I continue to thank God for the many prayers and words of support that have come to me from you, the faithful of the Archdiocese of Louisville. This past Monday I had radical surgery and have responded very well to it. I will meet the doctors the day before Thanksgiving in order to review the surgery and the biopsies that were taken at the time of the surgery.
As of today, I remain in the Duke University Hospital. The culprit is that the blood clot caused by chemotherapy requires blood thinner, but the surgery makes blood thinner very dangerous. It may take until Tuesday or Wednesday for the doctors to stabilize my treatment to the point where it will be safe to leave the hospital. The care here has been excellent, and I am grateful to all of the medical personnel who have treated me.
I continue to follow the pastoral work and service to others taking place in our parishes, schools, and agencies, and I am grateful to my brother priests and deacons, as well as our lay ecclesial ministers. In the last three weeks before my surgery, I had the privilege to return to the Archdiocese and join many of our priests for a Day of Reflection, which included an opportunity for me to speak to the priests and to receive the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick in the presence of brother priests and archdiocesan staff. I thank Father Kenny Kamber for anointing me. Later in the week, I was privileged to take part in a number of wonderful pastoral events. I joined hundreds of Catholic school teachers who were honored for years of service at a special luncheon, confirmed the youth of Saint Patrick Parish, took part in the 34th African-American Day of Reflection celebrating African American Catholic History Month, and was the main celebrant at the funeral Mass of one of our fine clergy, Deacon Larry Biven.
How blessed we are to have so many beautiful ministries within the Archdiocese. I think you for the support of all of them by your continued generosity to the Catholic Services Appeal, now being conducted in our parishes.
Please allow me to count on your prayers for a full recovery and a return home very soon. As always, you are in my prayers.
