Ralph William Franklin (born January 3, 1947) was the eleventh Bishop of Western New York in the Episcopal Church between 2011 and 2019. He is Assisting Bishop of Long Island.

Biography

Franklin was born in on January 3, 1947, in

Brookhaven, Mississippi Brookhaven is a city in Lincoln County, Mississippi, United States, south of the state capital of Jackson. The population was 11,674 people at the 2020 U.S. Census. It is the county seat of Lincoln County. It was named after the town of Brook ...

. He graduated with a B.A. from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and a PhD in Church History from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Prior to ordination, Franklin served as Dean of

Berkeley Divinity School Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, founded in 1854, is a seminaries, seminary of Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with Andover Newton Theological School and the Yale Institute ...

at Yale and professor at

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...

and St John's in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. After ordination, Franklin also served some time in Italy as associate priest at

St Paul's Within the Walls St. Paul's Within the Walls (), also known as the American Church in Rome, is a church of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe on Via Nazionale in Castro Pretorio, Rome. It was the first Protestant church to be built in Rome.Cooper (2 ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, associate director of the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome, Italy. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History 19th century In 1893, a group of American architect ...

, associate priest of the

Anglican Centre in Rome Anglican Centre in Rome is an ecumenical organisation that is dedicated to improving relations between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church. It was founded in 1966 with the encouragement of Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, ...

and vicar of the Church of the Resurrection in

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

. He returned to the United States and was appointed senior associate priest at St Mark's Church in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in July 2010. A few months later, on November 20, 2010, Franklin was elected Bishop of Western New York. He was consecrated on April 30, 2011, by Presiding Bishop

Katharine Jefferts Schori Katharine Jefferts Schori (born March 26, 1954) is the former Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the United States. Previously elected as the 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, she was the first woman elected ...

. Franklin retired as Bishop of Western New York in April 2019.Dewey, C
"Buffalo Episcopal diocese's bishop retiring; it will share new leader with Pa. diocese"
''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...

'', Buffalo, NY, 7 April 2019. Retrieved on 10 May 2020.

References

1947 births Living people People from Brookhaven, Mississippi Northwestern University alumni Harvard Divinity School alumni College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University faculty Episcopal bishops of Western New York {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub