SALT LAKE CITY — The Most Rev. John C. Wester took a page from T.S. Eliot as he bid farewell to Catholic faithful during his final Mass at Cathedral of the Madeleine on Sunday.

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time," he said, quoting the American poet.

Bishop Wester said the poem suggests we are "at home. That's our starting place, with God and with one another. We're also on a journey. … No matter where we go on the journey, we must always come back to our starting place.

"For me, this is my starting place," he said, fighting emotion as he offered in his last homily as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City.

On Thursday, the leader of Utah's Catholics for eight years will be installed as archbishop of Santa Fe.

Sunday's Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated the episcopal ministry of Wester, who was installed as the diocese's ninth bishop on March 14, 2007.

As he reflected on his service in Utah, Wester recalled asking a young teen why he selected his older brother as his confirmation sponsor.

"He was trying to come up with this very erudite answer," he said. "You could tell he was thinking hard. What would be a great theological answer to this question that would impress the bishop and everyone there? But he couldn't think of anything.

"Finally he looked up and he said, 'Uh, well, he's my brother. He's in high school, too. He's older than I am. Oh, I don't know. I just love him.'"

With that, the older brother placed his younger brother in a headlock.

"I wish I could I give you all a headlock and tell you that I love you," Wester said to thunderous applause.

Following the Mass, parishioners gathered on the cathedral plaza, that "in honor of Archbishop Wester, we're only serving carrots and celery," said the Very Rev. Martin Diaz, pastor of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, a reference to his strict practice of skipping dessert.

"I don't believe it. I've seen the cookies, Father Diaz," Wester quipped.

Dayle and Nancy Van Alstine, of Midway, who honeymooned in Santa Fe, said the pageantry and music at Sunday's Mass was particularly moving.

"In all deference to whomever we get (as the next bishop), we hope we get the same type of man. He has been a very kind and gentle man. He's very approachable, and you could tell he took his job as shepherd very seriously," Dayle Van Alstine said.

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"With all the gratitude to Bishop Wester, we proudly pass him on to Santa Fe."

Meanwhile, Nettie Livermore said Sunday's service "was extremely special. My daughter got to be in the processional representing her school so that was special to her." Her daughter Alex is a student at St. Joseph Schools in Ogden.

Wester's appointment in Santa Fe "is a great opportunity for him. He's a very kind and loving priest. We hope we get someone as wonderful as he is," Livermore said.

At a public reception Sunday night attended by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, Utah first lady Jeanette Herbert and representatives of other faith communities, Wester told his guests that his success was largely due to them.

"Any small success I may have in the Southwest will be because of you. I will carry you with me and all your goodness with me and share you with the good people of Santa Fe. I want you to know I'll be praying for you always, and every day you’ll be in my prayers and thoughts. I really believe, although I can’t say it as well as the lady who first quoted it, that friends can grow separately but not apart," he said.

Elder M. Russell Ballard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said he and Wester had become close friends on and off the golf course, remarking on his "gentle, loving, wonderful spirit he always manifests when he is with friends."

"You are losing your wonderful bishop. I am losing my very dear friend," Elder Ballard said.

The Right Rev. Scott B. Hayashi, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, remarked that the outgoing bishop was the first Roman Catholic bishop he knew personally.

Hayashi, too, came to know Wester as a trusted friend, sounding board and mentor.

Hayashi recalled their participation in a ceremony to dedicate a landmark to ecumenism at This Is the Place Heritage Park.

"Bishop Wester said, 'This is a holy place for the Mormon people. And because it is a holy place for Mormon people, it is a holy place for all of us.' The graciousness of Bishop Wester is what remains in my heart, that simple graciousness, which is unfailingly kind and genuine," he said.

Wester joked that he felt a compulsion to thank all who spoke at the reception, "but I have no idea who you are talking about."

“I am a firm, firm believer that we make each other look good and that no one of us can ever do one trillionth of what we do without each other and without God. I suppose, ultimately, at the end of the day, when I am a little bit sad, very sad, a little bit chagrined to leave of all of you, I should have to blame all of you because it’s your fault," he said.

"If you hadn’t been such wonderful people, this would never be happening and I would have retired here as I planned. I really mean that. I will carry you with me in my heart."

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