New auxiliary bishop for Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Msgr. John J. McIntyre, longtime secretary to Cardinals Justin Rigali and Anthony J. Bevilacqua, has been named the newest auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Msgr. John J. McIntyre, longtime secretary to Cardinals Justin Rigali and Anthony J. Bevilacqua, has been named the newest auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
McIntyre, 46, succeeds Auxiliary Bishop Robert P. Maginnis, 76, who will retire when McIntyre is consecrated a bishop on Aug. 6.
With his voice at times strong and then choked with emotion during a news conference Tuesday, McIntyre thanked Rigali, his parents, and "my brother priests" for their support of his ministry over the years. A native of Philadelphia, he was ordained a priest in 1992 and has served as secretary to the archbishop since 1999.
As a bishop, he will assume leadership of the archdiocesan Secretariat for Evangelization, which Maginnis has headed for the last six years. The secretariat includes the archdiocesan chancery, its metropolitan tribunal, and offices for planning, consecrated life, black Catholics, and Hispanic Catholics.
Maginnis, a priest of the archdiocese for 49 years and a bishop since 1996, said he hoped to use his free time in retirement for "more reading and more prayer," but expected to continue making confirmations.
Catholic bishops traditionally submit their resignations at 75. Rigali said that he submitted his own to Pope Benedict XVI when he turned 75 on April 19, but that he had received no signal from the Vatican he would be replaced any time soon.
"I'll stay until they tell me to leave," he said, eliciting laughter from the archdiocesan employees in the audience. Rigali succeeded Bevilacqua as archbishop in October 2003.
The 1.5-million-member archdiocese, which comprises Philadelphia and the four adjacent Pennsylvania counties, has four active auxiliary bishops. Their duties include confirmations, advising the archbishop, and supervising diocesan offices.
McIntyre, who will hold the title of bishop-elect until his consecration, was born in Germantown and grew up in Rhawnhurst. He attended Father Judge High School for three years before deciding to join the Redemptorist order of priests.
After graduating from a Redemptorist high school seminary in Erie and a senior seminary in Connecticut, he entered the Philadelphia Archdiocese's St. Charles Borromeo Seminary to become a diocesan priest.
He served as parochial vicar at St. Dominic's parish in Philadelphia and St. Mark's in Bristol before Bevilacqua named him as his secretary in 1999.