St. Benedict Catholic Church, Duluth, MN

Archbishop Hebda, Most Reverend Bishops, my brother priests, deacons, religious sisters, dignitaries and members of various ecclesial communities, and my brothers and sisters in Christ, on behalf of my brother John, and sister Cathy, and my mother Helen, we want to thank you all for your outpouring of love and support to us in this our time of loss and also, for the honor you have paid to our brother by your presence here today. It means a great deal to us all.

I know that all of us here were stunned to learn that Bishop Paul had died this past Sunday. In fact, many of you have told me that when you learned of his death, you said there must be some mistake. It must be someone else who had died. Others have told me that they heard the words being said to them, but the words didn’t register.

On Dec. 4, Father James B. Bissonette, pastor of St. Raphael Catholic Church in Duluth and St. Rose Catholic Church in Proctor, was elected as diocesan administrator for the Diocese of Duluth.

Father James Bissonette

We anticipate that many mourners, both from the Diocese of Duluth and from outside of our diocese, will wish to attend our beloved Bishop Paul Sirba’s funeral Friday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, and that the resulting crowd may well far exceed the available seating at the Cathedral. Therefore we are grateful to announce that WDIO-TV has graciously offered to have the liturgy livestreamed on the Internet, making it accessible to all across the region and beyond who wish to see it.

The stream will be available on WDIO.com.