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2008 SPECIAL SESSION I


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 5017
Commending the Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, April 23, 2008
Agreed to by the Senate, April 23, 2008

 

WHEREAS, February 3, 2008, marked the 20th anniversary of the episcopal ordination of the Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Loverde was born on September 3, 1940, in Framingham, Massachusetts, to Paul and Mary Conti Loverde; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Loverde graduated summa cum laude from Saint Bernard Seminary College in 1962, and after studying at the Gregorian University in Rome, he received the licentiate in sacred theology and was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ in the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican on December 18, 1965; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Loverde served in a variety of difficult and demanding pastoral assignments in the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut—as assistant pastor of St. Sebastian Church in Middletown, Connecticut; Catholic chaplain at Wesleyan University; chaplain and chairman of the Religious Studies Department at St. Bernard Girls’ High School in New London, Connecticut; chaplain to Catholic students at Connecticut College; diocesan director of Campus Ministry; chairman of the Board of Vicars for Priests; defender of the bond and vice-officialis for the Diocesan Tribunal of Norwich; and

WHEREAS, on February 3, 1988, Bishop Loverde was appointed auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Hartford; and

WHEREAS, in 1993 Bishop Loverde was appointed the 11th bishop of Ogdensburg, New York, overseeing 123 parishes with a Catholic population at the time of more than 139,000, living in a territory of over 12,000 square miles; and

WHEREAS, on January 25, 1999, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced that Bishop Paul Loverde had been named by His Holiness Pope John Paul II to serve as the third bishop of the Diocese of Arlington in the Commonwealth of Virginia; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Loverde continues to serve Christ by serving his fellow man as the Apostolic shepherd and teacher to more than 413,000 Roman Catholic Virginians, in 68 parishes, in the Diocese of Arlington; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Loverde’s motto, “Encourage and teach with patience,” reflects his lifelong belief that “when you encourage someone, you are giving them hope”; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Loverde has lived his life in persona Christi, as an exemplar of faith, prayer, service, and encouragement for all; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde, Bishop of the Arlington Diocese, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his episcopal ordination; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Most Reverend Paul Loverde as an expression of the General Assembly’s gratitude for his dedication to serve Christ by serving his brothers and sisters in the Commonwealth.