Robert Francis Hennessey (born April 20, 1952) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. On October 12, 2006 he was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts.

Biography

Robert Hennessey was born in

South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformat ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, to John and Eileen (''née'' Cahill) Hennessey. His father was a policeman with the

Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1854, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The ...

. The second of five children, he has two brothers, John and Daniel, and two sisters, Deborah and Barbara. Hennessey attended St. Augustine Grammar School in

, then was accepted for seventh grade at Boston Latin School. Hennessey then spent the next eight years at St. John's Seminary in Boston. He was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in 1977.

Priesthood

Hennessey was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Humberto Medeiros on May 20, 1978 for the Archdiocese of Boston. After his ordination, he was assigned as

parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

at St. Joseph Parish in Hanson, Massachusetts. Hennessey's next assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Peter Parish in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1983, he was assigned to St. Joseph Parish in Needham, Massachusetts, staying there for three years. He then entered a graduate studies program at Moreau Seminary at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

in Notre Dame, Indiana. Hennessey spent the next six years serving in the Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle in Bolivia. Following his return to Boston in 1994, Hennessey became

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Most Holy Redeemer Paris in

East Boston, Massachusetts East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and d ...

, serving there for the next 12 years. In 1995, he became the administrator of Our Lady of the Airways Chapel at

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partial ...

until 1998.

Auxiliary Bishop of Boston

On October 12, 2006, Hennessey was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston and titular bishop of Tigias. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on December 12, 2006, from Archbishop Seán O'Malley, with Bishops John Boles and Emilio Allué serving as co-consecrators His episcopal

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

is "''

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...

Anima Mea Dominum''"

Luke 1 Luke 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. With 80 verses, it is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament. This chapter describes the birth of John the Baptist and the events leading up ...

:46-55, meaning, "My soul doth magnify the Lord". Hennessey first held the post of

episcopal vicar Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

for the Central Pastoral Region of the archdiocese, but was transferred on January 23, 2014 to the Merrimack Region.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessey, Robert Francis 1952 births Living people Clergy from Boston 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Saint John's Seminary (Massachusetts) alumni University of Notre Dame alumni Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

Biography

Priesthood

Auxiliary Bishop of Boston

See also

References