The Heaven opened, the Bishop’s Mission, and the Grace of being a little flock

by Cardinal Giorgio Marengo*

Rome (Fides news Agency) – On September 29, Anthony James Corcoran, SJ, was ordained a bishop beneath the vaults of Rome’s Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls. Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, who delivered the homily, invited him to keep his eyes raised to the “greater things” promised by Christ, even amid the practical demands of shepherding Kyrgyzstan’s small Catholic community.

Apostolic administrator of the country since 2017, Bishop Corcoran now begins a new chapter in his service there.
With Cardinal Marengo’s permission, we publish his homily below.




“You will see Heaven opened…”

In Kyrgyzstan—as in Mongolia and the Countries of Central Asia—the sky stretches vast across the horizon. It seems almost more real than the very ground beneath one’s feet.

For these peoples, the eternal sky— Tengri —is the defining element of their ancestral spirituality and their relationship with God. Yet in Christ, that sky has opened and remains open, allowing us to contemplate God made man and to enter into a unique, personal relationship with Him. A new and definitive access to the Triune God is now available to all, in Christ Jesus.

This gift of salvation in Christ comes to us in a sacramental form—mediated, that is, by the One whom Christ has united to Himself as His Bride: the Holy Church. As the Second Vatican Council recalled, “The Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race” (Gaudium et Spes, no. 1). The Holy Father Leo XIV recently revisited this truth, noting that the Church “does not perfectly identify with the Kingdom of God, but is its seed and beginning, for its fulfillment will be granted to humanity and the cosmos only at the end; […] it does not proclaim itself; on the contrary, everything within it must point to salvation in Christ.”

It is precisely for this reason that the Holy Father himself—as the successor of St. Peter and mindful of the good of the People of God in Kyrgyzstan—willed that their Ordinary be a bishop, thereby sharing in the charism of the Apostles, to whom the transmission of the faith across generations and throughout the world is inextricably linked. It is, therefore, a day of great celebration for the Church in Kyrgyzstan and for the entire Episcopal Conference of Central Asia, happily represented here by several of its members.

We are all gathered closely around you, dear Bishop-elect Anthony, contemplating how the Lord has guided you to this day. Indeed, the Gospel just proclaimed reminds us how deeply we are known and loved by Christ: "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."

Nathanael was a learned man—an allusion likely contained in the image of the fig tree, which was associated with the tree of the Law—and well-versed in religious practice. So too are you, dear Anthony, with your degrees in political science and theology and the vast apostolic experience gained over more than forty years of religious and missionary life. Yet, both you and each of us discover that Christ’s knowledge of us is far greater and precedes our own efforts.

You followed Him into the Society of Jesus, serving in the Russian Federation—particularly in Siberia—as provincial superior, rector of the minor seminary in Novosibirsk, parish priest, and vicar general of that same diocese; and subsequently in Kyrgyzstan, where you have served for several years. Today, a new stage in your following of Christ unfolds as you are joined to the college of the Apostles.

Being known and loved so deeply by the Lord opens us up to the knowledge and contemplation of “greater” things. A bishop is a disciple of the Lord with a penetrating gaze—one who chooses each day to lift his eyes toward “greater things” and thus leads the people entrusted to him toward the Lord.

Episcopal ministry—especially in its current form, amidst the complexities of a rapidly changing world and within the context of a still-young Church like that of Kyrgyzstan—involves dealing daily with highly practical pastoral matters: facilities, projects, and initiatives. We know, for instance, that you are overseeing the construction of the Bishkek cathedral, in addition to fostering good relations with the local government and many other endeavours.

Yet, the bishop attends to all these matters not as the CEO of a company, but as a man of God—fully conformed to Christ the Good Shepherd—who knows how to constantly lift his gaze and his heart to God.

The place chosen for this solemn liturgy powerfully reminds us of this fundamental truth: being conformed to Christ—like Saint Paul, who went so far as to lay down his life for Him, the supreme testimony of fidelity and self-sacrifice. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

Here, directly beneath the Altar of the Confession, the chains traditionally believed to have bound Saint Paul’s body during his Roman imprisonment are preserved for the veneration of the faithful. A great Apostle because he was a great contemplative, Paul was aware that he had been the recipient of a supernatural gift and that proclaiming the Gospel was primarily a spiritual matter—in the deepest sense of the term—with the Holy Spirit as the protagonist and the servant of the Gospel as a man transfigured by intimacy with Christ the Lord.

This holds true for you as well, today, dear Bishop-elect Anthony, as you begin your episcopal ministry. It will bear all the more fruit the more you are the first to receive within yourself the grace you are then called to pour out upon those around you.

Today we take part in a liturgy rich in evocative signs: beyond the texts of the Church’s prayer—received and handed down in an unbroken chain stretching back to the early days of the apostolic community—we encounter ancient and solemn gestures, such as the sacred anointing, the prostration of the elect, and the Book of the Gospels opened over his head; and then the episcopal insignia: the ring, the mitre, and the pastoral staff/crosier. Such is the beauty of the Sacred Liturgy, here preserved and fostered by the Benedictine community.

Everything speaks of a supernatural gift that unites you, dear Msgr. Anthony, with the College of Apostles and empowers you—through the grace bestowed upon you—to guide the holy people of God in faith, especially those in Kyrgyzstan. As Pope Francis reminded us Ordinaries of Central Asia during his apostolic visit to Kazakhstan in 2022:

“The Gospel says that being ‘little’, poor in spirit, is a blessing, a beatitude, and indeed the first of the beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:3). For once we acknowledge our littleness, we can humbly hand ourselves over to the power of God, who teaches us not to base our ecclesial activity on our own abilities. This is a grace!” He then continued, describing the reality of our particular Churches: “I repeat: there is a hidden grace in being a small Church, a little flock, for instead of showing off our strengths, our numbers, our structures and other things that are humanly important, we can let ourselves be guided by the Lord and humbly draw close to others. Rich in nothing and poor in everything, let us walk with simplicity alongside our sisters and brothers, bringing the joy of the Gospel into the situations of everyday life. Like the leaven in the dough and like the smallest of seeds sown in the earth (cf. Mt 13:31-33), may we immerse ourselves in the joyful and sorrowful events of the society in which we live, in order to serve it from within”.

Just a few hours earlier that day, dear Msgr. Anthony, you had met the Holy Father together with your fellow Jesuits; the photo of Pope Francis wearing the traditional hat of Kyrgyzstan had already made the rounds online... Indeed, our service in Central Asia fosters dialogue with society and enriches the Universal Church with the unique gifts of the peoples with whom we walk in faith.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us, then, allow ourselves to be drawn in and engaged by the mysteries we are celebrating—enveloped in the light and life of the Risen One—as our brother Anthony is joined to the Apostolic College. Let us pray for him, that the new phase of his life beginning today may always be under the protection of the Archangels and of the Queen of Apostles and Angels—the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mater Domini so dear to Saint Ignatius of Loyola. It is before this very image that the Society of Jesus may be said to have truly been born. We entrust you, your Excellency, to the Virgin Mary—of whom you will continue to be a devoted son, spreading her message of consolation and evangelical joy.
(Fides News Agency, 30/9/2026)

*Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar

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