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  Del. Priest Named Bishop of Pa. Diocese

News Journal
May 27, 2009

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090527/NEWS/90527013/Del.+priest+named+bishop+of+Allentown++Pa.

Delaware Catholics are celebrating the elevation of Monsignor John O. Barres as the first priest in more than 100 years from the Diocese of Wilmington to be named a bishop.

"I'm so excited for him, the Diocese of Allentown and the church because he's such a good man," said Ellen Barrosse, a Catholic who founded A Rose and a Prayer, an interfaith group devoted to pro life issues.

Today in Rome Pope Benedict XVI named the 48-year-old priest as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Allentown.

"I think Allentown has been blessed," said Bishop Michael Saltarelli, who retired in September as leader of the Wilmington Diocese.

He added that this is a day that reflects well on the 123 priests and 230,000 parishioners of the diocese, which takes in Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The bishop-elect is faithful to church teachings, has a love for people and recognizes that he is called to be a servant to others, Saltarelli said.

He appointed Barres to the post of vice chancellor in 1999, elevated him to chancellor in 2000 and joked that a chancellor is a jack of all trades in the diocesan office, assisting the bishop.

Asked about qualities he showed as chancellor, people often mention that Barres will be missed for his intellect, writing, prudence, leadership and counsel.

After the installation of Bishop W. Francis Malooly in September, he was accompanied on his travels to parishes by Barres.

"He was always good company," Malooly said.

He added that Barres is known around the diocese, especially in its southern reaches where he has often filled in for pastors.

Malooly said Barres has respect for the church, its authority and teachings and is willing to share his insight on how things can be improved.

"He's pleasant and clear in offering that guidance," Malooly said.

Bishop-elect Barres is 48 and a native of Larchmont, N.Y. He is succeeding Bishop Edward Cullen. Cullen, 76, submitted his resignation to the pope, as required under church law, when he turned 75 in March 2008.

Barres is the fifth of six children and has seven nephews and four nieces. Barres' father, Oliver, is a native of Bethlehem, Pa. His mother and father are convert Protestant ministers who met each other at the Yale Divinity School and entered the Catholic Church in 1955.

The story of their conversion is told in Oliver Barres' book "One Shepherd, One Flock," which was published by Sheed and Ward in 1955 and again in 2000 by Catholic Answers.

Barres' Mass of ordination and onstallation will be on July 30 at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena in Allentown. Barres will celebrate a farewell Mass in the Diocese of Wilmington on July 19.

Rocco Palmo, author of the blog Whispers in the Loggia, writes that Barres "becomes the first Wilmington priest to leave as a bishop since 1900, when local boy Benjamin Keiley was sent to lead the Diocese of Savannah, which then encompassed all of Georgia and Florida."

 
 

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