October 14, 2020

Washington D.C. priest named 10th bishop of Springfield

REGIONAL
Staff report

Bishop-elect William D. Byrne (iObserve photo/submitted)

SPRINGFIELD- Pope Francis has named Father William D. Byrne, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., as the 10th bishop of Springfield. The announcement was made today, Oct. 14, in Washington D.C. by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, U.S. papal nuncio.

Bishop-elect Byrne was born Sept. 26, 1964. A native of Washington, D.C., he is the youngest of eight children of Mary (Largent) Byrne and the late Dr. William Byrne, a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon who passed away in 2011.

As a youth, the bishop-elect attended Mater Dei School in Bethesda, Md,. went on to Georgetown Preparatory School in Rockville, Md. and completed his undergraduate studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. He then taught for three years at Mater Dei before being accepted as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. 

He studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, completing his licentiate in sacred theology from Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) and was ordained in 1994 by Cardinal James A. Hickey.

After ordination, Father Byrne was assigned to the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Md., as parochial vicar where he served until 1995. From there he was assigned as parochial vicar at the Shrine of Saint Jude in Rockville. From 1999 until 2007, he served as the chaplain for the University of Maryland’s Catholic Student Center in College Park. He was named pastor of St. Peter Parish in Washington, D.C., in 2007 where he served until 2015. From 2009 until 2015, while serving as pastor of St. Peter’s, Father Byrne was also secretary for pastoral ministry and social concerns for the Archdiocese of Washington. In 2015, Father Byrne was named pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac where he currently serves.

Bishop-elect Byrne’s ministry also includes service on the Archdiocese of Washington’s vocations team (1998), formation board (2002-present), priest council (2003-2006), priest personnel board (2006-2009), and archdiocesan administrative board (2009-2015). He also served on the board of directors of St. Ann’s Infant and Maternity Home, Catholic Youth Organization, and Redemptoris Mater Seminary, as well as the advisory board of the Lay Leadership Institute.

In addition to his parish and diocesan work, for nine years he taught homiletics to the seminarians of the Pontifical North American College. He has been invited to speak at numerous Priests Convocations, including in the Archdioceses of Washington, Newark, New Jersey and Seattle, as well as in the dioceses of Providence, R.I., and Bridgeport, Conn.  

In 2007, he gave the homily to 20,000 Catholic youth and their leaders gathered at the Verizon Center for the annual Mass and Rally for Life which each year precedes the Annual March for Life in Washington D.C.

In 2016, Pope Francis named him a “Missionary of Mercy” for the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Bishop-elect Byrne is a popular columnist and YouTube personality, with his series “Five Things” highlighting five life hacks, prayer starters, or spiritual meditations to help people to grow closer to God and appreciate the small — but vital –things in life. The series was so popular that it has been developed into a book, Five Things with Fr. Bill, which is being released tomorrow, Oct. 15 by Loyola Press.

Bishop-elect Byrne assumes the position left vacant when Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski was named as the archbishop of St. Louis on June 10 and was installed on Aug. 25. Since then, Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus has been serving as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Springfield.

Bishop-elect Byrne will be ordained and installed as the 10^th Bishop of Springfield on Dec. 14 at Sty. Michael’s Cathedral on State Street in Springfield. He will shepherd a diocese comprising of 79 parishes and seven missions located in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties, and a Catholic population of 164,799.

(Editor’s note: Bishop-elect Byrne will be introduced later this morning during a 10 a.m. press conference at the Bishop John Marshall Center and will preach at the 12:10 Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral. Both events will be livestreamed via a link at www.diospringfield.org.)