Daniel Patrick Reilly

Daniel Patrick Reilly (born May 12, 1928) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Norwich (1975-1994) and Bishop of Worcester (1994-2004).

Biography

Daniel Reilly was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Francis and Mary Ann (née Bums) Reilly.^[1] He studied at Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Warwick (1943-1948) before studying at the Grand Seminary in Saint-Brieuc, France.^[1] He was ordained to the priesthood on May 30, 1953.^[2] He briefly served in a parish before completing his graduate studies at Boston College.^[1] Serving the Diocese of Providence, he was successively named assistant chancellor (1954), secretary to Bishop Russell McVinney (1956), chancellor (1964), and vicar general (1972).^[3] He attended two sessions of the Second Vatican Council, and was raised to the rank of Monsignor in 1965.^[3]

On June 5, 1975, Reilly was named the third Bishop of Norwich, Connecticut, by Pope Paul VI.^[2] He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 6 from Archbishop John Francis Whealon, with Bishops Vincent Joseph Hines and Louis Edward Gelineau serving as co-consecrators.^[2] After nineteen years at Norwich, Reilly was named the fourth Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts, on October 27, 1994.^[2] During his tenure at Worcester, he reopened St. Joseph Church but merged it with Notre Dame des Canadiens.^[3] He raised over $50 million for his Forward in Faith campaign to place the diocese in a stable financial condition.^[3] In 2002 he became the first Catholic bishop to open the annual synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.^[3] In 2003 he expressed his unequivocal opposition same-sex marriage and civil unions, but declared he was open to discussion on giving public benefits to same-sex couples.^[4]

After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Reilly retired as bishop on March 9, 2004.^[2] He was succeeded by Robert Joseph McManus, then-auxiliary bishop of Providence.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Curtis, Georgina Pell (1977). The American Catholic Who's Who. XXI. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Bishop Daniel Patrick Reilly". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/breilly.html. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Shaw, Kathleen (2003-05-06). "Bishop Reilly to retire". Worcester Telegram & Gazette. 
4. ^ "Bishop brings reason to issue of gay benefits". National Catholic Reporter. 2003-11-07. 

Preceded by Vincent Joseph Hines	Bishop of Norwich 1975—1994	Succeeded by Daniel Anthony Hart
Preceded by Timothy Joseph Harrington	Bishop of Worcester 1994—2004	Succeeded by Robert Joseph McManus

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Name	Reilly, Daniel Patrick
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Date of birth	May 12, 1928
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