Paul Stephen Loverde (born September 3, 1940) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. Loverde served as bishop of the
Diocese of Arlington
The Diocese of Arlington ( la, Dioecesis Arlingtonensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The Diocese of Arlington comprises 70 parishes across 21 counties and se ...
in Northern Virginia from 1998 to 2016.
Loverde previously served as bishop of the
Diocese of Ogdensburg
The Diocese of Ogdensburg ( la, Dioecesis Ogdensburgensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in New York. It was founded on February 15, 1872. It comprises the entirety of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jeff ...
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, Massachusetts, the son of Paul and Ann Marie () Loverde. Loverde received his secondary school education at La Salle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island, 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. 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 on December 18, 1965, in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by Bishop Francis F. Reh. After completing his studies in Rome in 1966, Loverde returned to Connecticut.
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 ...
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 named Loverde as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford and titular bishop of
Octabia
Octaba was an ancient Roman–Berber city in the province of Africa Proconsularis and Byzacena in late antiquity. Its exact location is now lost, but it was in the Sahel region of Tunisia. In 484 AD the town's Catholic bishop, Sabinico, attende ...
. 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, on January 17, 1994. While in Ogdensburg, Loverde started vocation and evangelization initiatives. In 1999, he closed Mater Dei College in
Oswegatchie, New York
Oswegatchie is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 4,397 at the 2010 census. The name reportedly means "Black Water". It is on the northern border of the county and is adjacent to the city of Ogdensburg.
...
. From 1997 to 1999, Loverde was state chaplain of the New York Knights of Columbus.
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
Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary (formerly Blessed John XXIII National Seminary) is a Roman Catholic seminary in Weston, Massachusetts. It offers a graduate-level program designed for priesthood candidates aged 30 and above, often called ...
in Weston, Massachusetts, the
Pontifical College Josephinum
The Pontifical College Josephinum is a private Roman Catholic seminary and university in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded by Joseph Jessing in 1888 and was granted the status of a Pontifical College in 1892 by Pope Leo XIII, making it the only pont ...
Catholic Distance University
Catholic Distance University (CDU) is a private online Roman Catholic university based in Charles Town, West Virginia. It exclusively offers online undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs. CDU's programs aim to meet the goals ...
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
Mount St. Mary's University (The Mount) is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It includes the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. The undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Arts, ...
in Emmitsburg, Maryland Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (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's Saint Luke Award in 2012. In 2012, a Doctor of Humane Letters 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 her on several occasions in 2008. The defendant stated that Euteneur, under the guise of conducting an exorcism, 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 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 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 ...