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BOSTON -- Continuing thousands of years of church tradition going back to the Apostles, Archbishop Richard G. Henning was installed as the 10th bishop and seventh archbishop of Boston in a grand Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston on Oct. 31.

The cathedral was at full capacity with 1,400 guests, including over 50 bishops from across the U.S. and almost 500 priests representing the Archdiocese of Boston, as well as Archbishop Henning's previous dioceses of Providence, Rhode Island, and Rockville Centre, New York. Ecumenical and interfaith leaders, including Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston, also attended, as did secular officials such as Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

As is tradition, the Mass began with Archbishop Henning knocking three times on the cathedral door and being welcomed inside by his predecessor, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, and the cathedral's rector, Msgr. Kevin O'Leary. Surrounded by priests and bishops, Archbishop Henning was presented with a crucifix, which he kissed. He then sprinkled holy water on the clergy present in the vestibule before the entrance procession began. Along with the priests, deacons, bishops, and religious, Knights of Columbus, Knights of Peter Claver, Knights and Dames of Malta, and Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulcher joined the procession. Music throughout the Mass was provided by the Archdiocesan Festival Choir and Brass, Black Catholic Choir, Haitian Community Choir, Lithuanian Choir, and the Redemptoris Mater Seminary Choir.

Before Mass began, Cardinal O'Malley introduced Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., who read the papal bull, the official document from Pope Francis naming Archbishop Henning as Boston's shepherd.

"On behalf of the Holy Father, thank you for your closeness to God's people as a bishop, and for your pledge to continue to express this closeness in your new ministry in the Archdiocese of Boston," Cardinal Pierre said before reading the bull. "I am confident that your experiences as a pastor and leader will help you in your mission here, but even more fundamentally, what will guide you is what you have come to know from your own encounter with God."

After Cardinal Pierre read the bull, the assembly applauded in approval. Cardinal Pierre then presented the bull to Archbishop Henning. Archbishop Henning presented the bull to the Archbishop of Boston's College of Consultors, continuing an ancient tradition in which the papal seal would be inspected to prove that the document was genuine. Once the College of Consultors approved the bull, Archbishop Henning joyfully presented it to the assembly, who applauded vociferously. When Archbishop Henning returned to the altar, Cardinal O'Malley handed him the archbishop's crozier and Archbishop Henning sat in the cathedra, or bishop's chair. With that action, Archbishop Henning officially became Archbishop of Boston, and received a standing ovation. He then greeted the ecumenical and interfaith representatives who had come to the installation and began celebrating the Mass. Representing the diversity of the diocese, which Archbishop Henning was to lead, the first reading was proclaimed in Portuguese and the second was proclaimed in Haitian Creole.

Archbishop Henning did not preach his homily behind the ambo, but instead stood in full view before the altar. The homily, which he delivered without a prepared text, began with two simple words: "I believe."

"Since the announcement back in August, people have been asking me about me," he said, "all kinds of questions about my opinions, my personality traits, my history."

He joked that the most common question was whether he was a Red Sox fan, and said that he wanted to use his first homily as archbishop to "talk a little bit about what I believe, what we believe, as the people of God."

He said that referring to God as the creator is "a somewhat scandalous thing to say, given the world in which we live."

"We give praise to God who is faithful, because the truth is, we are not," he said. "We are mere mortal creatures, sinners all. We have failed in our fidelity to the Lord and yet he remains ever faithful to us, this God who longs to redeem us, to save us from sin, from death, from ourselves."

He said that it seems "crazy" that an omnipotent and eternal God wants to be partnered with his flawed, finite creation, "but it's right there in the Scriptures."

"This God, who is love, who is all-powerful, who is the creator, who is faithful, draws near to us in a relationship, in partnership," he said. "This, I believe. And I believe that that relationship is deeply personal. Not in the usual cultural sense of individuals, or me and Jesus against the world, but in the sense that, when God desires to fully reveal his heart to his human family, he does so in a person."

He compared God sacrificing his son Jesus to the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham in the Old Testament. However, unlike Isaac, Jesus was not spared his sacrifice on the cross.

"There will be no substitute," he said. "His very life's blood will pour out for us. And so, we believe that what God did not demand of Abraham, God gives for us a personal relationship."

Despite being unworthy, the archbishop said, Jesus gives "the gift of the spirit" to guide the faithful.

"This I believe," he said. "I hope you do, too, but I wonder if we believe these truly extraordinary and radical things, doesn't that mean something?"

He quoted a phrase used by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor who was imprisoned and killed by the Nazis due to his opposition to the Holocaust: "The cost of discipleship."

"If you and I stand up in church every Sunday and say 'I believe,' then we also have to know that faith, that belief, finds its true expression in the living of it, as John's Gospel teaches by ever and always using the word as a verb," Archbishop Henning said. "Faith is not just a list of beliefs. It's not just a feeling. It is a whole life."

The archbishop said that God provides consolation and strength, but he also requires that his faithful challenge themselves and be transformed by their beliefs. This demands worship, humility, and seeing every human being as a brother or sister. "Fratelli tutti," as Pope Francis says.

"That solidarity is linked to the truth of compassion," he said, "for God demands of us and our relationship with him that we be compassionate to one another, that we seek to help and to heal one another."

