He still talks about it with a sense of wonder — how “an ordinary boy growing up in a blue-collar family” would be ordained a priest at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome and go on to become a bishop.
“Why he chose me will always be a mystery,” said Bishop Paul S. Loverde, who celebrates the 60th anniversary of his ordination Dec. 18. “I’m deeply grateful to God for his goodness and his mercy to me all of my life. In his will, he called me to be a priest, which is a great privilege but also a great responsibility.”
Ordained at 25 in the Diocese of Norwich, Conn., by Bishop Francis Reh, who was rector of Rome’s Pontifical North American College, Father Loverde would spend the next 23 years wearing many clerical hats that was common for priests in the mid-20th century.
Never a church pastor, he was a parish administrator at two churches and instructor in religious studies and chairman of the religion department in two diocesan high schools. He also served as chaplain at a high school and two colleges during the turmoil of the countercultural revolution of the 1960s and ’70s, and the Vietnam War protests that exploded on campuses throughout the U.S.
“There was of course a lot of discussion about peace and war and whether we should have to go to Vietnam or not,” he said, recalling a particularly hostile reception when he became chaplain at East Connecticut State College in the early 1970s. “I finally got an office, which was like a cubbyhole in the underground level. And the day I first got to it, there was a big sign that said, ‘Get out, you papist.’ ”
Although anti-Catholicism was prevalent, Bishop Loverde said firmness was required and he didn’t shy away from teaching Catholic truth. “Students didn’t want to hear about the peace that the church taught,” he said. “But I still look back on those days with many cherished memories.”
He didn’t realize it at the time, but his varied background was paving the way for him to become a bishop, and he was consecrated auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn., in 1988 by Archbishop John F. Whealon, with Bishop Daniel Patrick Reilly of Norwich and Bishop Reh concelebrating.
“There were so many different assignments I had,” said Bishop Loverde, citing other roles such as priest personnel director and president of the pastoral council. “When I became a bishop, that experience was very useful to me.”
He was installed as the 11th bishop of Ogdensburg, N.Y., in 1994 and after the March 22, 1998, death of Bishop John R. Keating, became the third bishop of Arlington a year later.
Although he’s been a bishop for 37 years, Bishop Loverde never had grand ambitions. “I just wanted to be a priest,” he said. “I was never looking to be a bishop. I just wanted to be with the people.”
It almost never happened. He was born in 1940, two months premature and weighing 3 pounds after his mother was stricken with toxemia. “The doctor called my father and he said, ‘You better get here because by midnight your newborn son and your wife will be dead,’ ” said the bishop. “The nurses were well schooled in those days about Catholicism, so the nurse baptized me immediately as soon as I was born.”
He suspects the difficulties of his birth may have “unconsciously prompted” him to become an outspoken pro-life advocate. “Even before Roe v. Wade in 1973, I gave homilies where I was speaking about the priority of life,” he said. “I’ve always felt that the pro-life cause is so fundamental.”
In 1999, during his fifth year as bishop of the rural diocese of Ogdensburg, N.Y., he received a phone call from Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, papal nuncio to the United States, informing him that he had been selected as the bishop of Arlington. “It was a total surprise to me,” he said. “I didn’t know anything about the diocese. I soon learned that All Saints Church (in Manassas) had 20,000 registered parishioners and the city of Ogdensburg had a total population of 11,000. It was hard to wrap my mind around that. I said, ‘Okay, this is what the Lord wants.’ ”
In his 17 years leading the diocese, Bishop Loverde oversaw impressive growth with eight new parishes, 12 churches dedicated, numerous building projects and more than 70 priests ordained. “The ordinations were always something very special,” he said. “That was so enlivening for me and I think for the people of the diocese.”
Retired since 2016, Bishop Loverde lives at the St. Rose of Lima Priest Retirement Villa in Annandale, where he celebrates Mass and Holy Hour daily, hears confessions, and offers spiritual direction to many. He continues to celebrate the sacrament of confirmation at parishes around the diocese. He uses a walker to help with his balance but does not live in pain. “There was a time when I was in great pain, but with some treatment from a pain doctor, we’ve been able to almost eliminate that,” he said. “So, for now I just have to be careful.”
“We’ve been very blessed to have him for so long and he continues to be very active in his retirement,” said Msgr. John C. Cregan, who retired as pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria in 2015. “He continues to serve the diocese and we give thanks for his long service.”
Bishop Loverde enjoys a warm relationship with his successor, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, who said Bishop Loverde’s vocation as priest and bishop is a tremendous gift to the diocese and all who know him.
“He truly teaches and encourages with patience, and he continues to model for our entire diocese what daily faithfulness and trust in Our Lord look like,” said Bishop Burbidge, noting that no priest or bishop truly retires.
“Bishop Loverde’s ministry continues through the many ways he continues to serve with priestly zeal and joy,” he said. “On a personal level, our friendship, spiritual brotherhood, and mutual support are constant blessings for me. I invite all the faithful to offer prayers of thanksgiving to God for the gift of Bishop Loverde’s life and witness to the Gospel and the life-changing and life-saving grace of Jesus Christ.”
The word Bishop Loverde returns to is “mystery” to explain how he could have been a priest for 60 years.
“I’m in awe of his gracious goodness to me from the very moment I was conceived till now,” he said. “No life is perfect, but knowing it all, I’d be a priest all over again in a heartbeat.”
Bishop Loverde was scheduled to celebrate Mass on his 60th ordination anniversary at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington Dec. 18 at 12:05 p.m.
Watch: Bishop Loverde shares from the heart on the priests he ordained in “A Father to his Flock.”
