Local

House resolutions honor Bishop DiLorenzo, Fr. Creedon

Catholic Herald Staff Report

Fr. Gerry Creedon FILE

Creedon—189.jpg

Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo FILE

dilorenzo-portrait.jpg

The Virginia House passed a resolution March 7 honoring the late
Richmond Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, who died Aug. 17, 2017.

On the same day, the House passed its own resolution honoring Father Gerry Creedon, former pastor of Holy Family Church in Dale City, who
died Nov. 16, 2017. The Virginia Senate passed a resolution in early February
honoring Father Creedon.

“What a joy it is to bear witness to two great men, Bishop
Francis DiLorenzo and Father Gerry Creedon, receiving honors and recognition
from the Virginia General Assembly for their hard work and dedication on
behalf of the vulnerable in society,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. “They
lived lives in service to God and his people, and their testimonies of faith
have inspired many throughout the Commonwealth and beyond. I ask all in the
Diocese of Arlington to say a prayer of thanksgiving for this wonderful bishop
and priest, their service, and the repose of their souls — and also for the
wisdom of the General Assembly in granting Bishop DiLorenzo and Father Creedon these
honors.”

Senate Joint Resolution No. 161 stated that Bishop DiLorenzo
strengthened the Diocese of Richmond through his leadership for more than a decade.

It recognized that he was a native of Philadelphia, who attended
St. Thomas More High School and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary; was ordained for
the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1968, and served as pastor until 1971, when
he was sent to Rome to continue his theological studies at the Academia
Alfonsiana and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.

He was ordained to the episcopacy in 1988 and was appointed as an
auxiliary bishop in Scranton, Pa. In 1994, Bishop DiLorenzo was installed as
bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu. He later was nominated by Pope John Paul II
as a participant in the 1998 Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Asia,
where he encouraged cooperation between bishops in Asia and the United States
to better serve immigrant communities.

“Bishop DiLorenzo was installed as the bishop of Richmond May 24,
2004, and became well-known in the community for his humility, concern for the
less fortunate, and emphasis on religious education,” the resolution said.

The resolution stated that under Bishop DiLorenzo’s leadership,
enrollment in the seminary more than doubled and he ordained 18 priests; in
2014, he launched a capital campaign that raised more than $105 million to
support parishes and clergy in Richmond.

“Bishop DiLorenzo also cofounded the Virginia Catholic
Conference, which advocated on behalf of the Diocese of Richmond and the
Diocese of Arlington and invited priests from Africa and Asia to preach in the
Commonwealth,” the resolution stated.

Related Articles