He used an image that Pope Francis is fond of using, describing the church as a field hospital. However, in that hospital, there is only one doctor: Jesus.

"The rest of us are patients, all in need of healing, solidarity, compassion," he said.

As an example, he pointed to the Archdiocese of Boston, which he described as "a wounded church," referring to the clergy sexual abuse crisis that loomed over Cardinal O'Malley when he became archbishop in 2003.

Archbishop Henning described "sins against the innocent," which still scar the church despite "a passionate effort to protect the vulnerable."

"And we owe a debt of gratitude to victim-survivors who tell their story," he said, "for they have helped to protect new generations by their courage and by their prophetic truth-telling to us. And in their living of the faith, in their capacity for compassion and solidarity and love of neighbor, they become for us hope in the midst of the world, a light in the darkness."

It is a challenge that will not be easy, he said, but with God's grace, it won't be as hard.

"I know at the start of my journey here with you that there will be many things that are difficult to come," he said. "There'll be many challenges. I'm sure there'll be days when we'll have a hard time, I'll be exhausted."

However, he said, even on the darkest days, Christ's truth will still be present in the Gospel and the Eucharist.

He ended his homily by asking the assembly: "What do you believe?"

At the end of Mass, Archbishop Henning expressed his gratitude to God, Pope Francis, Cardinal Pierre, Cardinal O'Malley, and his "brothers," his fellow bishops.

"I certainly want to give you thanks personally for your kindness to me and encouragement," Archbishop Henning told Cardinal O'Malley, "but I think it's also important to say yet again, I know you've heard this many times in the last few months, how grateful this church is to you and beyond. The quality of your ministry has always been a truly humble gift of yourself for the sake of others. It has been compassionate, it has been gentle, and it has been truly biblical and authentic to the faith."

He said that Cardinal O'Malley's ministry serves as a foundation that he will build upon as archbishop.

"I rejoice to see the love of these people for you," he said. "It tells me that this is a church full of faith, and it tells me about the quality and goodness of your own ministry."

The cardinal received a standing ovation that lasted almost two minutes.

Archbishop Henning said that he would rely on Boston's priests to carry out his ministry.

"I'm just really grateful to God for the gift of you and the gift of your presence here, and all our brothers," he said.

He asked the seminarians and novices to stand and be recognized. He told them that even if he knew all of the challenges that he would face as a priest when he was ordained in 1992, he would say yes again.

"I think I would say yes again with even more joy, because I know the grace of priesthood," he said. "My most sincere prayer for you, our seminarians, is that God will complete the good work that he has begun in you. I am grateful for your response to the call of the Lord."

He told the young people in the assembly, and watching the installation on CatholicTV, to discern the possibility that they are being called to priesthood or religious life.

"We need you," he said. "We need you for the mission of the church. It is difficult work, but it is work that makes a difference in the world, and it is a work that brings great graces."

He also expressed his gratitude to the archdiocese's Hispanic and Portuguese communities in their respective languages.

"To the people of this city and its region," he said, "I am so very grateful for the privilege, the blessing, and the grace of being a part of this great city, this region with its wonderful history, its wonderful diversity of people, its many talents and gifts. It's an extraordinary place, and I feel blessed to be now a part of it."

Finally, he thanked his family and friends, especially his parents, Richard and Maureen Henning.

"I'm so very proud to be your son," he told them.

Both were present at the installation and received a standing ovation from the assembly.

"Thank you for that," he told the assembly. "They deserve it. They are the best of people."

Since the installation took place on Oct. 31, he wished the assembly a happy Halloween. Missionaries from FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) stood at the cathedral doors, handing out candy to those exiting Mass.

After Mass, there was a reception held in Archbishop Henning's honor at SoWa Open Market on Harrison Street, a block away from the cathedral. Priests and religious walked the streets alongside people in Halloween costumes to get to the reception, where a long line of people were waiting to greet Archbishop Henning and be photographed with him. Archbishop Henning's family and friends were among them.

Maggie Killeen, who has been a friend of the Hennings since 2005, said she wasn't surprised to see Archbishop Henning become the leader of Boston's church.

"When we were in the cathedral, I felt like we were in heaven," she told The Pilot. "I felt so blessed to be able to come."

Archbishop Henning has officiated at three of her children's weddings.

"He's holy, very eloquent, and he's very compassionate and inclusive of people as well," she said.

Christine Glynn is the principal of St. Patrick School in Bayshore, New York. Archbishop Henning was once the pastor of St. Patrick Parish and had a close relationship to the school.

"He's just a kind, sincere minister," she told The Pilot. "He meets everyone where they're at, and I think he's really, really good at accompanying people."

She has often looked to him for advice or encouragement on how to be an effective leader.

"I think he was always very open-minded, and he always was reaching out to the communities to make them feel included, like the Spanish communities," she said, adding: "I think we always saw that he was destined for a role like this."

Brian Gardner, also a parishioner at St. Patrick's, described Archbishop Henning as "a pastor at heart."

"His devotion to serving the people of God is unmatched," he told The Pilot. "Combined with a brilliant mind, it's a unique combination. He's able to connect with people and teach people and love people in a very unique way."

He said that he and others in the Diocese of Rockville Centre envisioned that Archbishop Henning would end up leading an archdiocese like Boston.

"I think Boston has a winner," he said.