The installation of the Most Rev. Gregory J. Hartmayer as the seventh Archbishop of Atlanta will now be a private ceremony.
The Most Rev. Joel M. Konzen, diocesan administrator for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, said the ceremony will be livestreamed for the public to watch.
The celebration comes at a time when the church and the world “have so radically changed since the day of that joyful announcement,” Konzen said in a press release.
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His comment was an apparent reference to the spread of the coronavirus, which has led the postponement or cancellation of large gatherings.
Rather than postpone the event, Hartmayer wanted it to continue so he could begin his work in the archdiocese. The Mass of Installation will be held on May 6 .
A private vespers service , which will also be livestreamed, will be held at 7 p.m. on May 5.
A link will be distributed closer to the events, according to the archdiocese.
The appointment of Hartmayer, who has served as the bishop of Savannah since 2011, came nearly a year after former Atlanta Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory announced he was leaving and, coincidentally, during the Lenten season.
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Hartmayer, who was ordained a priest in 1979, served as the pastor of St. Philip Benizi Church in Jonesboro for 15 years and, later, at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Lithia Springs.
The Archdiocese of Atlanta includes 69 counties and is comprised of 1.2 million Catholics.
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