By John Cronin
Boston (MA) Herald
December 28, 1995

In a ceremony rich in tradition and accompanied by contemporary and gospel music, Bernard Cardinal Law ordained two new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Boston yesterday.

The Most Revs. John B. McCormack and William F. Murphy were welcomed with a resounding round of applause from the nearly 5,000 attendees.

The congregation, including clergy of other faiths as well as Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim representatives, witnessed the centuries-old rite in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

Bishop McCormack, a Boston College High School and St. John's seminary graduate, was formerly ministerial personnel administrator for the archdiocese and is pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church in Weymouth. He also holds a master's degree in social work from Boston College.

Bishop Murphy, vicar-general of the archdiocese, is an alumnus of Harvard College, St. John's Seminary and the North American College in Rome. He also served as U.S. observer during presidential elections in Haiti.

Both bishops will be assigned to new posts, assisting the cardinal in the running of the archdiocese.

U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Raymond Flynn congratulated both of the newly ordained bishops.

Recalling the appointment of Cardinal Law to the archdiocese in 1984, Flynn reminded them of the now-famous statement that "After Boston, there's only heaven!"



Manchester, N.H., welcomes new bishop

By Paul Sullivan
Boston (MA) Herald
September 23, 1998

Manchester, NH - When John B. McCormack, the new bishop of the Manchester Diocese was installed yesterday, his first cousin described a more embarrassing time for him.

"When Jack was ordained he didn't look 18 years old and he used to go to the hospital (in Salem, Mass.) to hear people's final confessions. Many of the patients were heavily medicated and they thought Jack was just an altar boy," said Tom McCormack, 57, of Weymouth.

Bishop McCormack, 63, looked a lot more dignified yesterday as he was installed as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Manchester in an incense-punctuated, age-old ceremony of pomp and circumstance in St. Joseph's Cathedral.

In the church among the packed crowd of 1,000 were more than 300 priests and some 30 bishops and archbishops from all over the world.

He was given his crosier, symbolic of his office, by Bernard Cardinal Law, his old boss. Since 1960, McCormack has served in many capacities in the Archdiocese of Boston.

"A few months ago we gathered here for a sad occasion," said Law, referring to the funeral of McCormack's predecessor, Bishop Leo E. O'Neil.

"God is good. God has sent you John, who was a joy to work with in Boston. He will give of himself to make for a strong and vibrant church," Law said.

"At his farewell Mass in St. Agatha's Church in Milton (Mass.) there was an outpouring of priests that speaks to what is now in your midst," he said.

In his homily, McCormack, a native of Cambridge who grew up in St. Mary's Parish, said to the people of Manchester, "I have come to serve and live among you. For many years I have enjoyed the beauty of your state ... should I now say, `our state?' I look forward to discovering the inner beauty of its residents.

"I am mindful of a recent newspaper column in which the author described the lessons he learned during a hike with his family in the White Mountains. He thought it was applicable to other roles in his life,” McCormack continued.

"And so, I apply it to my own: I will try to `walk the straight and narrow; not trample on the growth that has lined the path for many generations.'"