Posted on 12/09/2016 7:04:42 PM PST by NYer
From the Long Island Catholic, some happy news for my neighbors to the east:
Pope Francis today appointed Most Reverend John O. Barres, Bishop of Allentown, Pennsylvania, to serve as the fifth Bishop of Rockville Centre. He succeeds Bishop William Murphy, 76, who has led the Diocese of Rockville Centre since 2001.
The appointment was made public in Washington, December 9, 2016 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Bishop-designate Barres will assume leadership of the Diocese during a Mass of Installation at the Cathedral of Saint Agnes on January 31, 2017 at 2 p.m. Until that time, Bishop Murphy will serve as Apostolic Administrator.
Bishop Barres has an interesting background: his parents were both Protestant ministers, graduates of Yale Divinity School, who eventually came into the church via Bishop Fulton Sheen, who baptized their son, John Oliver, in 1960. According to Rocco Palmo, writing on Barres in 2009, the bishop has brought some of that Protestant work ethic with him into his priesthood, and works so hard that he “flirts with exhaustion.”
Friends in Rockville Centre, with its 1.7 million Catholics, seem overjoyed at this appointment
Barres is a member of Opus Dei, and fluent in Italian, French, and Spanish. You can get to know him here, as he talks with Marcus Grodi about his parents conversion. He talks about being called to the priesthood at 33:14, and it’s very moving:
Journey Home - 2016-08-29 - Bishop John O. Barres
Congratulations to my fellow Long Islanders!! I recall when the Diocese of Rockville Centre was formed ...
Hard to believe Francis would elevate a member of Opus Dei. They are very hard core.
Pope Benedict elevated him. Francis shifted him from Allentown to Rockville Centre.
Still RVC is a lit larger and more prestigious than Allentown. And we here on LI are a lot more traditional in practice. In fact the two best Catholuc HS on LI, Chaminade and Kellenberg, run by the Marianists, are like schoold from the early 60s and have something like 7 applications for every seat.
I feel my prayers are being answered.
Welcome Bishop Barres.
I am relieved, as it does not look like he will be trying to take away our TLMs. Also, Bishop Murphy is scheduled to celebrate another round of EF Confirmations, and I hope that our new bishop doesn’t cancel that, either.
Regards,
Yay, Chaminade, Go Flyers! (Chaminade class of 2014 mom here)
My son got a top-notch education there. He is an outstanding young man, easily handling his college years both academically and morally. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he’s also going to Christendom...which we always joked was “Chaminade, only with girls and the Latin Mass.” LOL
Regards,
He’s a classmate of mine. Good guy all around.
So did Bill O'Reilly and Senator Al D'Amato. I graduated from Chaminade's "sister" school, Sacred Heart Academy. Attended several "sock hops" and football games at Chaminade. Outstanding institution of education.
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