ST. CLOUD - With a knock at the door Bishop Donald Kettler was welcomed into the Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud Wednesday evening.

The service began with Kettler standing outside St. Mary's Cathedral, he knocked to enter the church, then was greeted to a standing room only church of parishioners.

In his homily, Kettler talked a lot about 11 years he spent as Bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska.

He says "the challenges of ministering in the far north are daunting".

He also says his time there "taught him in a vivid multicultural way we are all one people under God"

He says when he got the call to come to St. Cloud he was "flattered, excited, humbled, and certainly nervous".

A Mass of Installation, by invitation only, will be held at 2:00 p.m. today (Thursday) at St. Mary's Cathedral.  After that, he'll hold a blessing of the city and the Diocese on the steps of the church. And there will be a reception for Bishop Kettler immediately after the blessing, and running until about 6:00 p.m. at St. Paul's Church.

Pope Francis announced Kettler’s appointment in September.

Kettler is taking over for Bishop John Kinney, who had led the Diocese since 1995.

Kettler is 69 years old.

Bishops Kettler and Kinney, Photo by WJON.com's Jim Maurice
Bishops Kettler and Kinney, Photo by WJON.com's Jim Maurice
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Bishop John Kinney, Photo by WJON.com's Jim Maurice
Bishop John Kinney, Photo by WJON.com's Jim Maurice
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