Ralph William Franklin (born January 3, 1947) was the eleventh

Bishop of Western New York The Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over the counties of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming in western New York. It ...

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 small city in Lincoln County, Mississippi, United States, south of the state capital of Jackson. The population was 12,520 at the 2010 U.S. Census. It is the county seat of Lincoln County. It was named after the town of Brookhave ...

. He graduated with a B.A. from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

and a PhD in Church History from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. Prior to ordination, Franklin served as Dean of

Berkeley Divinity School Berkeley Divinity School, founded in 1854, is a seminary of The Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with Andover Newton Theological School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Berkeley is one of the three "Partners on the Quad," ...

at Yale and professor at

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

and St John's in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

. 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 ( it, San Paolo dentro le Mura), 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 t ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, associate director of the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects ...

, associate priest of the

Anglican Centre in Rome Anglican Centre in Rome is an ecumenical organisation which 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 Canter ...

and vicar of the Church of the Resurrection in Orvieto. He returned to the United States and was appointed senior associate priest at

St Mark's Church St. Mark's Church, or variations such as St. Mark Church or with Saint spelled out, may mean: Australia * St Mark's Anglican Church, Warwick, Queensland * St Mark's Church, Darling Point, New South Wales * Old St Mark's Anglican Church, Slacks C ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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 recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...

'', 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