Paul Loverde

Most Rev. Paul Steven Loverde
Bishop of Arlington
Church Catholic Church
See Arlington
In Office January 25, 1999 – present
Predecessor John R. Keating
Successor incumbent
Personal details
Born September 3, 1940 (1940-09-03) (age 71)
Framingham, Massachusetts

Paul Stephen Loverde is the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington in Northern Virginia.

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Early life

Bishop Loverde was born in Framingham, Massachusetts on September 3, 1940. He received his secondary school education at La Salle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island, followed by an education at Saint Bernard Seminary College in Rochester, New York. He graduated with a B.A. (summa cum laude) in 1962 and was chosen to study in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Loverde earned his licentiate in Sacred Theology there in 1966.

Ordination and service

Loverde was ordained as a priest in November 1965 at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. After completing his studies in Rome in 1966, he returned to the United States and began serving in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut. He served in a variety of capacities within the diocese, including assistant pastor in a parish church and campus minister and chaplain at several local colleges.

His leadership positions in the diocese included personnel manager for priests and several positions on the diocesan tribunal. In 1988, Loverde was consecrated an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford. After serving there for six years, he was chosen as the eleventh bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York, where he served from 1994 to 1999. He was installed as the third bishop of the Diocese of Arlington on March 25, 1999 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More.

Since 2003, Bishop Loverde has been the chairman of the board of Catholic Distance University. In 2010, he received the CDU Founders Award for his service to the university.[1]

Criticism

Bishop Loverde in 2006 permitted female altar servers in the Diocese of Arlington for the first time. Prior to this action, Arlington was one of only two dioceses in the United States to retain the traditional practice of altar boys.[2][3]

Bishop Loverde sent a "dubium" about the altar girl matter to the Holy See's Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments. In response, the congregation ruled that while bishops may allow female laity to serve at the altar, this cannot be compelled upon pastors or priests.

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Preceded by
John R. Keating
Bishop of Arlington
January 25, 1999 – Present
Succeeded by
Incumbent