UPDATED BOMBSHELL!
Sister Deidre's brother, Father Bill Byrnes appointed the new Bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts by His Holiness, Pope Francis!
If you don't think this is a political bombshell in an election year with that election day three weeks off and many already voting, think again! This priest is a priest of the Washington, DC Archdiocese!
Washington D.C. priest named 10th bishop of Springfield
SPRINGFIELD- Pope Francis has named Father William D. Byrne, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., as the 10th bishop of Springfield. The announcement was made today, Oct. 14, in Washington D.C. by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, U.S. papal nuncio.
Bishop-elect Byrne was born Sept. 26, 1964. A native of Washington, D.C., he is the youngest of eight children of Mary (Largent) Byrne and the late Dr. William Byrne, a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon who passed away in 2011.
As a youth, the bishop-elect attended Mater Dei School in Bethesda, Md,. went on to Georgetown Preparatory School in Rockville, Md. and completed his undergraduate studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. He then taught for three years at Mater Dei before being accepted as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.
He studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, completing his licentiate in sacred theology from Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) and was ordained in 1994 by Cardinal James A. Hickey.
After ordination, Father Byrne was assigned to the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Md., as parochial vicar where he served until 1995. From there he was assigned as parochial vicar at the Shrine of Saint Jude in Rockville. From 1999 until 2007, he served as the chaplain for the University of Maryland’s Catholic Student Center in College Park. He was named pastor of St. Peter Parish in Washington, D.C., in 2007 where he served until 2015. From 2009 until 2015, while serving as pastor of St. Peter’s, Father Byrne was also secretary for pastoral ministry and social concerns for the Archdiocese of Washington. In 2015, Father Byrne was named pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac where he currently serves.
Bishop-elect Byrne’s ministry also includes service on the Archdiocese of Washington’s Vocations Team (1998), Formation Board (2002-present), Priest Council (2003-2006), Priest Personnel Board (2006-2009), and Archdiocesan Administrative Board (2009-2015). He also served on the board of directors of St. Ann’s Infant and Maternity Home, Catholic Youth Organization, and Redemptoris Mater Seminary, as well as the advisory board of the Lay Leadership Institute.
In addition to his parish and diocesan work, for nine years he taught homiletics to the seminarians of the Pontifical North American College. He has been invited to speak at numerous Priests Convocations, including in the Archdioceses of Washington, Newark, New Jersey and Seattle, as well as in the dioceses of Providence, R.I., and Bridgeport, Conn.
In 2007, he gave the homily to 20,000 Catholic youth and their leaders gathered at the Verizon Center for the annual Mass and Rally for Life which each year precedes the Annual March for Life in Washington D.C.
In 2016, Pope Francis named him a “Missionary of Mercy” for the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Bishop-elect Byrne is a popular columnist and YouTube personality, with his series “Five Things” highlighting five life hacks, prayer starters, or spiritual meditations to help people to grow closer to God and appreciate the small — but vital –things in life. The series was so popular that it has been developed into a book, Five Things with Fr. Bill, which is being released tomorrow, Oct. 15 by Loyola Press.
Bishop-elect Byrne assumes the position left vacant when Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski was named as the archbishop of St. Louis on June 10 and was installed on Aug. 25. Since then, Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus has been serving as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Springfield.
Bishop-elect Byrne will be ordained and installed as the 10th Bishop of Springfield on Dec. 14 at Sty. Michael’s Cathedral on State Street in Springfield. He will shepherd a diocese comprising of 79 parishes and seven missions located in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties, and a Catholic population of 164,799.
(Editor’s note: Bishop-elect Byrne will be introduced later this morning during a 10 a.m. press conference at the Bishop John Marshall Center and will preach at the 12:10 Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral. Both events will be livestreamed via a link at www.diospringfield.org.)
12 comments:
Sounds like a great appointment - I think the younger clergy is generally not lefty!
I don't know anything about this priest, but he comes from an impressive blood line.
I wish him luck in an area that is in desperate need of spiritual revitalization. In 1973, that diocese claimed about 375,000 Catholics and now it is only about 165,000? Granted, Massachusetts is not a high-growth state, but it is not as if the state is in serious population decline either. Of course any state that elects the likes of Elizabeth Warren, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry can only be seen as being in spiritual decline....
Maybe Sr. DeeDee should have been given the office in Springfield...
Here is another example of Democrat "civility:"
“This is day one of the new SCOTUS terms – the religious zealots want to enact the Christian version of Sharia law,” the post reads. “If you voted for the orange monster with COVID, go f--- yourself. If you plan on voting for him again, unfriend me and go f--- yourself again.”
Mayor of Flemington, New Jersey
Father Byrnes, wisely, has stuck to pastoral instruction instead of taking sides in the political wars and telling the faithful how to vote. He sounds like a good priest. I'm glad the Holy Father has not held his loose-cannon sister against him.
Anonymous K,
Figured you would arrive to spew ad hominem on a faithful nun. You are quite the gentlemen and exhibit A as to why people are repulsed by the left. You and the Flemington, New Jersey mayor are soul-mates
I don’t think any less of Father Byrne for failing to join the partisan mud-wrestling. In my day, it would have been forbidden for a priest or nun to advocate for a candidate, any candidate, at a political convention. Shilling for a man of Trump’s character is much worse. It’s harmful to the Church. Giving scandal, really.
Anonymous Not K,
Shilling for for pro abortion Gropy Joe who is a fake catholic is far worse than shilling for President Trump. It's harmful to the Church. Giving scandal, really.
Anonymous Not K,
This is who YOUR party is:
The chairman of the board of elections in South Carolina resigned after he and his wife were caught on video defacing and removing Trump signs in the state. Dean Smith resigned after he was caught on deer cameras vandalizing Trump signs on Pawleys Island. The Daily Caller reported: A chairman of a board of elections in South Carolina resigned after he and his wife were accused of removing and defacing multiple Donald Trump campaign signs from someone’s yard, numerous sources reported. Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday that Trump campaign signs were disappearing from his yard, numerous sources reported.
Couple that with the Mayor of Flemington, New Jersey's statement, above noted, and you can see why normal, rational people don't find President Trump offensive when compared to these loony tunes. I also don't think rioting, looting, and burning is a wise election strategy on the part of the Dems
I am still waiting for Anonymous K and Not Anonymous K’s brilliant response. Sigh
I wouldn't read too much into it. Don't forget that Cardinal Wuerl is turning 80 in a month and it's his last month vetting bishops, so he and Cardinal O'Malley managed to get one last shot. Starting in December, We'll have 8.5 years of Cardinal Cupich choosing from the archbishops' lists, most of whom will be up for replacement within 5 years. buckle up!
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