Bishop Richard J. Malone (center) has been named the 14th bishop of Buffalo by Pope Benedict XVI.
Nearly a year after Bishop Edward U. Kmiec submitted his letter of resignation to Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy Father has named Bishop Richard J. Malone of Portland, Maine, as the 14th bishop of Buffalo Tuesday morning. He will be installed as bishop of Buffalo on Aug. 10.
“It is with great joy and happiness to announce that Pope Benedict XVI has accepted my resignation and has appointed Bishop Malone as the new ordinary for the Diocese of Buffalo,” said Bishop Kmiec. “Bishop Malone is a colleague of mine in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and we have been acquainted over the years. He comes to Western New York with tremendous experience and a wonderful reputation for being a caring, pastoral bishop and a true shepherd to his people.”
The Holy Father’s appointment was announced at 6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time at the Vatican.
Bishop Malone, 66, arrived in Buffalo last night. He concelebrated Mass this morning at the bishop’s residence with Bishop Kmiec, diocesan Chancellor Msgr. Paul A. Litwin and Msgr. David G. LiPuma, priest secretary to Bishop Kmiec and diocesan vice chancellor.
Following a 10 a.m. news conference with Bishop Kmiec at the Catholic Center on Tuesday, Bishop Malone will meet with diocesan staff and then join Bishop Kmiec for visits to St. Joseph Cathedral, Catholic Charities offices in Buffalo and Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna. On Wednesday, May 30, Bishop Malone will return to Maine.
Born March 19, 1946, in Salem, Mass., to the late Samuel and Helen Malone, Bishop Malone has been bishop of Portland since 2004. Prior to his assignment in Maine, he served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston upon his episcopal ordination in 2000. Bishop Malone has one sister, Harriet Malone, an art teacher at a Catholic high school in Massachusetts.
“I am most grateful to our Holy Father for his trust in appointing me bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo," Bishop Malone said. "While there is sadness in my heart at leaving the Catholic faithful of Maine, especially the priests, deacons, consecrated religious, seminarians and lay leaders, I look forward with enthusiasm to taking up my responsibility as chief shepherd of the Church of Buffalo. I am very grateful to follow in the footsteps of Bishop Kmiec who is a loving, faithful and generous servant of the Gospel.”
Bishop Malone’s formal schooling took place in Massachusetts. He graduated from St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers in 1964, studied at Cardinal O’Connell Seminary in Jamaica Plain and received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, a bachelor’s degree in divinity and a master’s degree in biblical studies from St. John Seminary in Boston. In 1981, he was awarded a doctorate in theology from Boston University and he earned his licentiate in sacred theology from Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge in 1990.
Ordained to the priesthood on May 20, 1972, by Archbishop Humberto Medeiros at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, Bishop Malone’s first assignment was at St. Patrick Parish in Stoneham where he served as associate pastor. During a voluntary leave of absence from parish ministry, he served as a member of the faculty at St. Clement High School in Somerville. At the conclusion of his leave, he was assigned to Xaverian High School in Westwood and St. John Seminary. He also served as a part-time chaplain at Wellesley and Regis Colleges and taught at Emmanuel College in Boston.
Bishop Malone was chaplain at the Harvard-Radcliffe Catholic Student Center and in 1993, he was named director of the Office of Religious Education for the Archdiocese of Boston. In 1995, he was appointed archdiocesan secretary for education.
An active member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Malone recently completed a term as chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis and continues to serve on that committee. He served two terms on the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People and is a member of the Board of Directors of Catholic Relief Services where he is chair of the U.S. Operations Committee. He also sits on the board of St. Mary Seminary and University in Baltimore and Blessed John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Mass.
Bishop Kmiec said that Bishop Malone will be looking forward to making the transition from Portland to Buffalo.
“I have assured Bishop Malone that, based on my own experience, he can expect to receive a very warm welcome from all the faithful of the diocese," Bishop Kmiec said. "I am sure they will be ready and willing to support him to further the mission of the diocese. He will quickly learn that the people of this region are noted for being good neighbors, not just as citizens, but as active participants in the life of Church."
Canon Law required Bishop Kmiec to submit his letter of resignation to the pope on June 4, 2011, his 75th birthday.
Bishop Malone will be installed as bishop of Buffalo at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Buffalo on Friday, Aug. 10, at 2 p.m.
The Western New York Catholic will be following Bishop Malone throughout the day as he visits the diocese. Follow our Facebook (www.facebook.com/wnycatholic) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/wnycatholic) for more updates and pictures.
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