Robert Peter Deeley (June 18, 1946) 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 'pre ...

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 ...

, serving since 2013 as the

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 c ...

of the

Diocese of Portland The Diocese of Portland is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the entire state of Maine. It is led by a bishop, and its cathedral, or mother church, is the Cat ...

in Maine. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston.

Biography

Early life and education

Robert Peter Deeley was born on June 18, 1946 in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

to Michael and Mary Deeley, both from County Galway,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In 1964, after graduating from Matignon High School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Deeley went to Cardinal O’Connell Minor Seminary in Boston. After two years, Deeley received the Basselin Foundation Scholarship and attended

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private 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 of higher education founded by U.S. ...

. After graduating in 1968 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree, he entered the Pontifical North American College in Rome, earning a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree 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 ...

in 1972.

Ordination and ministry

On July 14, 1973, Deeley was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

for the Archdiocese of Boston by Cardinal Humberto Medeiros in his home parish of Sacred Heart in

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Waterto ...

. Following his ordination, Deeley served as an associate pastor and then as secretary to the Metropolitan Tribunal of the archdiocese. In 1981, he returned to Pontifical Gregorian University, where he earned 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. Licentiat ...

in 1983, and a Doctor of Canon Law ''summa cum laude'' in 1986. His dissertation was entitled: "The Mandate for Those who Teach Theology in Institutes of Higher Studies: An Interpretation of the Meaning of Canon 812 of the Code of Canon Law." Back in Boston, Deeley served in various capacities in the Metropolitan Tribunal before being called to work in the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...

by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2004. He kept this position in Rome until 2010, when he returned to Boston to be named

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' ...

and moderator of the curia in 2011. Deeley was named a prelate of honor in 1995 by

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 ...

. giving him the title 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 ...

." Deeley served as president of the

Canon Law Society of America The Canon Law Society of America or CLSA is a professional association dedicated to the promotion of both the study and the application of canon law in the Catholic Church. The Society's membership includes over fifteen hundred men and women who ...

in 2000.

Auxiliary Bishop of Boston

On November 9, 2012,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

named Deeley as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of Kearney. He was consecrated on January 4, 2013 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston by Cardinal Seán O'Malley. Archbishop John Nienstedt and Bishop Robert Evans served as co-consecrators. Deeley chose "''Veritatem facere in caritate''" ("Living the truth in love") from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians as his episcopal motto, because he believes that is "the heart of our challenge in the Church today." Deeley was the third president of the Canon Law Society to be named bishop by Benedict XVI, joining Bishop Randolph Calvo and Bishop Mark Bartchak.

Bishop of Portland, Maine

On December 18, 2013, Pope Francis appointed Deeley as bishop of the

. He was installed at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, Maine, on February 14, 2014. On September 16, 2016, a Maine man sued Deeley, claiming that he had been sexually abused as a child by two diocese priests. The unnamed plaintiff was serving a 60 year sentence for the murder of his grandfather in 1986.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of BostonRoman Catholic Diocese of Portland
official website

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deeley, Robert P. 1946 births Living people People from Cambridge, Massachusetts Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Catholic University of America alumni Pontifical North American College alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Portland Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Massachusetts Catholics from Massachusetts