Pope Benedict XVI names ninth bishop of the Diocese of Rockford

Staff Report

Pope Benedict XVI has named Monsignor David John Malloy of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to be the ninth Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Rockford.

Bishop-elect Malloy, 57, will succeed Bishop Thomas G. Doran, who has led the diocese since 1994.

The announcement was made Tuesday, March 20, by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, in Washington, D.C.

Bishop Doran made the formal announcement during a 10 a.m. press conference at the Diocesan Administration Center, 555 Colman Center Drive, Rockford. Members of the diocesan curia and media were introduced to the Bishop-elect and were on hand for the announcement. Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. O’Neill, 92, the seventh bishop of Rockford, was also in attendance.

As required by church law, Bishop Doran submitted his resignation to the Holy Father when he turned 75 Feb. 20, 2011. Bishop Doran will remain as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Rockford until the date of Bishop-elect Malloy’s episcopal ordination and installation, which will be determined shortly. Upon that date, according to Canon Law, Bishop Doran will retain the title of “Bishop-emeritus” of the Diocese of Rockford.

“It is with great joy and gratitude to the Holy Father that he has appointed Msgr. David J. Malloy to be the ninth Bishop of Rockford,” Bishop Doran said. “I have known him many years and have always found him to be zealous for the welfare and faith of Catholic people and of the Catholic Church.”

Bishop-elect Malloy was born Feb. 3, 1956, in Milwaukee, the son of David and Mary Malloy. He has one sister, Mary Ellen, and four brothers, Daniel, Father Francis, Robert and Richard.

He attended Christ King Grade School in Wauwatosa, Wis., and graduated from Wauwatosa East School in 1974. He graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1978 with a bachelor of science degree in biology. He studied one year at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee and five years at the Gregorian University in Rome, where he received advanced degrees in theology. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1983 by Archbishop Rembert Weakland. He served two years as associate pastor of St. John Nepomuk Parish in Racine.

In preparation for the Vatican Diplomatic Service, Bishop-elect Malloy attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy from 1986 to 1990, where he received a degree in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas, (Angelicum) and a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University.

After his studies, Bishop-elect Malloy served as secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature (Vatican Embassies) in Pakistan (1990-1994) and the Apostolic Nunciature in Syria (1995).

From 1995 to 1998, Bishop-elect Malloy was secretary to the Permanent Observer Mission to the Holy See.

Bishop-elect Malloy left the Diplomatic Service in 1998 and served for two-and-a-half years in the Vatican’s prefecture of the Papal Household helping with the Great Jubilee Year of 2000.

In 2001 he was appointed Associate General Secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and in 2006 began a five-year term as General Secretary. After his term at the USCCB ended, Bishop-elect Malloy was assigned to be pastor at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Lake Geneva, where he has served since Aug. 1, 2011. He speaks Italian, Spanish and some French.

“I stand here with both humility and joy,” Bishop-elect Malloy said at the press conference. “Humility because the prospect of becoming a bishop entrusted with the task of shepherding the life of a diocese is truly daunting. As Bishop Doran mentioned, I have spent a good bit of my life as a priest in service to bishops, in various ways and places, and I have seen close-up and in living color the great responsibility that a bishop carries.

“But I am here with joy as well,” Bishop-elect Malloy continued. “I love the church. I believe in the goodness of the church founded by Jesus Christ and is guided by the Holy Spirit. So, I am confident that the help of God and the prayers of so many, including the faithful of the Diocese of Rockford, will strengthen my weaknesses and guide my efforts as the ninth Bishop of Rockford.”

From the March 21-27, 2012, issue

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