Daniel Patrick Reilly (born May 12, 1928) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Reilly served as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Diocese of Norwich The Diocese of Norwich is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England that forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. History It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the diocese of the Bishop of the East A ...

in Connecticut from 1975 to 1994 and as bishop of the Diocese of Worcester in Massachusetts from 1994 to 2004.

Biography

Early life and education

Daniel Reilly was born on May 12, 1928, in

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, to Francis and Mary Ann (née O'Beirne) Reilly. He entered Our Lady of Providence Seminary in

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, sout ...

, in 1943, then in 1948 went to the Grand Seminary in Saint-Brieuc, France.

Ordination and ministry

Reilly was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood for the

Diocese of Providence The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence ( la, Dioecesis Providentiensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. The diocese was erected by Pope Pius IX on February 17, 1872 and originally comprised the entire state of Rhode ...

on May 30, 1953, by Bishop

Russell McVinney Russell Joseph McVinney (November 25, 1898—August 10, 1971) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island from 1948 until his death in 1971. Biography Early life Ru ...

at the

Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul The Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul is the main church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad, 250 kilometers south of Islamabad, Pakistan. The cathedral has played a significant role in promoting harmony and understanding between the nat ...

in Providence.After his ordination, Reilly briefly served in a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

before completing his graduate studies at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. Reilly was named assistant

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

(1954), secretary to Bishop McVinney (1956), chancellor (1964), and

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

(1972). Reilly attended two sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

in Rome, and was raised to the rank of

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

in 1965.

Bishop of Norwich

On June 5, 1975,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

appointed Reilly as the third bishop of the Diocese of Norwich.Connor, Tanya. "Bishop Reilly enjoys being with the people", 'The Catholic Free Press, October 23, 2020
/ref> He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

on August 6, 1975, at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Norwich by Archbishop John Whealon, with Bishops Vincent Hines and Louis Gelineau serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

Bishop of Worcester

On October 27, 1994,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Reilly as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Worcester. He was installed on December 8, 1994.During his tenure in Worcester, Reilly reopened St. Joseph Parish but merged it with Notre Dame des Canadiens Parish in Worcester. He raised over $50 million for his Forward in Faith campaign to place the diocese in a stable financial condition. In 2002, Reilly became the first Catholic bishop to open the annual synod of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...

. In 2003, he expressed his unequivocal opposition to

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

and

civil unions A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

but declared that he was open to discussion on giving public benefits to same-sex couples.

Retirement

On March 9, 2004, John Paul II accepted Reilly's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Worcester. He was succeeded by Bishop Robert McManus, then- auxiliary bishop of Providence. On September 17, 2012, the Diocese of Norwich reached a $1.1 million settlement with a

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

, woman who claimed that she had been

sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

as a minor by Thomas Shea, a priest at St. Joseph Parish in New London. The woman claimed that Reilly, when bishop of Norwich, knew about Shea's history of abuse allegations, but kept transferring him to different parishes. On December 30, 2020, the newspaper ''The Day'' calculated that Reilly and the Diocese of Norwich faced 35 separate lawsuits by men who had been abused during the 1990's as minors. The men all accused K. Paul McGlade, a monk who ran the Academy at Mount Saint John in

Deep River, Connecticut Deep River is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, Middlesex County, Connecticut. The population was 4,415 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The Deep River Center, Connecticut, town center is designated by the U. ...

. Reilly had served on the school board that recruited McGlade to Norwich from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reilly, Daniel Patrick 1928 births Living people American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent Boston College alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Norwich Roman Catholic bishops of Worcester, Massachusetts Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence Clergy from Providence, Rhode Island 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Connecticut