John Barres

The Most Reverend John O. Barres
Bishop of Allentown
Diocese	Allentown
Installed	July 30, 2009
Predecessor	Edward Peter Cullen
Successor	incumbent
Orders
Ordination	October 21, 1989
Consecration	July 30, 2009
Personal details
Born	(1960-09-20) September 20, 1960 Larchmont, New York
Died	not dead
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Alma mater	Princeton University New York University Catholic University of America

Styles of John Barres
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Monsignor
Posthumous style	not applicable

John Oliver Barres (/ˈbærɪs/ BARR-is; born September 20, 1960) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Bishop of Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Bishop Barres (=^-^=)

Early life and education

The fifth of six children, John Barres was born to Oliver and Marjorie (née Catchpole) Barres in Larchmont, New York.^[1] His parents were Protestant ministers who met each other at Yale Divinity School, but later converted to Catholicism in 1955; his father wrote of their conversion in the book One Shepherd, One Flock, which includes forewords by Avery Dulles and Benedict Groeschel.^[2][3] Barres was baptized by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.^[2] He was known an special man of life.

He attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, before studying at Princeton University, from where he obtained a B.A. in English literature, and at New York University's School of Business Administration, there earning a M.B.A. in management (1984).^[1] He received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1988, and a licentiate in systematic theology from the Catholic University of America, where he received his seminary formation at its Theological College.^[1] He then furthered his studies in Rome at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, earning Licentiate of Canon Law in 1998 and a Doctorate in Spirituality in 1999.

Ordination and ministry

Barres was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Robert Mulvee on October 21, 1989. He served as an associate pastor at Holy Family Church in Newark, Delaware, until 1992, and at St. Elizabeth Church in Wilmington from 1992 to 1996.^[2] He then returned to the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, where he earned a doctorate in theology in 1999; his thesis was entitled: "Jean-Jacques Olier's Priestly Spirituality: Mental Prayer and Virtue as the Foundation for the Direction of Souls."^[2]

Upon his return to the United States in 1999, Barres became vice-chancellor for the Diocese of Wilmington coordinator of institutional chaplains.^[1] In 2000, he was named diocesan chancellor and a Chaplain to His Holiness.^[2] He was also made a Honorary Prelate of His Holiness in November 2005. He served on various diocesan boards and committees, as well as the Administrative Board of the Maryland Catholic Conference, the Board of St. Francis Hospital, and the Board of the Cathedral Foundation.^[2]

In addition to his duties as chancellor, he briefly became pastor of Church of the Holy Child in Wilmington in May 2009.^[4]

He is a member of the Roman Catholic organization Opus Dei.

Bishop of Allentown, Pennsylvania

On May 27, 2009, Barres was appointed the fourth Bishop of Allentown, Pennsylvania, by Pope Benedict XVI.^[5] He succeeded Bishop Edward Cullen, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in March 2008, and received his episcopal consecration on July 30, 2009 at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena. As Bishop of Allentown, Barres is the spiritual leader of over 276,000 Catholics in the Lehigh Valley and Berks County.^[5] He is also Allentown's first diocesan bishop who did not previously serve the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.^[4]

On July 30, 2009, Barres was consecrated and installed as the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown. Justin Cardinal Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, was the principal consecrator, and Bishops W. Francis Malooly (Bishop of Wilmington) and Michael Saltarelli (Bishop emeritus of Wilmington) were the principal co-consecrators.

Bishop Barres embraced the parish suppressions and church closings of his predecessor, Bishop Cullen, as his own. For the seven churches whose closings were reversed by the Congregation of the Clergy, Bishop Barres allows just one mass per year on the patronal feast day. The rest of the year, these churches are locked except for funerals for former parishioners, notwithstanding the plain meaning of Church canons indicating that the very essence of a Church is the right of the faithful to worship there. This position has become known in Catholic circles as the "Barres formula." Bishop Barres declined to attend the 100th anniversary mass of St. Joseph's Slovenian RCC in south side Bethlehem -- a church that was suppressed, reopened by the Congregation of the Clergy in a ruling that Bishop Barres threatened to appeal to the Apostolic Signature, and then withdrew.

In addition to his native English, he is fluent in Italian, French, and Spanish.^[4]

On Friday, December 13, 2013, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky), and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), named Bishop Barres to succeed Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., who had served since 2011, as the Episcopal Liaison to the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States.^[6]

See also

• Catholic Church hierarchy
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• List of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

References

Diocese of Allentown Ordinaries Bishops Joseph Mark McShea Thomas Jerome Welsh Edward Peter Cullen John Oliver Barres Diocesan priests who became bishops Ronald William Gainer Joseph Edward Kurtz David B. Thompson Churches Cathedral Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena, Allentown Parishes Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Pottsville St. John the Baptist Church, Pottsville Education High schools Allentown Central Catholic High School, Allentown Bethlehem Catholic High School, Bethlehem Berks Catholic High School, Reading Marian Catholic High School, Tamaqua Nativity BVM High School, Pottsville Notre Dame High School, Easton Pius X High School, Bangor Seminary (closed) Mary Immaculate Seminary, Northampton Catholicism Portal

Diocese of Wilmington Bishops Thomas Albert Andrew Becker Alfred Allen Paul Curtis John James Joseph Monaghan Edmond John Fitzmaurice Michael William Hyle Thomas Mardaga Robert Edward Mulvee Michael Angelo Saltarelli William Francis Malooly Churches Cathedral Cathedral of St. Peter Parishes St. Joseph's Church, Greenville, DE St. John the Baptist Church, Newark, DE St. Joseph's Church, Middletown, DE St. Peter's Church, Queenstown, MD St. Francis Xavier Church, Warwick, MD Resurrection Church, Wilmington, DE St. Anthony's Church, Wilmington, DE St. Catherine of Siena Church, Wilmington, DE St. Hedwig's Church, Wilmington, DE St. Joseph's Church, Wilmington, DE St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church, Wilmington, DE St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Wilmington, DE Education High Schools Archmere Academy, Claymont, DE Padua Academy, Wilmington, DE Saints Peter and Paul High School, Easton, MD St. Elizabeth High School, Wilmington, DE St. Mark's High School, Wilmington, DE St. Thomas More Preparatory, Magnolia, DE Salesianum School, Wilmington, DE Ursuline Academy, Wilmington, DE Former College St. Mary's College Priests John Barres Benjamin Joseph Keiley Catholicism Portal