Howard James Hubbard

His Excellency, The Most Reverend Howard J. Hubbard DD
Bishop Emeritus of Albany
Hubbard at his retirement party in 2014.
Province	New York
Diocese	Albany
Appointed	February 1, 1977
Installed	March 27, 1977
Term ended	April 10, 2014
Predecessor	Edwin B. Broderick
Successor	Edward Bernard Scharfenberger
Orders
Ordination	December 18, 1963 by Martin John O'Connor
Consecration	March 27, 1977 by Terence Cooke, Edwin Broderick, and Edward Joseph Maginn
Personal details
Born	(1938-10-31) October 31, 1938 Troy, New York
Nationality	U.S.A.
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Motto	Rejoice, We Are God’s People

Styles of Howard James Hubbard
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

Howard James Hubbard, DD (born October 31, 1938) is a United States prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the ninth Bishop of Albany, as well as the longest-serving incumbent.

Early life and ministry

Howard Hubbard was born in Troy, New York, to Howard and Elizabeth Hubbard. He attended La Salle Institute, and entered Mater Christi Seminary in 1956. He furthered his studies at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers and the Pontifical North American College and Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. While in Rome, Hubbard was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Martin O'Connor on December 18, 1963.^[1]

Upon his return to the United States, he served as associate pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Schenectady and at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany. He then did his graduate studies in social services at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Episcopal career

On February 2, 1977, Hubbard was appointed Bishop of Albany by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following March 27 from Cardinal Terence Cooke, with Bishops Edwin B. Broderick and Edward Joseph Maginn serving as co-consecrators. He was the youngest bishop in the country at the time.

Appointed by Pope John Paul II to the Vatican's Secretariat for Non-Christians (now the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue), he is a supporter of the ecumenical movement, serving as Roman Catholic Co-chair of the Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation. Under his leadership, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany maintained a very active Catholic-Jewish dialogue, and has been at the forefront of efforts to achieve a good working relationship between the Roman Catholic Diocese and the Jewish community. He has been a leader in pro-life efforts, suing to prevent an abortion clinic from opening in Albany and serving as president of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty.

At the time of his retirement, Hubbard's tenure as bishop was the longest in the Diocese's history, at 37 years. The previous record was 35 years belonging to Edmund Gibbons.^[2] Liturgical design consultant Richard S. Vosko served as his liturgical adviser during his tenure.^[3]

Abuse affairs

In March 19, 2011, Hubbard placed three retired priests on administrative leave and removed another from the ministry after receiving allegations of child sexual abuse.^[4]

Communion controversy

In February 2011, canonist Ed Peters argued that New York's Governor, Andrew Cuomo, should be denied Holy Communion for his cohabitation with a girlfriend.^[5] In March, Hubbard gave an interview in which he explained that he would not deny Holy Communion to Cuomo.^[6]

Retirement

Hubbard submitted his letter of resignation to Pope Francis when he reached the age of 75 as required. The Vatican announced on February 11, 2014, that Pope Francis had accepted Hubbard's resignation and appointed as his successor Rev. Msgr. Edward Bernard Scharfenberger, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Episcopal Vicar for the area of Queens.^[7]

See also

References

External links

• Diocese of Albany

Episcopal succession