Daniel Patrick Reilly (May 12, 1928 – June 18, 2024) was an

American Catholic The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the cou ...

prelate who served as

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Norwich, Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. Th ...

from 1975 to 1994 and as

Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary (officer), head of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the ...

from 1994 to 2004. Reilly was named in multiple lawsuits that accused him of covering up molestation in the clergy. He denied any involvement.

Biography

Early life and education

Daniel Reilly was born on May 12, 1928, in

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, Rhode Island, to Francis and Mary Ann (née O'Beirne) Reilly. He entered Our Lady of Providence Seminary in

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States, and is the third-largest city in the state, with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Warwick is located approximately south of downtown Pr ...

, in 1943, then in 1948 went to the Grand Seminary in Saint-Brieuc, France.

Ordination and ministry

Reilly was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood for the

Diocese of Providence The Diocese of Providence () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Rhode Island in the United States. The diocese was erected by Blessed Pope Pius IX on February 17, 1872. The Diocese of Providence is a suffragan diocese of the Ar ...

on May 30, 1953, by Bishop Russell McVinney at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Providence. After his ordination, Reilly briefly served in a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

before completing his graduate studies at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

. In the Diocese of Providence, Reilly was named assistant

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

(1954), secretary to Bishop McVinney (1956), chancellor (1964), and

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

(1972). Reilly attended two sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

in Rome during the early 1960s and was raised to the rank of

monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

in 1965.

Bishop of Norwich

On June 5, 1975,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

appointed Reilly as the third bishop of the Diocese of Norwich. He received his

episcopal 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 States ...

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

on August 6, 1975, at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Norwich by Archbishop

John Whealon John Francis Whealon (January 15, 1921 – August 2, 1991) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford in Connecticut from 1968 to 1991. Whealon previously served as an auxilia ...

, with Bishops Vincent Hines and Louis Gelineau serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. In 1978, Reilly allowed Reverend Bruno Primavera to transfer from the

Archdiocese of Toronto The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Toronto () is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Hamilton, London, Saint Catharines, and Thunder Bay ...

to Norwich. Before granting the transfer, Reilly received warnings from archdiocesan officials about Primavera's fondness for teenage boys. In addition, a majority of the commission in Norwich that vetted new priest voted against Primavera. After sexual abuse allegations were lodged against him in one parish, Reilly transferred Primavera. When complaints arose in the second parish, Reilly in 1980 sent him back to Canada. In 1990, Primavera was sentenced to four years in prison in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

for sexually abusing boys. During his tenure in Norwich, Reilly transferred other priests facing allegations of sexual abuse to different parishes.

Bishop of Worcester

On October 27, 1994,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed Reilly as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Worcester. He was installed on December 8, 1994. During his tenure in Worcester, Reilly reopened St. Joseph Parish but merged it with Notre Dame des Canadiens Parish in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

. He raised over $50 million for his Forward in Faith campaign to place the diocese in a stable financial condition. In 2002, Reilly became the first Catholic bishop to open the annual synod of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

. In 2003, he expressed his opposition to

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

and

civil unions A civil union (also known as a Civil partnership in the United Kingdom, civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for Same-sex relationship, same-sex couples. Civi ...

for same sex couples. However, he declared that he was open to discussion on giving public benefits to same-sex couples.

Retirement and death

On March 9, 2004, John Paul II accepted Reilly's resignation as bishop of Worcester. He was succeeded by Bishop Robert McManus, then

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Providence. On September 17, 2012, the Diocese of Norwich reached a $1.1 million settlement with a

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

, woman who claimed that she had been

sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is r ...

as a minor by Reverend Thomas Shea from Joseph Parish in New London. The woman claimed that Reilly, when bishop of Norwich, knew about Shea's history of abuse allegations, but kept transferring him to different parishes. In October 2020, Reilly reminisced about running retreats for men and women of the

US Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except ...

in South Korea and Hawaii. He also spoke of travelling by plane and ferry to

Block Island Block Island is an island of the Outer Lands coastal archipelago in New England, located approximately south of mainland Rhode Island and east of Long Island's Montauk Point. The island is coterminous with the town of New Shoreham, Rhode Isl ...

to celebrate mass when he was a priest in the Diocese of Providence. On December 30, 2020, the newspaper '' The Day'' calculated that Reilly and the Diocese of Norwich faced 35 separate lawsuits by men who had been sexually abused during the 1990s as minors. The men all accused Brother K. Paul McGlade, a monk who ran the Academy at Mount Saint John in

Deep River, Connecticut Deep River is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 4,415 at the 2020 census. The town center is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau ...

. As bishop, Reilly had served on the Academy school board that recruited McGlade from Australia. Reilly died on June 18, 2024, at the age of 96.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reilly, Daniel Patrick 1928 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American Roman Catholic bishops 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century American Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI Boston College alumni Clergy from Providence, Rhode Island Religious leaders from Connecticut Roman Catholic bishops of Norwich Roman Catholic bishops of Worcester, Massachusetts Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence