Thirty-five years ago — April 12, 1988 — Father Paul S. Loverde was consecrated as auxiliary bishop in the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, Conn., where he served for six years, from 1988 until 1994, when he was appointed as bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg, N.Y. In 1999, Bishop Loverde was appointed as bishop of Arlington, where he served until his retirement in 2016.
“The time I’ve been here has been a great blessing,” Bishop Loverde told the Catholic Herald on the eve of his anniversary. “I was privileged and humbled to serve here as the chief pastor. The Lord was so good to give me these wonderful people to lead and to see grow. I’m left with this strong sense of gratitude. I love being a priest.”
In 2016, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge was appointed as bishop of Arlington after Bishop Loverde’s retirement. “As Bishop Loverde’s successor, I appreciate his model of humility and faithfulness,” he said. “On a personal level, I am grateful for his friendship and ongoing support and encouragement. He has been a steadfast advocate for the sacredness of all human life, an ardent supporter of Catholic education, and an active promoter of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. Bishop Loverde continues to live out his ministry in our midst with devotion and joy.”
Bishop Loverde was born Sept. 3, 1940, to Paul, a Sicilian immigrant, and his wife, Anne Marie Loverde. At first, the couple believed they would not be able to have children, and it was a difficult pregnancy for Anne Marie. Their son was born two months premature weighing only 3 pounds. On that day, his father was told by the doctor that Anne Marie and baby Paul would die before the end of the night. Instead, both recovered.
Bishop Loverde said he grew up in a simple household, but it was full of love for him and the Lord. “When love is present in a relationship in the family, it’s amazing how some of the things we think are so important are not important, because the bond of love is much richer and much more nourishing than lots of things,” he said. “They gave me love and they also gave me the faith. My mom and dad were both very faithful people. I was in Catholic school all the way from kindergarten to high school.”
After high school, Bishop Loverde entered seminary and earned his bachelor of arts degree, summa cum laude, from St. Bernard Seminary College in Rochester, N.Y. He later studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome at the same time as the Second Vatican Council. He was ordained a priest Dec. 18, 1965, in St. Peter’s Basilica. He earned his licentiate in sacred theology from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1966. Bishop Loverde served as a priest in the Diocese of Norwich, Conn., in a variety of assignments, both parochial and diocesan. In 1982, he was awarded a licentiate in canon law from The Catholic University of America in Washington.
Bishop Loverde said he was shocked when he received the phone call in 1988 informing him that he had been appointed as auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Hartford. He was apprehensive to move to a new diocese, but everyone there was very welcoming. In 1994, he was installed as the 11th bishop of Ogdensburg. “What I especially liked (was) because it was rural, it reminded me of Norwich, although it was much larger in land mass,” he said.
In 1999, he got the call that he was appointed as the third bishop of Arlington. Before his installation, he read up on his new home. “The administrator sent me statistics and I saw that in Manassas, the parish of All Saints then had 20,000 registered parishioners,” he said. “My eyes probably were bulging because (in) the city of Ogdensburg, the entire population was 11,000. That was really what one would call a shock.”
In his 17 years leading Arlington, Bishop Loverde established eight new parishes, dedicated 12 new churches and ordained more than 70 priests. Through his hard work and the generosity of parishioners throughout the diocese, many building projects were completed. Those included the founding of Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Potomac Shores; renovations to Christ House in Alexandria and the formation of St. Margaret of Cortona Transitional Residences in Woodbridge, both ministries of diocesan Catholic Charities; the construction of the San Damiano Spirituality Center in White Post; and the St. Rose of Lima Priest Retirement Villa in Annandale, where Bishop Loverde now lives.
Bishop Loverde resumed the permanent diaconate program in 2005 and ordained the first group of 16 men to the diaconate in 2011. He established the Office of Multicultural Ministries in 2004 and, with Richmond Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, established the Virginia Catholic Conference in 2005. He wrote seven pastoral letters, including “Bought with a Price: Every Man’s Duty to Protect Himself and His Family from a Pornographic Culture.”
Currently, Bishop Loverde serves on the following boards: Catholic Distance University, Catholic U., Mount St. Mary’s University, Institute for Psychological Sciences, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the Commissariat of the Holy Land and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
Looking back, Bishop Loverde is proud of all that the diocese has become. “The clergy and the people are very rooted in our Catholic faith,” he said. “We’ve had a strong, even before my time, ministry to young people. We have a strong devotion to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and we have a number of parishes with adoration, some have perpetual adoration. All of that, and the works of charity (with) the wonderful outreach through our Catholic Charities, I think has contributed to why we are blessed with a number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life.”
These days, Bishop Loverde lives in community with other priests at the retirement villa, gives retreats, serves as a spiritual director, celebrates Mass and hears confessions at diocesan parishes whenever needed. He also assists Bishop Burbidge by celebrating the sacrament of Confirmation. Franciscan Sister Kathryn Mullarkey, who manages the villa, often accompanies him around the diocese. “Any time I take him out, people will stop him because they know who he is and they just love him,” she said. “He’s a good shepherd, and people truly know him for that.”
Raul Fernandez, a parishioner of Queen of Apostles Church in Alexandria, is a friend of Bishop Loverde’s. As a jeweler, he’s worked on different pieces for the bishop, including setting his mother’s engagement ring in his chalice. “That’s probably the most important job I’ve ever done,” said Fernandez.
“He is a great guy. Anything you need, he’ll do for you,” said Fernandez, noting that Bishop Loverde often asks about his children by name.
Msgr. John C. Cregan, retired former pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria, first met Bishop Loverde when he came to the diocese. “He was always available and he listened to you. To me, he always gave sound guidance,” said Msgr. Cregan. “I think he united the presbyterate in a really good way and was attuned to the short-term and longer-term need of the diocese and prepared for that by raising money to put us in good financial shape for the future. He really did build up the chancery and made so many of the offices so effective. He showed strong leadership and we’re bearing the fruit of that now.
“One of the other impressive things about the bishop is he’s totally dedicated to his priesthood, so he continues to use his leadership skills in any way he can to help the diocese and Bishop Burbidge,” said Msgr. Cregan. “We’re blessed to have him here and he’s a great asset.”
