WASHINGTON – Pope Francis has appointed Monsignor Richard F. Reidy, as Bishop of Norwich. Bishop-elect Reidy is a priest of the Diocese of Worcester and currently serves as the diocese’s Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia. The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on February 12, 2025, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
The following biographical information for Bishop-elect Reidy was drawn from preliminary materials provided to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Father Reidy was born on May 30, 1958, in Worcester, Massachusetts. Bishop-elect Reidy received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester (1980), and a Juris Doctor from Boston College of Law in Newton (1983). He also studied at Saint Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore and continued his studies in Rome at the Pontifical North American College (1991-1994), earning a doctorate in sacred theology (1993) from the Pontifical Gregorian University, and a master’s degree at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (1994). He was ordained to the priesthood on June 25, 1994. Bishop-elect Reidy also received a licentiate in canon law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in 2010.
Bishop-elect Reidy’s assignments after ordination include: associate pastor at Saint Peter parish (1994-1995); rector of the Cathedral of Saint Paul (1995-2008); pastor of Saint Ann parish in North Oxford (2010-2013); temporary administrator at Saint Bernadette parish in Northborough and Saint George parish in Worcester (2013-present); temporary administrator of Saint Denis is Ashburnham (2021); temporary administrator of Saint Paul and Saint Stanislaus parishes in Warren and West Warren (2022-2023). Since 2013, he has served as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Worcester.
Bishop-elect Reidy has also served various roles for the Diocese of Worcester: diocesan director for the Office of Ongoing Formation of the Clergy (2005-2008); defender of the bond for the Diocesan Tribunal (2010 – present), and since 2013, he has served as the diocese’s Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia. In 2023, he was named a Chaplain to His Holiness, with the title of Monsignor. Bishop-elect Reidy speaks English and Italian.
The Diocese of Norwich is comprised of 1,978 square miles in the States of Connecticut and New York and has a total population of 669,430 of which 228,520 are Catholic.
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