Province Indianapolis Installed May 1, 1985 Nationality American Predecessor William Edward McManus Consecration 30 December 1974 | Diocese Fort Wayne-South Bend Term ended November 14, 2009 Successor Kevin C. Rhoades Ordination 2 February 1957 | |
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Other posts Auxiliary Bishop of Boston (1974-1985)
Titular Bishop of Mediana (1974-1985) Born August 18, 1932
Boston, Massachusetts ( 1932-08-18 ) Died 3 February 2013, Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States Education Saint John's Seminary, Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas | ||
John Michael D'Arcy (August 18, 1932 – February 3, 2013) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the eighth diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana. He was succeeded as diocesan bishop by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, who was named to the post by Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday, November 14, 2009. Until then, Bishop Rhoades had been bishop of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
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Early life and ministry
John D'Arcy was born in Brighton, Massachusetts, to Irish immigrants. His parents were Michael and Margaret (Moran) D'Arcy. He had three sisters: Mrs. Mary Caprio, Sister Anne, and Mrs. Joan Sheridan. He entered St. John's Seminary in September 1949, and was ordained to the priesthood on February 2, 1957. D'arcy is an alumnus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas Angelicum where he studied from 1965 to 1968 earning a doctorate in spiritual theology. He served as spiritual director and professor of spiritual theology at St. John's Seminary from 1968 to 1985, and also as pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea Church in Beverly.
Episcopal career
On December 30, 1974, D'Arcy was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Boston and Titular Bishop of Mediana by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on February 11, 1975 from Humberto Sousa Cardinal Medeiros, with Bishops Thomas Riley and Lawrence Riley serving as co-consecrators. He became episcopal vicar for the Lowell Region on July 21, 1981.
When serving as auxiliary bishop in Boston, D'Arcy "warned against the Catholic Church’s transfer of pedophile priest John Geoghan to a new parish, according to the church's own investigators. But Bishop D'Arcy's 1984 letter to Archbishop Bernard F. Law about Geoghan’s history of abusing young boys did no good." Geoghan was left in his youth-groups job and "D'Arcy was transferred to Indiana".
Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend
D'Arcy was named Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, on February 26, 1985. Replacing William Edward McManus, he was formally installed on the following May 1.
In March 2009, D'Arcy declared he would boycott the May graduation ceremony at the University of Notre Dame because President Barack Obama would be delivering the commencement speech and receiving an honorary degree. Noting Obama's "unwillingness to hold human life as sacred," he said that "a bishop must teach the Catholic faith 'in season and out of season,' and he teaches not only by his words–but by his actions" and asked Notre Dame if by choosing Obama "it has chosen prestige over truth."
He retired in 2009.
Death and burial
Bishop D'Arcy died on February 3, 2013, in Fort Wayne, Indiana from cancer at 80. Following his death, visitations were held at both St. Matthew's Cathedral in South Bend and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne. The Mass of Christian Burial for Bishop D'Arcy was held on February 8, 2013 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception followed by the Rite of Committal, which was conducted privately with his family in the crypt of the cathedral.