Henry Joseph Mansell (born October 10, 1937) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
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 ...
. He served as archbishop 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 the fourth Archbishop of Hartford from 2004 to 2013.
Mansell previously served as bishop of the
Diocese of Buffalo
The Diocese of Buffalo is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is a suffragan diocese within the metropolitan province of the Archdiocese of New York. The Diocese of Buffalo inc ...
in New York from 1995 to 2003 and as an auxiliary bishop of the
Archdiocese of New York
The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...
in New York City from 1992 to 1995.
Biography
Early life
Henry Mansell was born on October 10, 1937, in the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
section of New York City to Henry and Bridget (née Finn) Mansell, and
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost i ...
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...
in 1959.
Priesthood
Mansell 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 ...
to the priesthood in Rome for the Archdiocese of New York by Archbishop Martin O'Connor on December 19, 1962. He earned a
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 ...
from 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 Rome in 1963, and did
postgraduate work
''Postgraduate Work'' is a self-produced 7" record released by MC Paul Barman. He recorded it a year after graduating from Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh ...
at 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. ...
in Washington, D.C. until 1965.
Mansell served as a
parish priest
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 ...
at
parishes
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 ...
in
Harrison, New York
Harrison is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States, northeast of Manhattan. The population was 28,218 at the 2020 census.
History
Harrison was established in 1696 by a patent granted by the British government to John Harrison ...
, the Bronx, and Saints John and Paul Parish in
Larchmont, New York
Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census. In February 2019, Bloomberg ranked Lar ...
. He was appointed director of the Office of Parish Councils on June 9, 1972, and vice
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 ...
of the archdiocese on July 1, 1985. On March 17, 1986, Mansell was raised by the Vatican to the rank of
honorary prelate
A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour.
They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing. He later became director of priest personnel and chancellor (1988) of the archdiocese.
Auxiliary Bishop of New York
On November 24, 1992, Mansell was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York 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 a ...
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 ...
. He received his
episcopal consecration
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 ...
on January 6, 1993Wiechec, Nancy Phelan. "Archbishop Mansell of Hartford Retires", ''Catholic New York'', October 30, 2013 /ref> from the pope, with Archbishops Giovanni Re and
Justin Rigali
Justin Francis Rigali (born April 19, 1935) is an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the eighth Archbishop of Philadelphia, having previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1994 to 2003, and was elevated to the ca ...
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 ...
, in Rome. He selected as his episcopal
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...
, "Blessed be God" ().
Bishop of Buffalo
John Paul II appointed Mansell as the twelfth bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo on April 18, 1995. Succeeding the retiring Bishop Edward D. Head, Mansell was installed on June 12, 1995, at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Buffalo.
During his tenure, Mansell visited every parish in the diocese, most of them multiple times. He also promoted
Catholic education Catholic education may refer to:
* Catholic school, primary and secondary education organised by the Catholic Church or organisations affiliated with it
* Catholic university, private university run by the Catholic Church or organisations affili ...
, and
health care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...
and
social service
Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administ ...
institutes within the diocese. Mansell established the Catholic Health Care System of
Western New York
Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY i ...
, uniting the resources of local Catholic
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...
s,
nursing home
A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...
s, and other health care facilities. In 1996, Mansell instituted the diocese's
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
iate structure, and in 1997 he led the diocese in celebrating its 150th
anniversary
An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...
. He instituted a televised "Daily Mass" celebrated from a chapel at St. Joseph Cathedral for the homebound.
Mansell received
honorary doctorates
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
from
Niagara University
Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. App ...
in Lewiston, New York in May 1996, from St. Bonaventure University in Saint Bonaventure, New York in August 1996, and from
Canisius College
Canisius College is a private Jesuit college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master' ...
in Buffalo in May 1997. In September 2003, New York Governor
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...
named Mansell to the State Commission on Education Reform.Buckley, Eileen. "Bishop Mansell Reflects on His Eight Years in Buffalo", WFBO 88.7 /ref>
In Mansell's farewell letter to parishioners of the dioceses in 2003, he said that, "Buffalo is a very strong diocese," and that its parishes, schools, and social service agencies "guarantee strength...for years to come." In 2006, '' Buffalo Business First'' reported that Mansell's successor, Bishop
Edward Kmiec
Edward Urban Kmiec (, ; June 4, 1936 – July 11, 2020) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo in New York from 2004 to 2012.
Kmiec previously served as an auxiliary ...
said that some statistics were too optimistic, and that church and parochial school closures would be necessary to address declining attendance and enrollment, as well as $3 million in debt.Sole power: Bishop Edward Kmiec wants change - and so it will be ''Buffalo Business First'', Buffalo, NY: Buffalo Business First, 11 September 2006, O'Shei, T., Retrieved 3 January 2014.
Archbishop of Hartford
Pope John Paul II appointed Mansell as the fourth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford on October 20, 2003. He was installed on December 18, 2004. On June 29, 2004, Mansell received the
pallium
The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropol ...
from Pope John Paul II in Rome.
In 2005, the archdiocese paid $22 million to settle sexual abuse claims brought by 43 people against 14 priests, the majority of cases occurring in the 1960s and 1970s. Mansell made a statement regarding the settlement. Of the settlement of the sexual abuse case regarding the 14 priests in the Archdiocese, Mansell was quoted in a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' article by William Yardley, stating: " t ispart of a healing process for the persons whose lives have been severely harmed by the evil of sexual abuse and for the Church itself."
Mansell is a proponent of the
Traditional Latin Mass
The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated ...
.
Retirement
Having reached the mandatory retirement age, Mansell submitted his letter of resignation as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford to
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 ...
Catholic Church in the United States
With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the country's second largest religious grouping, after Protestantism, and the country's largest single church or Christian denomination where Protestantism is divided in ...
*
Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
This is a historical list of all bishops of the Catholic Church whose sees were within the present-day boundaries of the United States, with links to the bishops who consecrated them. It includes only members of the United States Conference of Cat ...