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Styles of William Draper Byrne
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

William Draper Byrne (born September 26, 1964) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts since 2020. He is known for taking over the diocese after the revelation of widespread clergy child sex abuse and the subsequent cover-ups.

Biography

Early life

William Byrne was born on September 26, 1964, in Washington, D.C., the son of Mary and William Draper Byrne, a surgeon. William Byrne grew up in McLean, Virginia, and attended the Mater Dei School in Bethesda, Maryland. Starting in the ninth grade, Byrne enrolled at Georgetown Preparatory School in Rockville, Maryland.

Byrne completed his undergraduate studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. According to Byrne's older sister, Dede Byrne, he was influenced in college to become a priest by the example of their uncle, John Byrne, a priest in New York City. Dede Byrne is a key member of the white nationalist MAGA movement in the United States and has made claims to have treated over 500 COVID-19 patients early in the disease with nearly 100% success.

While a seminarian, Byrne studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. He received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1992 and a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1994 from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Priesthood

Byrne was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Washington on June 25, 1994 by Archbishop James Hickey at The Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C.

After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Byrne as parochial vicar at Little Flower Parish in Bethesda for one year. It then transferred him to work as parochial vicar at Shrine of Saint Jude Parish in Rockville. In 1999, the archdiocese named Byrne as chaplain for the University of Maryland's Catholic Student Center in College Park, Maryland, serving there until 2007.

From 2007 to 2015, Byrne was pastor of St. Peter's Parish in Washington, DC. While in that position he began a special ministry to Catholic members of the United States Congress. From 2009 to 2015, Byrne served as secretary for pastoral ministry and social concerns for the archdiocese. In 2015, he left St. Peter's to become pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, Maryland. Before his appointment as bishop, Byrne gained national attention for his writings and YouTube videos.

Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts

Pope Francis named Byrne as bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts on October 14, 2020. He received his episcopal consecration at St. Michael's Cathedral in Springfield on December 14, 2020, from Cardinal Sean O'Malley, with Bishops James F. Checchio and Austin Vetter serving as co-consecrators.

In May 2021, Byrne released an expanded list of priests within the diocese who faced credible accusations of sexual abuse. He said:

As a Church, both locally and universally, too many times in the past we have failed to protect the innocence and dignity of minors from those who committed these heinous crimes. We can never erase the harm done, however, acknowledging a survivor's allegations to be credible brings the truth of their horrific experience into the light. I offer my most sincere apology to all who have suffered from the abuse and to their loved ones. I am truly sorry.

In November 2023, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops elected Byrne as chair of its Committee on Communications.

See also

• Catholic Church hierarchy
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• List of Catholic bishops of the United States
• Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

References

1. "Six Months After Arrival, Springfield Bishop Hopes Abuse Transparency 'Encourages' Other Dioceses". New England Public Media. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2024-11-29.
2. ^ Beale, Stephen (10 December 2020). "New Massachusetts Bishop Noted for Humor and Social Media Savvy". NCR. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021.
3. ^ "Pope Francis Names Father William Byrne of Archdiocese of Washington as Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts". US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
4. "Alexandria Theology on Tap – Sr. Deirdre M. Byrne". Catholic Diocese of Arlington.
5. "Bishop William Draper Byrne [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
6. ^ Fay, Tony (October 14, 2020). "Rev. William Byrne named new bishop for Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield". WWLP. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
7. "Resignations and Appointments" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
8. Jin, Danny (December 14, 2020). "A solemn message as Byrne installed as bishop: 'I really believe that God has not given up'". Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
9. ^ Christensen, Dusty (May 28, 2021). "Springfield diocese to expand list of those 'credibly accused' of sexually abusing minors". Greenfield Recorder. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
10. "Bishop Byrne elected chairman-elect of USCCB communications committee – My WordPress". macatholic.org. Retrieved 2024-01-19.

External links

• "Five Things with Fr. Byrne" on the Archdiocese of Washington YouTube channel
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts Official Site
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington Official Site

Episcopal succession

• Biography
• Catholicism
• Massachusetts

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts
Ordinaries	Bishops Patrick Thomas O'Reilly Thomas Daniel Beaven Thomas Michael O'Leary Christopher Joseph Weldon Joseph Francis Maguire John Aloysius Marshall Thomas Ludger Dupré Timothy Anthony McDonnell Mitchell Thomas Rozanski William Draper Byrne
Churches	Cathedral St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica Basilica of St. Stanislaus Parishes St. Stanislaus Parish, Adams
Education	High schools Pope Francis Preparatory School Saint Mary High School Closed Holyoke Catholic High School St. Joseph Central High School
Priests	Richard R. Lavigne
Catholicism portal

v t e Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington
Ordinaries	Archbishops Michael Joseph Curley Patrick O'Boyle William Wakefield Baum James Aloysius Hickey Theodore McCarrick Donald Wuerl Wilton Daniel Gregory Auxiliaries John Michael McNamara Patrick Joseph McCormick Philip Hannan William Joseph McDonald John Selby Spence Edward John Herrmann Thomas William Lyons Eugene Antonio Marino Thomas C. Kelly Álvaro Corrada del Río William G. Curlin Leonard Olivier William E. Lori Kevin Farrell Francisco González Valer, SF Martin Holley Barry C. Knestout Mario E. Dorsonville Roy Edward Campbell Michael William Fisher Juan Esposito-Garcia Evelio Menjivar-Ayala
Churches and parishes	Cathedral Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish churches Sacred Heart Church, Bowie St. Ambrose Church, Cheverly St. Francis Xavier Church, Compton St. Mary Church, Newport St. Ignatius Church, Oxon Hill St. Ignatius Church, Port Tobacco St. Mary Church, Rockville St. Ignatius Church, St. Inigoes Holy Trinity Church, Washington Immaculate Conception Church, Washington St. Aloysius Church, Washington St. Anthony of Padua Church, Washington St. Augustine Church, Washington St. Patrick's Church, Washington St. Peter's Church, Washington St. Stephen Martyr Church, Washington Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Solomons St. John the Baptist, Silver Spring St. John the Evangelist, Silver Spring Our Lady, Queen of Poland and St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish Chapels and shrines Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Pope John Paul II Shrine Shrine of the Sacred Heart Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart
Catholic education	Higher education Catholic University of America Dominican House of Studies Georgetown University John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family Trinity Washington University Washington Theological Union High schools Template:Washington Metro Area Catholic High Schools Academy of the Holy Cross Archbishop Carroll High School The Avalon School Bishop McNamara High School Brookewood School Connelly School of the Holy Child DeMatha Catholic High School Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School Elizabeth Seton High School Georgetown Preparatory School Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School Gonzaga College High School The Heights School Our Lady of Good Counsel High School St. Anselm's Abbey School St. John's College High School St. Mary's Ryken High School St. Vincent Pallotti High School Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart
Priests	Lorenzo Albacete Anthony Caffry William Matthews
Miscellany	Catholic Standard (newspaper) El Pregonero (newspaper) Mount St. Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery Mount Olivet Cemetery Holy Rood Cemetery Georgetown University Jesuit Community Cemetery The James Cardinal Gibbons Memorial Statue Saint Anselm's Abbey St. Clement's Island State Park
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• 1964 births
• Living people
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts
• Roman Catholic bishops of Springfield in Massachusetts
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• 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
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