Son of converts, baptized by Fulton Sheen: An interview with Bishop John Barres

Bishop John Barres, 63, has served as Bishop of Rockville Centre, New York (Long Island) since January 2017. He was born in the New York City suburb of Larchmont in 1960; his parents were former Congregationalist ministers and converts to Catholicism. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware in 1989, and Bishop of Allentown in 2009. The Diocese of Rockville Centre serves 1.2 million Catholics with 133 parishes and 175 active diocesan priests.

Bishop Barres recently spoke with CWR about his upbringing, his family’s friendships with Bishop Fulton Sheen and Frank Sheed, Catholic education, and challenges faced by Catholics today.

CWR: What was your upbringing like?

Bishop John Barres: My mother Marjorie was from Youngstown, Ohio. She came from an American genealogy, which included many Protestant ministers. She was a graduate of Oberlin College and also earned a master’s degree in divinity at Yale Divinity School. My father Oliver was a 1943 graduate from Yale University, and during World War II served as an ambulance driver with the American Field Service in Italy and Northern Africa. Working with the wounded, dealing with the reality of war and death, he began to face existential questions.

When he came back from the war, he worked as a journalist for the New Haven Register. He did some interviews at Yale Divinity School and decided to enroll. He, too, would go on to earn a master’s degree in divinity. He met my mother, and five weeks later asked her to marry him. They were both ordained as Congregationalist ministers after receiving a great theological education. My father then went on to minister to a small parish in East Windsor, Connecticut, a position he loved.

As a result of his theological training, my father studied Church history. He came to agree with John Henry Cardinal Newman who said, “To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.” My mother, meanwhile, was attracted to the Catholic Church after reading the stories of the female saints. They both came into the Catholic Church in 1955. My father wrote the story of their conversion in his book One Shepherd, One Flock.

My parents understood why they became Catholics. As I grew up, they could answer questions I had about the Faith in a balanced and powerful way. My parents also understood the Four Marks of the Church [One, Holy, Catholic/Universal, and Apostolic]. The fourth, Apostolic, meant the Church could trace its roots back to Christ Himself and the Apostles. Little did they know that one day their son would become a bishop and a successor to those Apostles!

CWR: You were baptized by Bishop Fulton Sheen?

Bishop Barres: Yes, he baptized my older sister Clare and I. My father worked at the Society for the Propagation for the Faith, knew Bishop Sheen, and shared his worldwide Catholic evangelization mission. When I was a small boy, my father took me to his television studio to watch a taping of his show. Also around our house, we had copies of his books autographed to my parents. In one autograph in his book The Priest is Not His Own, he specifically mentions me and my brother. Bishop Sheen’s theology and spirituality of the priesthood has been a great influence on me.

On a personal level, Bishop Sheen was always gracious and kind to my parents. He gave them scarves as gifts, one of which I still have. He had quite an effect on people. There was a labor delivery nurse my mother came to know who had a Protestant husband. This nurse had been trying to encourage him to embrace the Catholic faith. His response was, “I’ll only convert if I meet Bishop Sheen.” My parents arranged the meeting, and the man became Catholic.

CWR: Your parents welcomed many missionaries to your home when you were growing up.

Bishop Barres: Yes. They were thrilled to be part of the worldwide evangelization effort, and we opened our doors to many visiting missionaries. One I remember was Maryknoll Missionary Fr. John Considine (1897-1982). He was a consultant to the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, and was asked by the National Catholic Welfare Conference to set up and direct the Latin American bureau.

Another Maryknoll we knew was Bishop William McNaughton (1926-2020), who became the first Bishop of Incheon, South Korea. He was a very holy bishop.

These great Maryknoll missionaries would come to our house for lunch and dinner, and I was inspired by their spirit and example.

CWR: Studies show that in recent decades there has been a decline in participation in the life of the Church. What can we do to turn things around?

