Donald Wuerl

Donald William Wuerl
Archbishop of Washington
Diocese	Washington
Enthroned	June 22, 2006
Ended	current
Predecessor	Theodore Edgar McCarrick
Ordination	December 17, 1966
Consecration	January 6, 1986
Other	Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle Bishop of Pittsburgh
Born	November 12, 1940 (1940-11-12) (age 68) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Parents	Francis J. Wuerl and Mary Anne Shiffauer Wuerl, Katherine Cavanaugh (Stepmother)
Alma mater	Athenaeum of Ohio Catholic University of America Gregorian University Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum)

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Donald William Wuerl (born November 12, 1940) is the sixth archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington (the District of Columbia and five Maryland counties in the USA). Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation for retirement of Theodore McCarrick, then-archbishop of Washington, on May 16, 2006. Wuerl was installed on June 22, 2006. He was the eleventh bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1988 to 2006.

Background

Styles of Donald Wuerl
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Archbishop
Posthumous style	not applicable

Donald William Wuerl was born on November 12, 1940 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,^[1] where he attended St. Mary of the Mount Parish and School. He studied at The Athenaeum of Ohio in Cincinnati, Ohio, then received graduate degrees from The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. and The Gregorian University in Rome, Italy; his 1974 doctorate in theology was from The Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, Italy.

He was ordained a priest on December 17, 1966.^[1] His first assignment was as assistant pastor at St. Rosalia parish in Pittsburgh's Greenfield neighborhood and as secretary to then-Pittsburgh bishop John Wright, who was elevated to cardinal in 1969; Wuerl was his full-time secretary in Vatican City from 1969 to 1979.

Because Cardinal Wright was confined to a wheelchair with severe arthritis in 1978, Wuerl, as Wright's secretary, was one of three non-cardinals permitted inside the conclave, which selected Karol Cardinal Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II.^[2]

Wuerl was rector at St. Paul Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1981 to 1985.

Wuerl was appointed titular bishop of Rosemarkie and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle on December 3, 1985,^[1] which was controversial, in that he was to take over much of Archbishop Hunthausen's authority by being given "complete and final decision-making power" in several key areas.^[3]

Wuerl was consecrated bishop on January 6, 1986^[1] at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy by Pope John Paul II.

Wuerl was appointed as the eleventh bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh on February 12, 1988^[1] and installed on March 25, 1988.^[1]

In 1989, Wuerl closed Sacred Heart High School and St. Paul Cathedral High School, then merged them to establish (all female-only schools) Oakland Catholic High School in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The buildings at St. Paul Cathedral High School were used for the new high school.^[4]

Wuerl launched and hosted a television program, The Teaching of Christ, in 1990 and wrote an adult catechism with the same name. He taught at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh as a distinguished service professor. Wuerl is a chaplain for the Order of Malta, Federal Association, U.S.A. (since 1999), a division of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, commonly referred to as the Knights of Malta.^[5]

Wuerl closed 73 church buildings, which included 37 churches, and reduced 331 parishes by 117 through merging while bishop of Pittsburgh; he was managing the remaining 214 parishes when he left in June 2006.^[6] Wuerl's plan, The Parish Reorganization and Revitalization Project,^[7] is now used as a model for other dioceses seeking parish suppression. The mansion that housed Wuerl for over two decades and four previous bishops in the Diocese of Pittsburgh is being sold since the new bishop, David Allen Zubik, decided to live at St. Paul's Seminary. The Jacobethan Revival house, at 9,842 square feet with 24 rooms, which include 11 bedrooms, 6 full baths, and one half bath, has an appraised value of $1.5 million and is one of the largest homes in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh.^[8]

President George W. Bush and Laura Bush welcome outgoing archbishop of Washington Theodore McCarrick, left, the incoming archbishop of Washington, Donald W. Wuerl, far right, and papal nuncio Pietro Sambi to the White House.

Wuerl was installed as archbishop of Washington on June 22, 2006^[1] at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and received the pallium from Pope Benedict XVI on June 29, 2006.

Wuerl is chancellor at The Catholic University of America and board chair at the National Catholic Educational Association,^[9] which is noteworthy in environmentalism for going green to protect students, staff, and the Earth from toxicity in schools.^[10][11]

Episcopal succession

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh - History of Bishops Webpage - Retrieved on 2008-10-18
2. ^ Almade, Frank D. (2008-09-29). "1978: With John Paul II, a new era began for the church" (in English). Pittsburgh Catholic Newspaper 1. Pittsburgh Catholic Publishing Associates. Retrieved on 2008-11-10.
3. ^ http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/dissertations/2003-0206-111237/inhoud.htm Conflict in the Catholic Hierarchy: a study of coping strategies in the Hunthausen affair, with preferential attention to discursive strategies - Schilling, Timothy Peter - From 2003 - Retrieved on 2008-10-22
4. ^ "History" Section of Oakland Catholic High School Official Website
5. ^ http://www.orderofmalta-federal.org/chaplains ORDER OF MALTA FEDERAL ASSOCIATION, USA Official Website - The Chaplains of the Order of Malta, Federal Association Webpage - Retrieved on 2008-11-10
6. ^ http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/multimedia/s_518443.html Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Newspaper Article - Bishop Zubik will face many obstacles - From July 22, 2007 - Retrieved on 2008-10-23
7. ^ http://www.diopitt.org/news_051606.php Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Official Website News Release - BISHOP WUERL APPOINTED ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON - From May 16, 2006 - Retrieved on 2008-10-23
8. ^ Smith, Craig (2008-11-08). "Diocese to sell roomy Shadyside mansion" (in English). Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 1. Tribune-Review Publishing Company. Retrieved on 2008-11-10.
9. ^ http://www.ncea.org/about/boardofdirectors.asp National Catholic Educational Association Board of Directors Webpage Retrieved on 2008-10-17
10. ^ http://www.ncea.org/departments/nabccce/GreenCleaning.asp National Catholic Educational Association Go Green Webpage Retrieved on 2008-10-17
11. ^ http://www.ncea.org/departments/nabccce/EnvironmentalConcerns.asp National Catholic Educational Association Environmental Concerns Webpage Retrieved on 2008-10-17

Books

• The Forty Martyrs: New Saints of England and Wales, (Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, 1971)
• Fathers of the Church, (Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, 1975)
• The Catholic Priesthood Today, (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1976)
• The Teaching of Christ: A Catholic Catechism for Adults, (Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, 1976)
• St. Christopher: A Military Martyr (Unpublished, 1979)
• A Visit to the Vatican: For Young People, (Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1981)
• The Gift of Faith: A Question and Answer Version of The Teaching of Christ, (Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, 2001)

References

• Glenn, Francis A. (1993). Shepherds of the Faith 1843-1993: A Brief History of the Bishops of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh: Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. ISBN none. 

External links

• Catholic Hierarchy
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh History of Bishops Official Webpage
• Criticism of Archbishop Donald Wuerl
• Schools Controversy in Archdiocese of Washington

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