Bishop Emeritus Robert P. Deeley

Most Rev. Robert Deeley, J.C.D.
Ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston: July 14, 1973
Named Prelate of Honor (Monsignor): December 13, 1993
Ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Boston: January 4, 2013
Named Bishop of Portland: December 18, 2013
Installed as Bishop of Portland: February 14, 2014
Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Portland: May 7, 2024

Upbringing and Education

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Bishop Robert P. Deeley, J.C.D., grew up in Belmont, Massachusetts, as the fourth in a family of five sons. His parents, Michael and Mary, now deceased, were born in County Galway, Ireland. His family belonged to Sacred Heart Parish in Watertown, MA, and Bishop Deeley attended Matignon High School in North Cambridge. Following high school, he entered Cardinal O’Connell Minor Seminary in Jamaica Plain to discern a vocation to the priesthood. After two years of college, he received a Theodore Basselin Foundation Scholarship and began philosophy studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., from which he graduated in 1968. In 1972, he earned a degree in Theology (S.T.B.) from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Following a year of continuing studies in theology, he returned to Boston and was ordained to the priesthood on July 14, 1973, at his home parish, Sacred Heart in Watertown.

Pastoral Assignments 

His first local assignment was as associate pastor at St. Bartholomew Parish in Needham. In 1978, with his appointment as Secretary to the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Boston, then-Father Deeley began a ministry in the tribunal which would last for more than 20 years, the last 10 of which he served as judicial vicar (1989-1999). Throughout that period, apart from his years of graduate study in Rome in Canon Law, he lived at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Parish in Newton and St. Brigid Parish in Lexington where he was able to provide priestly presence and assistance. He was named a Prelate of Honor (monsignor) on December 13, 1995.

Then-Monsignor Deeley was named pastor of St. Ann Parish in the Wollaston section of Quincy in 1999. He assumed the presidency of the Canon Law Society of America in 2000. He went to Rome in September 2004 to assist as an Official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He served at the congregation until being named vicar general and moderator of the Curia of the Archdiocese of Boston in the summer of 2011. On January 4, 2013, he was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Boston by Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap.

The 12th Bishop of Portland

On December 18, 2013, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Deeley the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Portland. Bishop Deeley was installed as bishop on February 14, 2014, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. He became bishop emeritus upon the installation of Bishop James Ruggieri on May 7, 2024.

As Bishop of Portland, Bishop Deeley sought to strengthen parishes, partnering with the Catholic Leadership Institute to offer leadership training and assistance in pastoral planning for the future. Foreseeing an increasing shortage of priests, he engaged with international religious communities and the Diocese of Kumbo in Cameroon to bring priests from other countries to Maine. 

Bishop Deeley sought to preserve and enliven Catholic education, and it was his leadership that led to the presence of Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) missionaries at  the University of Maine at Orono, enhancing campus ministry and promoting vocations. He also placed an increased emphasis on Hispanic ministry and outreach to immigrant and refugee communities. And during his episcopacy, safe environment programs were evaluated and strengthened. Bishop Deeley also guided the Church in Maine through the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited church attendance but saw a rise in livestreaming capabilities, which still benefit homebound residents.

Throughout his time as chief shepherd, Bishop Deeley traveled extensively, aiming to visit every Catholic church in Maine. The greatest gift of his episcopacy, he said, has been time spent with priests and parishioners and time spent celebrating the Eucharist.

In addition to his responsibilities within the diocese. Bishop Deeley served as chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance. He remains a member of the committee. He also served as chairman of the board of the National Catholic Risk Retention Group.

Committees 

Bishop Deeley served on numerous committees and boards including as chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, a committee on which he remains a member. He is also chairman of the board of the National Catholic Risk Retention group. In October 2015, he was named the recipient of the Role of Law Award, the Canon Law Society of America’s most prestigious honor. The award is given to an individual who has distinguished himself in the practice of canon law, serving God’s people through the use of this law of the Church. 

Experience

5/7/2024-Present
Bishop Emeritus, Diocese of Portland

2/14/2014-5/7/2024
Bishop, Diocese of Portland

12/7/2020-Present
Chairman of the Board, National Catholic Risk Retention Group

11/16/2020-Present
Member, USCCB’s Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance

7/18-12/6/2020
Episcopal Moderator and Member of the Board of Directors, National Catholic Risk Retention Group

11/15/2017-11/16/2020
Chairman, USCCB's Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance

1/2013-2/2014
Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Boston

9/2011-2/2014
Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, Archdiocese of Boston

2010-9/2011
Aiutante di Studio, Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith
Palazzo del S. Uffizio
00120 Cittá del Vaticano

2004-2010
Official, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

2003-2004
External Collaborator, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

1999-2004
Pastor, St. Ann Parish, Wollaston, MA
Judge, Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Boston

