Pope Francis Names Rev. Robert P. Reed and Very Rev. Mark O'connell, Jcd As Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of Boston

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
June 3, 2016

http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Utility/News-And-Press/Content.aspx?id=32591

[media kit]

[Previous Auxiliary Bishops of Boston]

[The Appointment of Bishops]

The Holy See announced this morning that Pope Francis has named Rev. Robert P. Reed and Very Reverend Mark O’Connell, JCD as Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of Boston. Bishop-elect Reed is President and CEO of iCatholic Media and Cabinet Secretary for Catholic Media. Bishop-elect O’Connell currently serves as Judicial Vicar for the Archdiocese.

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley will present the Bishops-elect at a 10:00am press conference today (Friday, June 3, 2016) in the Medeiros Auditorium at St. John Seminary, 127 Lake Street, Brighton, MA.

Cardinal Sean said, “In Bishops-elect Reed and O’Connell the Holy Father has selected two gifted priests as Auxiliary Bishops. They exemplify the heart of a pastor and joyfully bring the Gospel to life in their daily ministry. These kind and humble priests bless us with their prayerful commitment to serve the faithful with grace and a deep and abiding love for Christ.”

Bishop-elect Reed said, “My gratitude goes to Pope Francis for this appointment and his example of a joyful life motivated by the Gospel. I am equally thankful to Cardinal Sean for his confidence in me as one of his priests. My life and work as a priest is one of service, not privilege. For me, today is a summons to an even deeper service in the name of Jesus, our only hope.”

Bishop-Elect O’Connell said, “I am very humbled, and overwhelmed by the Holy Father’s confidence in calling me to serve in this new role within the life of the Church. I have been an extremely blessed and happy priest for twenty-six years. I can only trust that God will continue to allow me to be happy serving as a bishop no matter what is His plan for me.”

Cardinal Sean will ordain Bishops-Elect Reed and O’Connell to the episcopacy on the Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Wednesday, August 24th at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. Additional details will be released shortly. Please visit www.BostonCatholic.org for more information about the ordination of the Bishops-elect.


Bishop-elect Reed was born on June 11, 1959 in Boston, MA. He is the son of the late William and Jeanne Reed and Charles Boland and the youngest of five children, William, Richard, Dr. Kenneth and Nancy. Ordained to the priesthood on July 6, 1985, his first parish assignment was as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish in Malden. Other parish assignments include, Saint Catherine of Siena Parish in Norwood, Pastor of Saint Matthew Parish in Dorchester, Saint Theresa of Avila Parish in West Roxbury, All Saints Parish in Haverhill and as Pastor of Holy Ghost Parish in Whitman.

He was educated at Saint John’s Preparatory School and he prepared for the priesthood at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton and the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Bishop-elect Reed also holds an advanced degree in Television Management from Boston University's College of Communication. His work at The CatholicTV Network has included serving as Director of Educational Development, Assistant Director and Director. He is Director of the Radio Apostolate for the Archdiocese and regularly assists at Corpus Christi-St. Bernard Parish in Newton and St. Bonaventure Parish in Plymouth, MA. The Bishop-elect is the author of Renewed: Ten Ways to Rediscover the Saints, Embrace Your Gifts and Revive Your Catholic Faith.


Bishop-Elect O’Connell was born on June 25, 1964. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1990. Born in Toronto, Canada of American parents, his family returned to Massachusetts when he was 12 years old. His father, Thomas who passed away in 2013, was a University Librarian first at York University in Toronto and then at Boston College. His mother, Margaret, lives at Bethany Health Center in Framingham. The youngest of four children, Bishop-elect O’Connell has two brothers (Thomas and John) and a sister (Margaret Mary). His late uncle was a Boston Priest Rev. David F. Delaney '61 and his aunt is a Dominican Sister , Sr, Jean Delaney, O.P.

A graduate of Dover Sherborn Regional High School '82, he earned degrees from Boston College '86 and Saint John Seminary '90. Following his ordination in 1990, he served five years at Saint Barbara in Woburn and two years at Saint Mary of the Annunciation in Danvers during which time he was one of the Chaplains at Salem State. He continued his studies in Rome in Canon Law in 1997 and received his License in Canon Law (JCL) from Universita della Santa Croce 1999 and his Doctorate in Canon Law (JCD) in 2002. From 2001 to 2007 he served as Assistant to the Moderator of the Curia for Canonical Affairs. He has been Judicial Vicar since 2007 and is on the faculty at both Saint John Seminary and at Pope John XXIII Seminary. The Bishop-elect is Chaplain to the Catholic Lawyers' Guild.

Auxiliary Bishops of Boston

Bishop-elect Reed and Bishop-elect O’Connell will serve with the following Auxiliary Bishops in Boston when they are ordained in Wednesday, August 24th:

Auxiliary Bishop Peter J. Uglietto, V.G., Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia

Auxiliary Bishop John Dooher, South Region

Auxiliary Bishop Robert Hennessey, Central Region

Auxiliary Bishop Arthur L. Kennedy, Ph.D., Episcopal Vicar for the New Evangelization

Auxiliary Bishop Walter Edyvean, retired

Auxiliary Bishop Francis Irwin, retired

Auxiliary Bishop Emilio S. Allue, retired

About the Archdiocese of Boston: The Diocese of Boston was founded on April 8, 1808 and was elevated to Archdiocese in 1875. Currently serving the needs of 1.8 million Catholics, the Archdiocese of Boston is an ethnically diverse and spiritually enriching faith community consisting of 289 parishes, across 144 communities, educating approximately 38,000 students in its Catholic schools and 156,000 in religious education classes each year, ministering to the needs of 200,000 individuals through its pastoral and social service outreach. Mass is celebrated in nearly twenty different languages each week. For more information, please visit www.BostonCatholic.org.