July 21, 2024

Bishop John McDermott Ordained and Installed as Burlington, Vermont’s 11th Bishop

REGIONAL
By Evan Wing, Vermont Catholic

Newly ordained and installed Bishop John McDermott, the 11th Bishop of Burlington Vermont, during ceremonies Monday July 15 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph. Photo by Russell Fox.

BURLINGTON, VT –  This past Monday, July 15, the Most Reverend John J. McDermott was ordained and installed as the 11th Bishop of the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont during a two hour liturgy at the Cathedral of St. Joseph. Bishop McDermott is the first priest of the Diocese of Burlington to be made Vermont’s bishop since the ordination of Bishop Robert Joyce in 1954.

Taking part in the celebration was Sean Cardinal O’Malley, Metropolitan Archbishop of Boston who served as principal consecrator. In his homily he stressed the many important duties entrusted to the bishop.

“The new bishop is called upon to build up the body of Christ in unity with the other bishops and with the Pope, the successor of St. Peter,” Cardinal O’Malley said.

The cardinal was joined by his Eminence Christophe Cardinal Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. Also taking part was Archbishop Christopher Coyne, the 10th Bishop of Burlington who is now the Archbishop of Hartford, CT and Bishop Salvatore Matano who was Bishop of Burlington from 2005 to 2013 when he was named Bishop of Rochester. Also taking part was his Eminence Gerald Cardinal LaCroix, Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada. Bishops from throughout New England, including Bishop William D. Byrne of Springfield, MA also were present.

The Burlington cathedral was filled to capacity including numerous diocesan priests and deacons, as well as representatives from every religious order. In addition to the approximately 1000 in attendance, another 5000 watched via livestream. Prior to Mass, music was provided by the diocese’s Congolese, Shemeza, and Vietnamese Choirs; during the Mass itself, music was provided by the Diocesan Festival Choir.

The bishop was born in New Jersey in 1963. He attended Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina and obtained a master’s degree in divinity, as well as a master’s in theology and Scripture, from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland. He also holds a licentiate in canon law from the Catholic University of America.

He was ordained to the priesthood in the Burlington Diocese in 1989. He has served a variety of pastoral and administrative roles in the diocese since then, including as chaplain at Middlebury College. He has also held the positions of both vice chancellor and chancellor of the diocese, as well as diocesan vicar general and moderator of the curia.

On May 6 Pope Francis named Msgr. McDermott as the new Bishop of Vermont.  He had served as administrator of the diocese after Archbishop Coyne departed for Hartford.

Bishop McDermott is one of 10 siblings, he was named a Prelate of Honor in 2012, granting him the title Monsignor. 

In his closing remarks he pledged to dedicate himself to the Catholic Church of Vermont and beyond. “I pray that I have been a priest and will be a bishop who continues belief in God and further enhances love.  Please pray for me.”

The Burlington Diocese includes the entire state of Vermont, consisting of approximately 75 parishes of about 100,000 Catholics. 

(Evan Wing of Vermont Catholic and staff at OSV News contributed to this story.)