Vicar general of Diocese of Worcester, Mass., named bishop of Norwich, Conn.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Pope Francis has appointed Monsignor Richard F. Reidy, vicar general and moderator of the curia of the Diocese of Worcester, Mass., to head the Diocese of Norwich, Conn.

Bishop-designate Reidy succeeds Bishop Michael R. Cote, who retired Sept. 3, 2024, after 21 years as Norwich’s shepherd. In the interim, Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne of Hartford, Conn., has been apostolic administrator of the diocese.

The appointment was publicized in Washington Feb. 12 by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop-designate Reidy’s episcopal ordination and installation will be April 29 at 2 p.m. at St. Patrick Cathedral in Norwich. 

“I am very grateful to the Holy Father for this appointment,” Archbishop Coyne said in a statement, adding that he looks forward to assisting the newly named bishop “as he becomes acclimated to Eastern Connecticut. I am confident that he will be an excellent shepherd for the people of the Diocese.”

A diocesan statement asked for prayers for Bishop-designate Reidy “as he prepares to embrace this new chapter of his ministry.”

Bishop-designate Reidy was born May 30, 1958, in Worcester, the son of Robert C. and Barbara A. (Lee) Reidy. His home parish was Immaculate Conception in Worcester. He was educated in Worcester and Boston. 

He was a member of the law firm of Mirick, O’Connell, DeMallie and Lougee from 1983 to 1990 before beginning studies for the priesthood at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. He continued his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he received a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from Gregorian University. He earned a master’s degree in spirituality from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (also known as the Angelicum) in Rome.

He was ordained to the priesthood for the Worcester Diocese by Bishop Timothy J. Harrington on June 25, 1994, in St. Paul Cathedral. Following his ordination, then-Father Reidy served as associate pastor of St. Peter Parish, Worcester. He was named rector of St. Paul Cathedral on June 6, 1995. He served as diocesan chaplain of the Boy Scouts of America from 1996-2008. 

In August of 2008, he began graduate studies in canon law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, where he earned his licentiate in canon law. Upon his return to the diocese, he was appointed pastor of St. Ann Parish in North Oxford and defender of the bond for the diocesan tribunal in the Judicial Vicar’s Office. 

He was appointed vicar general and moderator of the curia July 6, 2013. He served as temporary administrator in several parishes, including St. Paul and St. Stanislaus parishes in Warren from January 2022 to August 2023. He was named a monsignor by the pope on Aug. 20, 2023.

The Diocese of Norwich serves more than 230,000 Catholics, according to the diocesan website, in Middlesex, New London, Tolland and Windham Counties in Connecticut as well as Fishers Island — a portion of Suffolk County in the state of New York. The total population exceeds 705,000 people.

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