BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The pope has named the new bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. He is a familiar face for many– the current Monsignor John McDermott is now the bishop-elect following a 10-month wait for a new leader of Vermont’s Catholic Church.
“We think that he’s a great choice. He’s a wonderful priest. He’s a wonderful pastor and a wonderful speaker,” said Dorothy Barewicz, a St. Joseph’s parishioner.
“We’ve all been praying, I think, that it would be him because you’re so well-liked by most everyone in the diocese,” said Gloria Yandow, a St. Joseph’s parishioner.
Parishioners rejoiced as the new bishop-elect was announced during Monday’s mass.
“I know the diocese very well, know the priests, know the people, know the parishes. So, in some ways, there’s an advantage for me being named here because I don’t have a learning curve,” Bishop-elect John McDermott said.
McDermott was ordained in Vermont nearly 35 years ago and has spent his career in many different parishes working his way up the ranks. Most recently, he was the pastor of the Christ the King-St. Anthony parish in Burlington and served as the director of the Catholic Center of the University of Vermont.
McDermott has helped fill the gap for the diocese after former Bishop Christopher Coyne was selected as archbishop of the diocese in Hartford, Connecticut.
“Our greatest longings are our greatest joy. Everything is found in God. And that’s, I think, what the church needs to continue to proclaim. And I think that that’s my responsibility as a bishop to share that message with everyone that I encounter that God alone is going to be the thing that satisfies the deepest longings of our hearts,” McDermott said.
The bishop-elect is focusing on attracting more young people to work at the church and to worship, as the number of Catholics has dropped from 142,000 in 1990 to 112,000 in 2019. Parishioners say attendance at mass has dropped since Bishop Coyne left and they are looking for renewed stability.
“Knowing that you have somebody who’s in the helm and in the leadership role of the church and directing us and guiding us… it means a lot to all of us until I think all of the people in the parishes in the state of Vermont,” Barewicz said.
McDermott takes over a diocese with a dark past as civil sex abuse cases remain ongoing. He wants to continue to repair harms and make sure everyone is safe in the church.
“I think we have an obligation to help them. It’s just a question of how much we can afford to help them. But we have to stay vigilant, vigilant and making sure that it’s never repeated,” he said.
The joy with the new bishop was palpable on Monday. I even received a message from a parishioner who wrote personally to the pope last July asking for the next bishop to be now the Bishop-elect John McDermott.
McDermott will be officially ordained and installed on Monday, July 15.