The Basilica of the Sacred Heart, on the University of Notre Dame campus in South Bend, Ind., was filled to capacity March 18 for the ordination and consecration of the Rev. Edward Stuart Little II as the seventh Bishop of Northern Indiana. Family, friends and associates from the breadth of his ministry came to witness the laying on of hands.

On the day of the consecration, the feast of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, the collect asks God to "strengthen the bishops of your church in their special calling to be teachers and ministers of the sacraments." Bishop Little said he was "both challenged and daunted by this prayer" in comments published in the service booklet.

The Rt. Rev. Arthur B. Williams, Jr., Bishop Suffragan of Ohio and vice president of the House of Bishops, served as chief consecrator. Bishops Francis C. Gray, Assisting Bishop of Virginia and sixth Bishop of Northern Indiana, William C.R. Sheridan, fifth Bishop of Northern Indiana, D. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop Suffragan of Dallas, James W. Montgomery, retired Bishop of Chicago, and John-David M. Schofield, Bishop of San Joaquin, served as co-consecrators. Several other bishops assisted.

Three Roman Catholic bishops from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend witnessed the consecration: the Most Rev. John M. D'Arcy, diocesan bishop, the Most Rev. Daniel R. Jenky, auxiliary bishop, and the Most Rev. Joseph R. Crowley, retired bishop.

In his sermon, the Rt. Rev. Alden Hathaway, retired Bishop of Pittsburgh, gave to Bishop Little three points of the gospel, all illustrated with first-hand examples:

’Ä¢ Do not be ashamed for the cross of Christ;

’Ä¢ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations; and

’Ä¢ Do not be content with the land that is being left behind, but desire a better country, that is a heavenly one.

Bishop Hathaway closed with the following charge: "... remember, Ed, that you are called to be: a bold apostle of the truth of the cross; a faithful shepherd of the flock of Christ; a trustworthy custodian of the most precious treasure the race of human kind can ever know; unashamed of the gospel; a passionate leader on the pilgrims' way into the heavenly vision."

Before his election, Bishop Little was rector of All Saints' Church, Bakersfield, Calif. He also served at St. Joseph's, Buena Park, Calif., St. Michael's, Anaheim, Calif., and St. Matthew's, Evanston, Ill. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1971. Bishop Little is a graduate of the University of Southern California and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary.

Bishop Little is married to Sylvia Louise Gardner Little and the couple has two adult children, Sharon and Gregory. He has written several articles published in THE LIVING CHURCH, and is a member of the Living Church Foundation.