Shortly after Pope Benedict XVI was elected by the College of Cardinals, the Archbishop of Washington, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, sent his letter of retirement to the Vatican. This is something that bishops are required to do when they turn 75, and the Pope accepted the resignation and soon nominated a successor. The Bishop of Pittsburgh, Donald W. Wuerl, was appointed to be the new leader of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Washington last month. Yesterday, the new archbishop was officially installed in that office during a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson, Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, and Senators John Kerry and Edward Kennedy were in attendance, and the Post covered it in some detail, even noting that Sen. Kerry received communion.

I had a bird’s eye view of the event, because I was singing with the choir of the National Shrine yesterday for this marathon service. The pictures here were taken from the upper church’s east chancel gallery, where the Shrine Choir joined with members of the choir of St. Matthew’s Cathedral, which is the archbishop’s official episcopal seat, and a brass ensemble. As you can see in the top picture, the ceremony was witnessed by a large portion of the American Catholic hierarchy, including several but not all of the American cardinals, a gaggle of bishops and archbishops, and even some leaders from the Orthodox community. If you are not Catholic (and even if you are), this event may not mean anything to you. However, past archbishops of Washington have been influential figures, both with the political leadership of the city and that of the federal government. Also, they have great hats.