Robert Philip Reed (born June 11, 1959) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as an

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. ...

for the Archdiocese of Boston since 2016. He is the president of the television network CatholicTV.

Biography

Early life and education

Robert Reed was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, on June 11, 1959, to William and Jeanne Reed. He grew up in Swampscott, Massachusetts, attending parochial schools in that town. Reed then attended at St. John's Preparatory School, a Catholic high school in

Danvers, Massachusetts Danvers is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the beach ...

. It was during high school that Reed decided to become a priest. After his graduation, Reed entered Saint John's Seminary in Boston. The Archdiocese of Boston then sent Reed to attend the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Priesthood

Reed was ordained into the priesthood by Cardinal Bernard Law on July 6, 1985, for the Archdiocese of Boston at St. John the Evangelist Church in Swampscott. After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Reed to a pastoral position at Immaculate Conception Parish in Medford, Massachusetts. Reed has also served in several other parishes in Eastern Massachusetts: * St. Catherine of Siena in Norwood * St. Matthew in Dorchester * All Saints in Haverhill * Holy Ghost in Whitman * St. Bonaventure in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

* Good Shepherd in Wayland * St. Mary in East Walpole * Blessed Sacrament in Walpole In addition to parish assignments, Reed began a career in broadcasting for the archdiocese. Since the 1980s, he has hosted a Sunday morning radio program, ''The Catholic Hour''. Reed earned a degree in television management from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

,and joined the Boston Catholic Television Center. He held the titles of director of educational development, assistant director, and director. Currently, Reed is pastor of St. Patrick and Sacred Heart parishes in Watertown, the president of the CatholicTV Network and CEO of iCatholic Media, Inc.

Auxiliary Bishop of Boston

On June 3, 2016,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed Reed as an

of Boston and titular bishop of Sufar. He was consecrated on August 24, 2016, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston by Cardinal Seán O'Malley, with Bishops Robert Peter Deeley and Arthur Kennedy as co-consecrators. As of 2024, Reed serves as a vicar general and the regional bishop of the west region of the archdiocese. For the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...

(USCCB), Reed was chair of the Committee on Communications, and in June 2023, he and three other USCCB committee chairs sent a letter to the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

asking lawmakers to address the exploitation of children in

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

and other online settings.

Media

Since being named president of CatholicTV in 2005, Reed has expanded the network and rebranded it as The CatholicTV Network, America's Catholic Television Network. He has also expanded the staff and created shows and series for the network.

Shows on CatholicTV

* ''Inter Nos'' * ''House + Home'' * ''ClearVoice'' * ''Renewed'' * ''This is the Day'' * ''Viaggio a Roma'' * '' WOW: The CatholicTV Challenge''

Books

* ''Renewed: Ten Ways to Rediscover the Saints, Embrace Your Gifts and Revive Your Catholic Faith'' (2014):

Memberships

* Knight commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem * Patriotic (fourth) degree member of the Knights of Columbus

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Robert P. 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States American television executives Roman Catholic clergy from Boston Living people 1959 births People from Swampscott, Massachusetts Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre St. John's Preparatory School (Massachusetts) alumni