Two new US bishops have been appointed by Pope Francis in the last two days. Yesterday it was announced that Father John F. Doerfler, currently vicar general for the Diocese of Green Bay, has been named the next bishop of Marquette, Michigan; today Bishop Robert Deely, an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Boston, was named bishop of Portland, Maine.
Bishop-designate Doerfler, 49, will succeed Archbishop Alexander Sample, who was named head of the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon in January after serving as bishop of Marquette since 2006.
Catholic News Agency has some biographical information about the new bishop, whose ordination is scheduled for February 2014:
Born Nov. 2, 1964 in Appleton, Wisc., to Henry and Germaine Doerfler, he graduated from Appleton West High School in 1983 and received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and classics from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.
The bishop-to-be was a seminarian at the Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology. He holds a licentiate in canon law from The Catholic University of America and both a licentiate and a doctorate in sacred theology from the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family in Washington, D.C.
Bishop-designate Doerfler was ordained a priest on July 13, 1991.
He has served as parochial vicar and administrator at several parishes of the Green Bay diocese, including St. John Nepomucene Parish in Little Chute, Holy Trinity Parish in Casco, St. John the Evangelist Parish in Green Bay, St. Joseph Parish in Sturgeon Bay, and St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. He has also been rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wis.
Bishop-designate Doerfler has served in diocesan positions as chancellor and judge for the tribunal. He has taught at the Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corner and has published several articles on medical ethics.
He is the chaplain to the northeast Wisconsin chapter of Legatus, an organization for Catholic businessmen, and has served in Hispanic ministry. He has worked with Catholic organizations including Teens Encounter Christ, Courage, Widows of Prayer and Retrouivaille.
Bishop Deely will succeed Bishop Richard Malone as head of the Portland diocese. The see has been vacant for 19 months, after Bishop Malone was named bishop of Buffalo, New York last year. Bishop Deely is expected to be installed in Portland in February.
Bishop Deeley, 67, was ordained for the Boston Archdiocese in 1973. He was named an auxiliary bishop of Boston in 2012.
Bishop-elect Deeley holds a bachelor of arts degree from The Catholic University of America, a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and a licentiate and doctorate in canon law from the Gregorian. …
He also has served as archdiocesan chaplain for the Knights of Columbus, 1988-1991; spiritual director for the Catholic Lawyers Guild, 1991-1999, and president of the Canon Law Society of America, 2000.
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