This story was updated at 2:39 p.m. Friday.
On Oct. 24, the Rev. Mark Eckman was having dinner at his sister’s house and enjoying a birthday party for his niece and nephew when his phone rang.
When he answered, he was surprised to hear Archbishop Cristophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, asking him how he was doing.
“Without thinking, I said ‘well I was pretty good until I answered this phone call,’ ” Rev. Eckman said in a news conference on Friday. But it wasn’t bad news — Archbishop Pierre had called to inform him that Pope Francis would like to appoint him an auxiliary bishop.
Rev. Eckman, a born Pittsburgher, a Duquesne University alumnus and a priest in the diocese for more than 36 years, had to commit to the position before learning where he’d be posted.
It only took a moment of intense prayer for him to respond “yes.”
“They always say if you make plans, that’s a way to make God laugh,” said Bishop-elect Eckman, a self-described planner with a streak of good humor. “And right now I think he’s laughing quite a bit.”
He will remain in the Pittsburgh Diocese as pastor of Resurrection Parish, serving Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair. As auxiliary he’ll assist Bishop David Zubik with pastoral and administrative needs in the diocese.
The diocese has another auxiliary bishop, William Waltersheid. Bishop William Winter, who was also pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Shadyside, was appointed auxiliary bishop in 1988, and while he is now retired, he still assists Bishop Zubik.
Rev. Eckman “is clearly a pastor at heart,” Bishop Zubik said at the conference, adding that 26 priests of the Diocese of Pittsburgh have been named bishops to date.
“His deepest desire in life has been to serve the people, right in their midst. To help them in their moments of struggle, to help them in times of joy. And now that influence will expand.”
Bishop-elect Eckman will be ordained on Jan. 11 at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland.
Rev. Eckman was born and raised in Bethel Park and attended St. Valentine School and South Hills Catholic High School (now Seton-LaSalle).
He earned a bachelor’s degree at Duquesne and attended Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe for his master’s in divinity. Most of his priestly assignments have been in the South Hills. For the past seven years, Rev. Eckman has served as the episcopal vicar for clergy personnel.
His current parish includes St. Thomas More and St. John Capistran churches.
“I’m honored but very very surprised. I never considered myself to have the qualities of a bishop,” he said. “I’m not an academic, I’m not a person who does all sorts of fancy things. I just like being a parish priest and serving in the parish.”
He has chosen “to serve in faith and charity” as his episcopal motto.
First Published: November 5, 2021, 12:57 p.m.
Updated: November 5, 2021, 6:47 p.m.
