Pope Francis has appointed 59-year-old Raleigh Bishop Michael F. Burbidge as Arlington's new bishop after the current bishop, Paul S. Loverde, gave his resignation.

Burbidge, who has served in Raleigh, N.C., for the past 10 years, will take over on Dec. 6 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, according to a statement from the Raleigh Diocese. Until then, Loverde will remain as apostolic administrator.

Loverde, 76, has led the Arlington Diocese for the last 17 years. Bishops are required to submit their resignation once they reach age 75.

Burbidge hails from Philadelphia. He graduated in 1975 from Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pa., and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1984 after attending St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, according to a Arlington Diocese report. He holds a bachelor's in philosophy and a master's in theology from the seminary.

Loverde, the outgoing bishop, established eight new parishes during his time in Arlington. He also dedicated 12 new churches and ordained more than 70 priests.

The Arlington Diocese was founded in 1974 and covers the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park and Winchester, as well as 21 counties in Northern Virginia and down to Richmond. The total Catholic population it covers is 457,874.

"Over the past 10 years, I have had the profound pleasure of serving the great people of the Diocese of Raleigh," Burbidge said in the Raleigh statement. "From the moment I stepped foot in North Carolina, I was welcomed with warmth and love that I have never forgotten. I especially thank my brother priests for their consistent fraternal support, as well as for the help provided by the deacons, consecrated religious, and the lay faithful who have been so kind to me. It is with great certainty that while I will leave the Diocese of Raleigh later this year, the next Bishop will be welcomed with the same joy and love that I encountered. May Our Lord continue to bless the wonderful and holy people of the Diocese of Raleigh."

Bishop Burbidge is being brought in to double the number of Children in Catholic schools as demand continues to grow for alternatives to the public school systems. He is currently overseeing the construction of a massive new cathedral in North Carolina.

Another priest for the children...

Jeud Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Burbidge hails from Philadelphia. He graduated in
> 1975 from Cardinal O'Hara High School in
> Springfield, Pa., and was ordained a priest of the
> Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1984 after
> attending St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, according
> to a Arlington Diocese report. He holds a
> bachelor's in philosophy and a master's in
> theology from the seminary.


Of lord, didn't Philly have some child molestation case? Or was that the Boston Diocese?

The only one cares about this change is that nut job Father DeCelles. Burbridge needs to send him on a year-long discernment sabbatical to get his shit together or be excommunicated.

Do you think that no rabbi ever buggered a kid?

"It's not the news room, it's the Jews room"

L Farrakhan

So true about decelles.

Would be nice if catholic education was a more reasonable financial option around here.

Great Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So true about decelles.
>
> Would be nice if catholic education was a more
> reasonable financial option around here.

Our parish school is $5840 per year. People spend close to that on their silly-ass smart phones. Compare private schools at $20K and up.

Catholic schools provide excellent educations that include MANNERS that public schools can't touch.

I'm old and have a lot of money, so I sponsor two students paying their full tuition. Many others do this as well. When I die, my entire estate will go to tuition assistance.

Does this mean that the Arlington Diocese will no longer be one of the most conservative in the country?

bCtyG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does this mean that the Arlington Diocese will no
> longer be one of the most conservative in the
> country?

Yes. You get it.

Say hello to female altar servers being "encouraged" instead of just "allowed."

Paul VI HS is moving out of Fairfax to a huge campus.

John Paul the Great HS was built with enough room for expanding their student population for the next 20 years.

Bishop Ireton HS is putting together plans to double in size.

Catholic education is a growing business around here.

It might be affordable for 2 kids. But, for a large Catholic family who got there by following church teachings and wanting a lot of kids, it's not an option.

He can encourage all he wants, but he can't force parishes to have female altar servers. That's left, as it should be, to the individual parishes.

Seeing as he's a fan of the TLM, don't count on him turning the Arlington Diocese into the Washington DC Archdiocese, thankfully.