Bishop makes diocesan administrative changes

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press

A local priest being named a bishop elsewhere led to administrative changes in the Worcester diocese.

Msgr. Richard F. Reidy, vicar general and moderator of the curia since 2013, is to be installed Bishop of the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, on April 29.  

Since Bishop-elect Reidy was so involved in administration of the Worcester diocese, “it seemed prudent to divide the work into three parts,” Bishop McManus said. To do that, he made the following appointments.

Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan is becoming vicar general, effective April 28, while remaining pastor of Christ the King Parish in Worcester, where Bishop-elect Reidy has been in residence. A vicar general must be a cleric, Bishop McManus said.

Since canon law requires that a moderator of the curia (coordinator of diocesan offices) be a cleric, no one in the diocese will have that title, the bishop said. He said Raymond L. Delisle, chancellor, will be called chancellor for operations, a title that denotes new broader responsibilities. He will also remain director of the Communications Ministry.

Episcopal vicar is a title for a cleric to whom the bishop delegates his authority, Bishop McManus said. He announced Feb. 28 that he appointed Father John L. Larochelle to a newly created position – episcopal vicar for the Office of Fiscal Affairs – effective immediately. Father Larochelle remains pastor of Divine Mercy Parish in Blackstone.

Determining who will handle which tasks is a work in progress, the bishop said. He pointed out that, “as we go forward, there’s going to have to be open lines of communication” among the three men, who are to work with each other.

When he was alive, Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger had been vicar general, then also moderator of the curia when Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, who was the ordinary (now deceased), appointed him to that new position in 1998. Bishop Rueger remained moderator until retiring in 2005; then that position was vacant. But Bishop McManus asked him to stay on as vicar general.
A vicar general is the bishop’s “alter ego,” the person who oversees the diocese on his behalf and is responsible when he is away, Bishop McManus said. He said he delegated to Bishop-elect Reidy limited power of attorney to sign legal documents in his absence, and Msgr. Sullivan will have that responsibility.

Heads of certain offices will report to Msgr. Sullivan and some will report to Mr. Delisle to see that their ministry is effectively carried out in relation to other diocesan offices, the bishop said, adding, “I also want leaders of diocesan offices in this building (the Chancery) to have access to me.”

Before Msgr. Reidy was appointed bishop-elect, the Worcester diocese was already preparing to hire a director of major gifts, a new position that would involve responsibility for financial donations of $25,000 or more which can be used for Catholic schools, priests’ retirement and other diocesan needs, Msgr. Sullivan said. He said he himself had been asked to oversee that person, not yet chosen, and also to oversee the stewardship and development office, which does its own separate work. Bishop McManus said Msgr. Sullivan will do all that as vicar general.  

Msgr. Sullivan once directed the stewardship and development office. Michael P. Gillespie, current director, will keep his responsibilities, which include coordinating Partners in Charity and Catholic schools appeals, and the Celebrate Priesthood gala and Ash Wednesday collection to raise money for needs of retired priests, Bishop McManus said.  

Other administrative positions, including serving as Bishop Reilly’s secretary, also prepared Msgr. Sullivan for the vicar general’s work.

In a letter in his March 9 parish bulletin, Msgr. Sullivan said he is humbled by his own new assignment and asked for prayers  to “worthily” serve, and succeed Bishop-elect Reidy.
“With this assignment I will resume many of the diocesan-related responsibilities that I had when I first came to Christ the King nearly 14 years ago,” he wrote. “In those days my title was chancellor.”  

He was chancellor from June 1998 until July 2013, doubling as Christ the King’s pastor in 2011.

Mr. Delisle, who had been vice chancellor of operations, succeeded him as chancellor. He holds a master’s degree in non-profit leadership from New England College and another in pastoral ministry from Anna Maria College.

Work that would have fallen to a moderator of the curia will be handled by Msgr. Sullivan or Mr. Delisle.  

Father Larochelle will coordinate the work of fiscal affairs office employees and oversee that office, Bishop McManus said.

Father Larochelle said he earned a bachelor of science in business administration – accounting, then his certified public accountant license, and worked in public accounting for about 14 years before entering seminary.

“I’m happy that I’m still a pastor at Divine Mercy,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to working with Bishop McManus in the new position in whatever is helpful to the bishop and the diocese.