Paul Stephen Loverde (born September 3, 1940) 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

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 ...

. Loverde 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 Arlington in

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

from 1998 to 2016. Loverde previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg in Northern New York from 1993 to 1998 and as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Hartford The Archdiocese of Hartford is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven counties in the U.S. State of Connecticut. The archdiocese includes about 470,000 Catholics, more ...

in Connecticut from 1988 to 1993.

Biography

Early life and education

Paul Loverde was born on September 3, 1940, in

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popul ...

, Massachusetts, the son of Paul and Ann Marie () Loverde. Loverde received his secondary school education at La Salle Academy in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, followed by an education at Saint Bernard Seminary College in Rochester, New York. Loverde graduated with a bachelor degree (summa cum laude) from Saint Bernard in 1962 and was chosen to study in Rome at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. Loverde earned his

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theol ...

there in 1966.

Ordination and ministry

Loverde was ordained a priest for 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 ...

on December 18, 1965, in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

in Rome by Bishop Francis F. Reh. After completing his studies in Rome in 1966, Loverde returned to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. Loverde served assistant pastor at St. Sebastian Parish in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...

and as a religion teacher at various high schools. He also served as campus chaplain at the following institutions in Connecticut: *

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

in Middletown *

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...

in New London *

Eastern Connecticut State University Eastern Connecticut State University (Eastern, Eastern Connecticut, Eastern Connecticut State, or ECSU) is a public liberal arts university in Willimantic, Connecticut. Founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest campus in the Connecticut State Un ...

in Willimantic Loverde also serve as an instructor of canon law at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut. In 1982, he received a

Licentiate of Canon Law Licentiate of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Licentiatus; JCL) is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Licentiate ...

from the Catholic University of America

School of Canon Law The School of Canon Law is the only faculty of Catholic canon law in the United States. It is one of the twelve schools at The Catholic University of America, located in Washington, D.C.

Auxiliary Bishop of Hartford

On February 3, 1988,

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 ...

named Loverde as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford and titular bishop of Octabia. He was consecrated on April 12, 1988, by Archbishop

John F. Whealon John Francis Whealon (January 15, 1921 – August 2, 1991) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford in Connecticut from 1968 to 1991. Whealon previously served as an auxilia ...

at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, Connecticut Loverde chose his episcopal motto, "Encourage and Teach with Patience," (

2 Timothy 4 2 Timothy 4 is the fourth and final chapter of the Second Epistle to Timothy in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The letter is traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle, the last one written in Rome before his death (c. 64 or 67), ...

:2) from Second Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy, expressing his belief that, as Bishop, it is "his duty and calling by God to encourage and teach the faith to those who need it, with the gentle patience that each of God's children may need."

Bishop of Ogdensburg

On November 11, 1993, John Paul II appointed Loverde as the eleventh bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg. He was installed at the Cathedral of St. Mary in

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and de ...

, on January 17, 1994. While in Ogdensburg, Loverde started vocation and evangelization initiatives. In 1999, he closed Mater Dei College in Oswegatchie, New York. From 1997 to 1999, Loverde was state chaplain of the New York

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

Bishop of Arlington

After the sudden death of Bishop John Keating on March 22, 1998, John Paul II appointed Loverde as the third bishop of the Diocese of Arlington. He was installed on March 25, 1999, at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, Virginia. Loverde reinstated the

permanent diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

program, and allowed seminarians to study at Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, and

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

. He also supported religious orders coming into the diocese, such as the

Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist The Institute of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist (FSE) is a Roman Catholic religious congregation for women. The motherhouse is in Meriden, Connecticut, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford. History The Institute of the Francis ...

and the Cloistered Dominicans. Loverde was on the board of directors for the

Institute for the Psychological Sciences The Institute for the Psychological Sciences (IPS) is a graduate school of psychology and an integral part of Divine Mercy University (DMU) in Sterling, Virginia. The institute was founded in 1999 with the mission of basing the scientific study ...

in Arlington, Virginia, The Catholic University of America, the Catholic Distance University in Charles Town, West Virginia and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. He previously served on the board of Christ the King Seminary and Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland Within the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

(USCCB). Loverde was chair of the Committee on Vocations from 1995 to 1998 and was a member of the Administrative Committee from 2004 to 2008. Loverde won the Catholic Distance University's Founder's Award for his service to the university in 2010 and the

Saint Luke Institute Saint Luke Institute (SLI) is an international, U.S.-based private, licensed mental health education and treatment facility that is based in Silver Spring, Maryland. SLI primarily serves Roman Catholic priests, permanent deacons, and consecrated m ...

's Saint Luke Award in 2012. In 2012, a

Doctor of Humane Letters The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society. The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...

was conferred upon Loverde by the Institute for the Psychological Sciences. On June 20, 2012, a woman sued Loverde and the diocese, claiming that a diocesan priest, Thomas J. Euteneur, had

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 ...

her on several occasions in 2008. The defendant stated that Euteneur, under the guise of conducting an

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

, had kissed and fondled her. The woman said that Loverde and the diocese had given Euteneur permission to perform exorcisms. In 2006, Loverde permitted female

altar server An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helps bring up the gifts, brings up the bo ...

s, at the discretion of the local pastors, in parishes and high school communities in the Diocese of Arlington for the first time. Prior to this year, Arlington was one of only two dioceses in the United States to forbid girls from being altar servers. Loverde had sent a '' dubium'' about the altar girl matter to the Holy See's

Congregation for Divine Worship it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...

and Discipline of the Sacraments. The congregation responded that while bishops may allow female altar servers, pastors and priests cannot be compelled to use them.

Retirement

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted Loverde's letter of retirement as bishop of the Diocese of Arlington on October 4, 2016, and appointed

Michael F. Burbidge Michael Francis Burbidge (born June 16, 1957) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the bishop of the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia since 2016. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadel ...

as his successor.

References

External links

*
Diocese of Arlington

Diocese of Ogdensburg

Archdiocese of Hartford

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loverde, Paul 1940 births Living people Roman Catholic bishops of Arlington Roman Catholic bishops of Ogdensburg 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States People from Framingham, Massachusetts Roman Catholic auxiliary bishops of Hartford Catholics from Massachusetts Catholic University of America School of Canon Law alumni Saint Bernard's Seminary alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni American expatriates in Italy Catholic University of America alumni