Pope Accepts Resignation of Cardinal Rigali of Philadelphia, Names Archbishop Chaput to Succeed Him; Accepts Resignation of Bishop Boland of Savannah, Georgia, Names Franciscan Pastor to Succeed Him
WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Justin Rigali, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and named Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap, 66, to succeed him.
WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Justin Rigali, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and named Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap, 66, to succeed him.
The pope also has accepted the resignation of Bishop J. Kevin Boland, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia, and named Franciscan Father Gregory Hartmayer, O.F.M. Conv., 59, pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Lithia Springs, Georgia, to succeed him.
The resignations and appointments were publicized in Washington, July 19, by Msgr. Jean-François Lantheaume, chargé d’affaires at the Apostolic Nunciature to the United States.
Archbishop Chaput was born in Kansas and is a Native American and member of the Potawatomi tribe of Kansas. He was named bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota in 1988, the second Native American to be named a U.S. bishop. He was named archbishop of Denver in 1997, becoming the first Native American to achieve that rank.
Archbishop Chaput is a member of the Capuchin Order and professed final vows as a Capuchin friar in 1968. He was ordained a priest in 1970. Prior to being named a bishop, he held several leadership positions in the Capuchins, including provincial minister of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America, 1983-1988.
Archbishop Chaput holds a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from St. Fidelis College, Herman, Pennsylvania; a master of arts degree in religious education from Capuchin College, Washington, and a master of arts degree in theology from the University of San Francisco. He is author of Render Unto Caesar (2008), a book that explores Catholic participation in the public square, and Living the Catholic Faith: Rediscovering the Basics (2001), a bookbased on a lecture series he gave during the 2000 millennium year.
Cardinal Rigali has been archbishop of Philadelphia from 2003-2011 and was named a cardinal in 2003. He was named Archbishop of St. Louis in 1994 and served there until 2003, after a long career at the Vatican. At the Vatican he served in the diplomatic corps and in 1985 was named an archbishop and president of the Pontifical Ecclesial Academy, the diplomatic school of the Holy See, where he served until 1989. He also worked in the English-language section of the Vatican Secretariat of State and was secretary of the Vatican Congregation for Bishops, 1989-1994.
Cardinal Rigali was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Los Angeles in 1961, and holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from The Catholic University of America, Washington, and a doctorate in canon law from the Gregorian University, Rome.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has a population of 3,892,194 people, with 1,464,938, or 38 percent of them, Catholic.
Gregory Hartmayer was born November 21, 1951, in Buffalo, New York. He studied in the Franciscan novitiate in Ellicott City, Maryland, 1969-1970, and professed solemn vows in 1973. He was ordained a priest for the Franciscan order in 1979.
Bishop-elect Hartmayer holds a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from St. Hyacinth College and Seminary, in Massachusetts; a master of divinity degree from St. Anthony-on-Hudson, in Rensselaer, New York; a master of arts degree in pastoral counseling from Emmanuel College, Boston and a master of education degree from Boston College.
After ordination to the priesthood, assignments included guidance counselor and teacher, Archbishop Curley High School, Baltimore, 1979-1985; principal, Archbishop Curley High School, 1985-1988; principal, Cardinal O’Hara High School, Tonawanda, New York, 1988-1989; principal, St. Francis Friary and High School, Athol Springs, New York, 1989-1994; instructor, John Carroll High School, Fort Pierce, Florida, 1995; pastor, St. Philip Benizi Parish, Jonesboro, Georgia, 1995-2010; and pastor St. John Vianney, 2010.
Bishop Boland has been bishop of Savannah since 1995. A native of Ireland, he studied for the priesthood in Dublin and was ordained for the Savannah Diocese in 1959. He served as a pastor and held several administrative positions in the diocese, including vicar-general, secretary to the bishop and chancellor. He holds a master of science in religious education from Fordham University.
The Savannah Diocese has a population of 2,800,000 people, with 77,473, or three percent of them, Catholic.