Bishop Barres: We need new saints. The ebbs and flows of Church history demonstrate this. New eras bring new saints with great charisms. When things seem to be breaking down or about to die, holy men and women appear on the scene and there can be a great turnaround. These are often clergy and religious, but can be dedicated lay people as well.

CWR: The famous Catholic apologist and author Frank Sheed (1897-1981) was also a frequent visitor to your home. What memories do you have of him?

Bishop Barres: Frank Sheed was good friend of my parents and mine, too. He was trained as a lawyer but also possessed an Australian charm. He could easily engage people in conversation, and quickly had a sense of where they were at in their lives.

As a child, he came over for Sunday dinner, and as a boy I’d listen to his conversations with my parents. His publishing house, Sheed and Ward, published my father’s book One Shepherd, One Flock, and he wrote the introduction to the 1956 edition (re-published by Catholic Answers in 2000). When I attended Princeton University [earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1982], he encouraged me to study the works of G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936). During my junior year I wrote my paper on Chesterton: “G.K. Chesterton’s Relevance Today: Christian Thought in Orthodoxy and The Man Who Was Thursday.”

I treasure a letter he sent to me in 1981—just months before his death—in which he told me my analysis of Orthodoxy was excellent, but my analysis of The Man Who Was Thursday missed the mark! Up to that time I had always known him as “Mr. Sheed”, but in that letter he signed it “Frank.” He was beginning an adult relationship with me, as I was then age 20, as well as mentoring me.

CWR: What other recollections do you have of Sheed?

Bishop Barres: He shared with us personal stories of his conversations with Chesterton, his sense of language and paradox. He also recalled that the only time he had heard the Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain (1882-1973) tell a joke was in regard to T.S. Eliot: “Eliot exhausted his capacity for conversion (to the Catholic Church) when he became an Englishman.” He noted that when he’d speak to those gathered at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park in London that if people started throwing things the best thing to do was to remain still, as if you were to move, you’d get hit!

CWR: You graduated from the Phillips Academy in Andover. This school is known for its many prominent graduates, including U.S. presidents. What was your time like there?

Bishop Barres: Yes. I entered the same year as John F. Kennedy, Jr. It was a great experience. It was intense academically, and also where I discerned my vocation to the priesthood. In February 1977, I did a term paper on John Neumann; he was canonized in Rome in June 1977. I was moved by his story. His life resonated with me. I recall going to Mass on a weekday at that time; as the priest raised the chalice, in total silence, I asked the Lord: “Do you want me to be a priest?”

Phillips Academy had a real authentic liberal spirit, an acceptance of people’s consciences and what they believed. Some of my non-Catholic professors there became the greatest champions of my vocation.

CWR: You graduated from Princeton, and earned an MBA from the New York University Graduate School of Business. Were you initially considering a business career?

Bishop Barres: By my senior year at Princeton I was open to the vocation to marriage, but also considering the priesthood. I made the decision not to make a decision. I worked in public accounting for a time, which has been helpful to me as a bishop in the governance of the diocese.

I met Bishop Robert Mulvee (1930-2018) through a chaplain and began my studies for the priesthood for the Diocese of Wilmington. I studied at the Catholic University of America, and was ordained a priest in 1989.

CWR: What are some unique features of the Diocese of Rockville Centre?

Bishop Barres: We have over 500,000 Hispanic Catholics, including many from El Salvador and Ecuador. It’s been one of my great joys as a bishop to be with them, to learn from them. I see the crosses they carry, and the adjustments they must make when they come to the United States. I’ve heard so many wonderful stories from them. One 28-year-old woman, Rebecca, whom I met at a recent confirmation, for example, came in the 9^th grade from El Salvador. She had to learn English, adjust to American culture and get her education. She earned a degree in mechanical engineering and now is a catechist.

