Name Daniel Reilly | ||
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Daniel Patrick Reilly (born May 12, 1928) is retired American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Norwich (1975–1994) and the Diocese of Worcester (1994–2004).
Contents
- Early life and education
- Ordination and ministry
- Bishop of Norwich Connecticut
- Bishop of Worcester Massachusetts
- Retirement
- References
Early life and education
Daniel Reilly was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Francis and Mary Ann (née Bums) Reilly. He studied at Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Warwick (1943–1948) before studying at the Grand Seminary in Saint-Brieuc, France.
Ordination and ministry
Reilly was ordained to the priesthood on May 30, 1953. He briefly served in a parish before completing his graduate studies at Boston College.
Serving the Diocese of Providence, he was successively named assistant chancellor (1954), secretary to Bishop Russell McVinney (1956), chancellor (1964), and vicar general (1972). He attended two sessions of the Second Vatican Council, and was raised to the rank of Monsignor in 1965.
Bishop of Norwich, Connecticut
On June 5, 1975, Reilly was appointed the third Bishop of Norwich, Connecticut, by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on August 6, 1975, from Archbishop John Francis Whealon, with Bishops Vincent Joseph Hines and Louis Edward Gelineau serving as co-consecrators.
Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts
After nineteen years at Norwich, Reilly was appointed the fourth Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts, on October 27, 1994. During his tenure at Worcester, he reopened St. Joseph Church but merged it with Notre Dame des Canadiens. He raised over $50 million for his Forward in Faith campaign to place the diocese in a stable financial condition. In 2002, he became the first Catholic bishop to open the annual synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In 2003, he expressed his unequivocal opposition to same-sex marriage and civil unions but declared that he was open to discussion on giving public benefits to same-sex couples.
Retirement
After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Reilly retired as bishop on March 9, 2004. He was succeeded by Robert Joseph McManus, then-auxiliary bishop of Providence.