John Gerard Noonan (born February 26, 1951) is an Irish-born American prelate in 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 has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Orlando in Florida since 2010. Noonan previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami in Florida from 2005 to 2010.

Biography

Early life

John Noonan was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, on February 26, 1951. His parents were John Noonan and Margaret Purcell. At age 18, John Noonan immigrated to New York, but later moved to Miami, Florida. In 1979, Noonan graduated from St. John Vianney College Seminary in Westchester, Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1983, he earned a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

degree from St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Ordination and ministry

On September 23, 1983, Noonan was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Miami at St. Paul of the Cross Church in

North Palm Beach, Florida North Palm Beach is an incorporated village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami Metropolitan Area. The population was 13,162 at the 2020 census. The village won an award from the National Association of Home Buil ...

. He was then assigned as parochial vicar at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in

Pompano Beach, Florida Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2 ...

, (1983–1989) while also serving as the chaplain for youth ministry in

Broward County, Florida Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...

(1985–1987). Noonan was appointed dean of men at St. John Vianney (1989–1993), then priest in residence at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Miami Shores, Florida (1993–1994). Noonan next became supervising principal at

Monsignor Edward Pace High School Monsignor Edward Pace High School is a Catholic secondary school in the Opa-locka North neighborhood of Miami Gardens, Florida. It was named a Blue Ribbon School in 2002 and one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the country in 2004 and 2005 ...

in Miami Gardens, Florida, (1993–1994) and then supervising principal at St. Brendan High School in Miami (1994–1996). In 1996, Noonan earned a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

degree from

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 classified ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. Noonan served as rector/president of St. John Vianney from 1996 until 2005.

Auxiliary Bishop of Miami

On June 21, 2005, Noonan was appointed titular bishop of

Bonusta Bonusta was a town, not far from Carthage, in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis. No trace of it has been identified.Stefano Antonio Morcelli''Africa christiana'' Volume I, Brescia 1816, pp. 105–106 Bishop Rufinianus At the Confe ...

and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami by

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 sovereig ...

. On August 24, 2005, he was consecrated at the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Miami. Noonan's principal consecrator was Archbishop

John Favalora John Clement Favalora (born December 5, 1935) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami from 1994 to 2010 and as bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana from 1986 to 1989 and a ...

and his co-consecrators were Bishop Agustin Alejo Roman Rodriguez and Bishop

Felipe de Jesús Estévez Felipe de Jesús Estévez (born February 5, 1946) is a Cuban-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who was bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine in Florida from 2011 to 2022. Estévez previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdioc ...

Bishop of Orlando

On October 23, 2010, Benedict XVI appointed Noonan as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Orlando. He was installed at Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando on December 16, 2010. On August 13, 2014, an Orlando man filed a lawsuit against Noonan and the Diocese of Orlando. The plaintiff claimed to have been

sexually assaulted Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, whic ...

when he was an altar boy in

Sanford, Florida Sanford is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Seminole County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 61,051. Known as the "Historic Waterfront Gateway City", Sanford sits on the southern shore ...

by Father William Authenrieth between 1976 and 1978. On June 15, 2017, Noonan attended a memorial service at St. James Cathedral for victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. He made these remarks:

“We need to walk with and accompany everybody — there is no exception, We treat everybody with dignity because they are made in the image and likeness of God and that’s what it’s all about.”

On August 30, 2018, Noonan removed David Gillis, parochial administrator of the Our Savior Parish in

Cocoa Beach, Florida Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,539 at the 2018 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The first non-native ...

. Gillis had been accused in a

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

investigation of sexual abuse of a minor years earlier.

References

External links

Diocese of Orlando Official website

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noonan, John Gerard 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 1951 births Living people Irish emigrants to the United States 17th-century German Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami Boston College alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Orlando St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary alumni