The Most Reverend George V. Murry, S.J., Ph.D.
Bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown
"Christ My Light" is the Episcopal motto of the Most Reverend George V. Murry, S.J.
Upon his appointment, Bishop Murry stated: "I am honored to accept the Holy Father's appointment to serve as Bishop of Youngstown and I look forward to meeting and working with the priests, deacons, religious and laity of the diocese." Later during Mass in the Cathedral, he preached about remaining in God's love by holding on to Jesus and walking with him.
Bishop Murry was born in Camden, New Jersey, in 1948. After graduating from Catholic elementary and high schools, he attended St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland where he received a bachelor's degree in Philosophy in 1972. That same year he entered the Society of Jesus. He was ordained for the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus on June 9, 1979. He earned a Masters of Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley in 1979 and a doctorate in American Cultural History from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., in 1994.
Bishop Murry served on the faculty and was dean of student activities at Gonzaga College High School, Washington, D.C., from 1974-1976. He was assistant professor of American Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., from 1986-1990, and president of Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C., from 1989-1994. He was named Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Detroit-Mercy in 1994.
On January 24, 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular Bishop of Fuerteventura and Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago where he was ordained to the episcopacy on March 20, 1995. On May 5, 1998, Pope John Paul II appointed him Coadjutor Bishop of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Bishop Murry succeeded to the see on June 30, 1999.
Bishop Murry has served on numerous boards including the University of Detroit and Loyola Academy, both in Detroit, Michigan, St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland and Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. He is a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and serves on the Domestic Policy and Education Committees. Since 2002, he has also served on the Board of Directors of Catholic Relief Services, the overseas arm of the U.S. Bishops, which provides food, clothing, shelter and medicine for those in need.
Bishop Murry was installed as the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown on March 28, 2007. He succeeds Bishop Thomas J. Tobin who was installed as Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island on May 31, 2005