Representatives of the Diocese of Peterborough were approaching the ordination ceremony in Pembroke with rather mixed emotions.

“I was hoping for Monsignor Mulhall to stay another couple of years,” admits Bishop Nicola De Angelis with a chuckle.

“He will make a great bishop,” the Peterborough diocesan leader quickly adds.

Bishop De Angelis can readily list the attributes of the new bishop of Pembroke.

“He’s very respectful, intelligent, very clear in his planning,” he says. “He can apply the canon law with a pastoral touch and compassion.”

And if our new bishop has one weakness, it is only to be found in the strength of the coffee he brews. Bishop De Angelis reports that he will not miss having to clean out the mountains of coffee grounds Bishop Mulhall regularly used.

Father Raymond Rick will be stepping into Bishop Mulhall’s role as vicar general of the Peterborough Diocese. The duties include managing the day-to-day operations of the diocese — a post somewhat equivalent to a chief executive officer in the business world.

Father Rick admits to being a bit intimidated in taking up Bishop Mulhall’s job.

“He’s able to keep a lot of things in mind at once,” he says, noting that he too would have preferred to keep Bishop Mulhall in Peterborough.

“I consider him to be one of my better personal friends,” Father Rick says, explaining that they first met in Rome around 1990 when Bishop Mulhall was a student in the North American College there.

The qualities that make him a good friend include his intelligence, his fun-loving and easy-going nature, and his droll sense of humour.

As a fellow priest, Bishop Mulhall’s finest qualities include his strong sense of the church’s tradition and history.

Bishop Mulhall will make responsible decisions following much thought and prayer, Father Rick predicts. “He takes his time to ponder matters carefully,” he says.

“When he’s made a decision, you know that he will do it because it’s good and he’s thought about it,” agrees a fellow priest who knows Bishop Mulhall well.