Michael Joseph Bransfield
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| Styles of Michael Joseph Bransfield |
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| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Monsignor |
| Posthumous style | none |
Michael Joseph Bransfield (born September 8, 1943) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who currently serves as Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston.
[edit] Biography
Michael Bransfield was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and there attended St. Bridget’s Grade School and St. John the Baptist High School. From St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Master's degree in Divinity. Bransfield was ordained to the priesthood by John Cardinal Krol on May 15, 1971, and then did pastoral work in Huntington Valley until 1973. He earned his Master's in Philosophy from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., in 1973, and then worked as a teacher, chaplain, and Chairman of the Religion Department at Lansdale Catholic High School.
Father Bransfield was named Assistant Director and Director of Liturgy (1980), Director of Finance (1982), and Director (1986) at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. In 1987 he was raised to the rank of a Honorary Prelate of His Holiness. When the National Shrine was elevated to a basilica in 1990, he was made its first rector.
On December 9, 2004, Bransfield was appointed the eighth Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on February 22, 2005 from William Cardinal Keeler, with Theodore Cardinal McCarrick and Bishop Bernard Schmitt serving as co-consecrators, at St. Joseph's Cathedral.
A trustee of The Papal Foundation, Bishop Bransfield also sits on the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America, Catholic Distance University, and Pontifical College Josephinum. He holds membership in the Knights of Columbus and the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, he serves as liaison to the National Council of Catholic Women.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by none |
Rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception 1990–2004 |
Succeeded by Walter R. Rossi |
| Preceded by Bernard William Schmitt |
Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston 2004–present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