Also here on Long Island, we have six Catholic hospitals. As diocesan bishop, I have a lot of say in regards to the bylaws of these hospitals relating to Catholic identity, mission, and fidelity to Catholic teaching. I take this role very seriously. There are many laws that come out from Albany or at the federal level which could compromise our First Amendment rights as Americans and as Catholics; we, for example, will not allow our hospitals to be involved in transgender surgeries, IVF, abortion, or sterilization. The National Catholic Bioethics Center recently conducted a CIER [Catholic Identity and Ethics Reviews] audit and our diocese received a good report.

CWR: Are you concerned that legislation will take away these First Amendment rights?

Bishop Barres: We must remain super vigilant on a daily basis.

CWR: You ordained two priests on June 8. How is the Diocese of Rockville Centre doing for vocations to the priesthood and religious life?

Bishop Barres: We have 12 seminarians. They are outstanding young men, but we need many more of them.

I recently attended a conference at Our Lady of Loretto Parish in Hempstead. Most of the participants were Hispanic. I told them that more than 500,000 in our diocese are Hispanic Catholics, yet we have only two Hispanic seminarians. I said we don’t need two, but 200. This is something I repeat often in our parishes.

CWR: What have you been doing to revive Catholic education in Rockville Centre?

Bishop Barres: We have a challenge, as Long Island’s public schools are quite fine, and taxes are very high. Our state also does not offer vouchers for private schools. I’ve been forced to close some schools here, as I did when I was bishop of Allentown. But, we’re doing our best to move forward in a vibrant way.

We are working to maintain and improve the quality of our schools to make them attractive to parents, making sure they have a strong Catholic identity with engaging catechesis. We are forming young minds with the truths of our faith. We’re also doing what we can to keep Catholic education affordable through our Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation which offers scholarships to those with financial need.

We’re excited about a new dual immersion program at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Deer Park, which teaches children in both English and Spanish. This helps students to become bilingual, and has cognitive benefits as well.

CWR: The diocese went into bankruptcy in 2020 related to the costs of lawsuits by victims of alleged clergy abuse. What is the status of the bankruptcy today?

Bishop Barres: We’re three-and-a-half years into it. Our goal is to help the survivors; I’ve met with many. We need to have a compassionate, caring heart for our survivors, reach a just and fair settlement, and at the same time be able to continue our work and mission which is for the common good of Long Island.

CWR: Who are some Catholics you admire?

Bishop Barres: I’ve been inspired by the example of the priests I’ve served in our diocese, as well as those I’ve known throughout my life. Parish priests are often unsung heroes, baptizing family members, celebrating Mass, and offering kind words in moments of grief and sorrow.

As far as saints, I’ve always found St. Thomas More appealing. He is the patron of statesmen, politicians, and lawyers. He also believed in the importance of the apostolate of the laity in the secular world.

As far as popes, I read the Journal of a Soul, the autobiography of Pope John XXIII, and developed a great devotion to him. Pope Paul VI means a lot to me. It’s been more than 50 years since he released his encyclical Humanae Vitae [which restated the Church’s condemnation of artificial birth control] and it’s been proven incredibly on target. The things he predicted have really come true. He really carried the cross for that teaching.

Pope John Paul II has been critical to me. I was at Princeton when he was elected, and had the opportunity to meet him a few times.

CWR: You are a member of Opus Dei’s Priestly Society of the Holy Cross.

Bishop Barres: Yes. It has been important to me for ongoing formation. I go to Manhattan for spiritual direction; they have summer courses at Arnold Hall in Pembroke, Massachusetts in which we pray, explore theological topics, and enjoy fraternity.

CWR: What other interests do you have?

Bishop Barres: I enjoy literature, biographies, and history. I also like athletics. I love golf, but my schedule has not allowed me to play for four years. I’m a basketball nut, and played at Princeton. One of my junior varsity teammates there was actor David Duchovny.

CWR: Any other thoughts?

Bishop Barres: I am grateful to our pastors and parishes during this time of Chapter 11; the process has been really difficult. But despite these challenges our pastors and people of God on Long Island continue to evangelize, and keep and spread the faith. Their example is both edifying and an inspiration to me.