishop Niedergeses said that Father Choby was “broken in” by serving as diocesan administrator for 14 months and that “he understands the office and duties of bishop.”

Originally from Lawrenceburg, Tenn., Bishop Niedergeses was appointed bishop of Nashville in 1975 and served in the position until 1992. He said a bishop must “always be looking for the common good of the church and serve the diocese with a vision of the universal church.”

Father Choby has learned much in his 14 months as diocesan administrator, said Father David Perkin, vicar general of the diocese. “It was a real eye-opener for him to have to address the variety of issues that come before the chief administrator of a diocese.”

But in that role, Father Choby exhibited “a real gentle spirit, a calm personality and a real pastoral zeal to what he does,” Father Perkin said. “I’ve come to really admire and respect his personality and skills that he makes so readily available.”

Hans Broekman, principal of Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, first came to know Father Choby as a member of the search committee that hired him and later as a member of the school’s board of directors.

“Father Choby has a really profound understanding of the church as the mystical body of Christ,” Broekman said.

The bishop-elect has an “unflinching loyalty to the Church and its teaching,” Broekman said, but he also is blessed with a personal touch. “He loves people, and people love him.”

Jim McIntyre, principal of Father Ryan High School in Nashville, Father Choby’s alma mater, said the appointment is “good news for everyone in Nashville.”

“It’s been evident to me from the first time I met him that he understood the importance of Catholic education and was willing to support it both in word and deeds,” McIntyre said. “And that’s very important to us.”

Father Choby had a full schedule of appearances and events on the day of the announcement.

It started with the 7 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral. Seeing the people in the pews, he said at the end of the Mass, reminded him of the inspiration he drew as a child seeing the people who attended Mass daily at the Cathedral.

“My firmest grounding of faith is in my recollections of people much like yourself at those Masses,” Father Choby said. “You’re very important to me as God’s people.”

Mass was followed by a meeting of a veterans prayer group at the Cathedral and the announcement. Hundreds of people greeted and congratulated him between interviews with the television and newspaper reporters.

After the announcement, Father Choby stopped at a gathering of his Father Ryan classmates, where he received another standing ovation.

Father Choby also visited the Christmas luncheon for the employees of Catholic Charities of Tennessee, the daycare students at St. Mary’s Villa and the residents of the Mary, Queen of Angels assisted living facility.

The Bishop-elect also spent time with his close friend Msgr. George Rohling, at 93 the oldest priest in the diocese.

After dinner with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation, Father Choby ended the day by celebrating the annual Overbrook School Advent Mass.

“I think the diocese is really blessed,” to have Father Choby appointed bishop, said Mother Rose Marie, prioress general of the Dominican Sisters. She said that Father Choby, who attended Aquinas College and who had two cousins who were Dominican nuns, “has always been loyal to our congregation and to religious in general.”

“He is a fine priest and he will make a fine bishop.”

Father Choby was ordained to the priesthood Sept. 6, 1974, by Bishop Joseph A. Durick and has served a number of assignments in the Diocese of Nashville. He was associate pastor at St. Joseph Parish, Madison, administrator of St. Ann Parish, and spent three years in residence at Christ the King Parish while working at the diocesan tribunal. In 1989 he was appointed pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Gallatin, where he has been active in the community and in the local ministerial association.

Father Choby holds a Canon Law degree and has worked at the diocesan tribunal throughout most of his priesthood. He was on the faculty of The Pontifical College Josephinum, a seminary in Columbus, Ohio between 1984 and 1989. He currently serves on the seminary’s board.

He has served two five-year terms on the diocese’s Presbyteral Council and College of Consultors.

Father Choby is the son of Raymond and Rita Choby, both deceased. He has one sister, Diane C. Dyche of Fort Worth, Texas.

“I have much to be thankful for,” Father Choby said during the announcement of his appointment. “The Lord has touched my life through so many wonderful people, many of whom are here this morning. I am never unmindful of the graces that have come to me through all of you.”

Homepage photo by Rick Musacchio, Tennessee Register: Msgr. George Rohling pats Father David Choby on the head after Father Choby told him of his appointment as bishop of Nashville. Father Choby visited Msgr. Rohling several hours after his appointment was announced. Msgr. Rohling at 93 is the oldest priest of the diocese.

Top photo by Rick Musacchio, Tennessee Register: On the day his appointment as the 11th Bishop of Nashville was announced, Father David Choby visited with his classmates at Father Ryan High School, who meet regularly for lunch. Father Choby was greeted by a standing ovation from his fellow alums.

Second photo by Theresa Laurence, Tennessee Register: Father David Choby greets Mother Rose Marie Masserano, O.P., prioress general of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation, just before a press conference announcing his appointment as 11th Bishop of Nashville.

Bishop Joseph Kurtz, left, of Knoxville and Bishop Terry Steib, right, of Memphis, congratulate Father David R. Choby after his appointment as the next Bishop of Nashville was announced. Photo by Andy Telli	Father David Choby gets a hug from Helen Mills, whose family attends St. John Vianney Parish in Gallatin. Photo by Theresa Laurence
The two natives of the Diocese of Nashville who have been appointed as its bishop: Bishop James Niedergeses, left, and Father David Choby. Photo by Theresa Laurence	A student from Overbrook School presents a prayer bouquet to Father Choby in honor of his appointment as the new Bishop of Nashville. The presentation was made at the end of the Overbrook Family Advent Mass, which was held on the same day Father Choby’s appointment was announced. Photo by Andy Telli
Father David Choby talks to students from Father Ryan High School and the school’s principal, Jim McIntyre, after his appointment as the next Bishop of Nashville was announced. Father Choby is a graduate of Father Ryan. Photo by Andy Telli	Father David Choby visits with a classroom full of young students during a visit to the St. Mary Villa campus on Dec. 20. St. Mary Villa Child Development Center is a sliding-scale day care center operated by the Diocese of Nashville. Photo by Theresa Laurence
Father David Choby, bishop-elect of Nashville, was presented with a gift of a zucchetto, the small, round skullcap worn by bishops, at the end of a Mass at the Catholic Center. The gift of the zucchetto and the cord for the bishop-elect’s pectoral cross were from the employees of the diocesan Chancery office. Photo by Rick Musacchio