2002-2004
Vicar Forane, Quincy Vicariate, Archdiocese of Boston

1989-1999
Judicial Vicar, Archdiocese of Boston

1986-1989
Adjunct Judicial Vicar, Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Boston

1985-1986
Judge, Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Boston

1981-1985
Graduate Study in Canon Law, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy

1978-1981
Secretary, Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Boston

1973-1978
Associate Pastor, Saint Bartholomew Parish, Needham, MA

Education

1986
J.C.D. (summa cum laude) - Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome
Thesis: The Mandate for Those who Teach Theology in Institutes of Higher Studies: An Interpretation of the Meaning of Canon 812 of the Code of Canon Law

1985
Diploma (summa cum laude) - School of Latin Letters, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome

1983
J.C.L. Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome

1972
S.T.B. Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome

1968
A.B. The Catholic University of America (Basselin Scholarship)

Teaching Appointments

2009-2011
Pontifical North American College, Rome, Italy
"Homiletics for Pastoral Ministry"

2007-2011
Pontifical North American College, Institute for Continuing Theological Education, Lectures on the Work of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

2001-2004
Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, MA"
"Canon Law: Introduction and Application,"
"Marriage: Theological, Canonical and Pastoral Perspectives"

1992 and 1998
Pastoral Institute, Archdiocese of Boston,
"Marriage Today: Theology, Law, Morality," (September - December), (March -May)

1989 and 1991
St. John's Seminary, Brighton, MA
Lecturer - "Introduction to Canon Law," (Spring Semester)

1977-1981
Labouré College
Lecturer - "Medical Ethics"

1975-1977
St. John's Seminary College, Brighton, MA
Lecturer - "Philosophy Seminar"

Parochial Assignments

1999-2004
Pastor, St. Ann Parish, Wollaston, MA

1985-1999
Assistant Priest in Residence, St. Brigid Parish, Lexington, MA

1988-1999
Chaplain, Provincial House, Retirement House and Youville Assisted Living Residence, Sisters of Charity of Montreal, "Grey Nuns," Lexington, MA

1978-1981
Assistant Priest in Residence, Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Parish, Newton Upper Falls, MA

1973-1978
Associate Pastor, St. Bartholomew Parish, Needman, MA

Publications

The Mandate for Those who Teach Theology in Institutes of Higher Studies
(Rome, Italy: 1986 privately published doctoral dissertation)

Canon 812: The Mandate for Those Who Teach Theology, Proceedings of the Canon Law Society
of America (50: 1988, pp.70-85)

Code of Canon Law: Latin-English Edition,
Washington, D.C. Canon Law Society of America, 1998, translation editor

Brought to Light (Ans Licht gebracht),
Reflections on the crime of solicitation in the context of the Sacrament of Penance

(Das Bubsakrament als Kontaktaufnahme fur den sexuellen Missbrauch: Reflexionen
uber das Delikt der Sollicitatio), 2012, pp.59-80

Boards, Commissions, Councils
National Catholic Risk Retention Group
Chairman, Board of Directors (2020-Present)
Member, Board of Directors (2019-2020)
Episcopal Moderator (2019-2020)

USCCB's Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance
Chairman (2017-2020)

iCatholic Media, Inc., Watertown, MA
Member, Board of Trustees (2012-2014)

St. John's Seminary, Brighton, MA
Member, Board of Trustees (2011-2014)
Member, Board of Governors (2014-2018)

Pope Saint John XXIII National Seminary, Weston, MA
Member, Board of Trustees (2011-2014)

Covenant Health Systems, Lexington, MA
Member, Board of Directors (1999-2009)

Canonical Affairs Committee of the Archdiocese of Boston
Member (1989-2004)
Chair (1989-1999)

Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Committee of the Archdiocese of Boston,
Member (1986-2004)

Advisory Council, Matignon High School, Cambridge, MA,
Member (2000-2003)

Eighth Synod of the Archdiocese of Boston
Member (1986-1988)

Eighth Synod of the Archdiocese of Boston - Committee for the Revision of the Archdiocesan Statutes
Member (1986-1988)

Committee: Pastoral Guidelines for the Celebration of the Sacraments, Archdiocese of Boston
Chair (1987-1989)

Memberships

Canon Law Society of America
Convention Liturgy Committee (1980-1981)
Marriage Research Committee (1990-1993)
Committee for the New Translation of the Code of Canon Law (1993-1999)
Board of Governors (1995-1997, 1999-2002)
Treasurer (1995-1997)
Vice President / President-Elect (1999-2000)
President (2000-2001)
Past President (2001-2002)
Committee for the Site Selection of the Executive Coordinator (2002-2003)
Committee for the Implementation of the Essential Norms (2003-2004)
Role of Law Award Recipient (2016)
Canon Law Society of Australia and New Zealand
Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland