Mother Nature tried to spoil the surprise, but she didn't dampen Cardinal Justin Rigali's warm welcome to East Tennessee.
The former archbishop of Philadelphia has decided to make Knoxville his retirement home following an invitation by his long-time friend Bishop Richard Stika of the Knoxville Catholic Diocese.
The bishop decided his friend's arrival would be anything but low-key.
Rigali entered the concourse at McGhee Tyson Airport Oct. 2 to be met by a throng of well-wishers from various parishes, nuns, priests, Knights of Columbus members, a very large welcoming banner held by students from Knoxville Catholic High School and even a choir from St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church bursting forth in song.
All that after weather in Buffalo, N.Y., made for a long delay for Rigali and a long wait for the welcoming throng.
"There was a great crowd at the airport to welcome me, and I even heard 'Rocky Top,'" he said with a smile.
"It was very impressive and gracious. It was something I wasn't expecting. It was a total surprise that went off despite the two-and-a-half hour delay."
The cardinal has visited Knoxville on a couple of occasions, one when he ordained Stika as bishop, but said he really didn't know much about Knoxville or East Tennessee.
Although at 76 — and he adds a half onto that — he doesn't intend to completely slow down.
He has a new community to get to know as well as its Catholic faithful. He'll also be traveling to Rome to continue his service on various committees.
"I was so active for so long it would not be a good idea just to stop from one day to the next," he said, smiling. "I want my retirement service to be useful to people. I'm slowing down, but I'm not done."
As archbishop of Philadelphia and before that St. Louis, Rigali's ministry touched those in need from the elderly to the disabled to children.
He calls all of those "extraordinary categories" and said they are important "because they give insight into all the groups the Catholic church serves. There are a lot of people with needs that the church serves. There are so many needs, especially in big cities, that you can never do as well as you want to. You do the best you can."
He knows all about big cities from a young age. Rigali grew up one of seven children in South Los Angeles. His only sister is a retired nun and one brother is a retired priest. Rigali also has three brothers with large families. He quickly offers the count: 25 nieces and nephews, 50 grandnieces and nephews and 15 great-grandnieces and nephews. They're scattered across the country but none are in East Tennessee.
While retirement will mean a slower pace than he had as archbishop, Rigali is looking forward to new challenges but has no set agenda as yet. "I have to work that out," he said.
"Up to now, I didn't have any time for many, many years. I had a rather busy life for nine-and-a-half years in St. Louis and eight in Philadelphia, 30 in Rome and three-and-a-half in Madagascar. All those after I was ordained a priest 50 years ago in California."
Of all of those, he can't pick one place as a favorite.
"All have been multiple and different experiences," he said. "The places were interesting, plus the work, activities and the people made for an unforgettable experience."
The cardinal said he's happy to be part of the Catholic community here, as well as the Knoxville community as a whole.
"I wish God's blessings on the community," he said.
Big-city life didn't give him many chances to experience nature up close and personal, but that's something he hopes to remedy now that he's landed at the foot of the Smoky Mountains. "I'm sure they'll call me," he said.
Stika, however, didn't give the grass much of a chance to grow under Rigali's feet.
Within 48 hours of landing, he'd already taken his friend on a road trip to Athens, Tenn., to break ground for a new community center and conduct Mass.