Father Brian Welding is one of the many participants who traveled great miles to celebrate the ordination of Bishop Michael Mulhall.

As he prepared to make the journey from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Father Welding reflected on a friendship that has spanned two decades since the two young men met in seminary at the North American College in Rome.

“I recognized right away that he was a man of prayer,” Father Welding recalls.

“He has a wonderful theological formation,” he adds. “He always had a great love for the priesthood.”

Father Welding also describes a man who is keenly interested in the world around him. Bishop Mulhall developed a great interest in European history during his time in Rome. He loved to read about the lives of those who had lived there before him, including the biographies of the Popes who had led the Catholic Church throughout the years. He also took a great interest in the church of the Middle Ages and the post-reformation period.

In Canada, he pursued an equally avid interest in the history of the early missionaries who traveled this country. He has already noted to friends that he will be living on one of those earliest missionary routes that carried the Jesuits to Canada’s native populations.

“He certainly appreciates the Canadian countryside and the beauty of nature,” Father Welding says.

The bishop’s love of the outdoors promises to make his time in the Pembroke Diocese very enjoyable. Downhill skiing is another leisure activity he can pursue within the diocese.

Father Welding is quick to note that Bishop Mulhall’s love of books, academics and the outdoors does not keep him from being a “people person”.

“He’s a serious person in many ways, and at the same time he likes life and enjoys people,” Father Welding comments. “He’s not pretentious in any way. There is not a pretentious bone in his body.”

And finally, Father Welding confidently predicts that Bishop Mulhall will be a thoughtful and dependable leader of the church.

“He is a man who knows the needs of the church and has a sense of the needs of the future,” he concludes. “I would describe him as a man of vision, a very thoughtful man.”