Pope gives Buffalo diocese new bishop

Vatican City, May 29, 2012 / 09:20 am

Bishop Richard J. Malone has been appointed as the new head of the Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y.

“I am most grateful to our Holy Father for his trust in appointing me Bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo,” he said in a May 29 statement.

Although he is saddened to leave the faithful of his current diocese in Portland, Maine, Bishop Malone said he looks forward “with enthusiasm” to taking up his responsibility in Buffalo.

Bishop Malone was installed as the 11th Bishop of Portland in March 2004. Prior to his assignment in Maine, he was ordained in 2000 as an auxiliary bishop for the Boston archdiocese.

The new appointment comes after Bishop Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo submitted his letter of resignation on his 75th birthday this past June.

“Bishop Malone comes to Western New York with tremendous experience and a wonderful reputation for being a caring, pastoral bishop and a true shepherd to his people,” Bishop Kmiec said.

An active member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Malone recently completed a term as chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, which he continues to serve on.

He has also served two terms on the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People and is a member of the Board of Directors of Catholic Relief Services, where he is chair of the U.S. Operations Committee.

Bishop Malone studied at St. John Seminary in Jamaica Plain, Mass. and earned his doctorate in theology from Boston University. He received his licentiate in sacred theology from Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass.