SAMANTHA SIMMONS: Following a battle with cancer, Springfield Bishop Emeritus Timothy McDonnell -- the 8th bishop of Springfield -- has died.
With his appointment, McDonnell was tasked with leading western Massachusetts on a path toward healing in the wake of multiple sex abuse cases – some of which involved his predecessor.
Joining us now with more information is WAMC Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief James Paleologopoulos.
James, hello.
JAMES PALEOLOGOPOULOS: Hi, Sam.
SIMMONS: James, what can you tell us?
PALEOLOGOPOULOS: Sam, I can tell you for the past few months, Bishop McDonnell had been receiving hospice care for what he referred to in January as an “untreatable cancer.”
He died late Wednesday night, according to Bishop William Byrne, the 10th Bishop of Springfield.
McDonnell had been receiving care in Holyoke. He relocated there recently, after spending much of his post-retirement years in the Berkshires, where he was active in the community and at St. Joseph’s Church in Pittsfield.
SIMMONS: What can you tell us about his time in the church and as bishop?
PALEOLOGOPOULOS: As Byrne emphasized to reporters Thursday, McDonnell was a New Yorker at heart. He grew up in the Bronx and was the child of Irish immigrants, both hailing from County Cork.
He was ordained as a priest in 1963, after time at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers. He also attended Iona College in New Rochelle.
He later became the Auxiliary Bishop of New York in 2001. In 2004, he was appointed by Pope John Paul II to serve as Bishop of Springfield – replacing the disgraced late-Bishop Thomas Dupré.
Dupré was the first American Catholic bishop to be indicted in the wide-spanning sexual abuse crisis involving the Roman Catholic Church. He was indicted on two counts of child molestation and was also accused of helping cover up abuse in the area.
Between trying to mend damage caused by Dupré as well as consolidate a shrinking diocese, Byrne says McDonnell specialized in putting out fires.
“[McDonnell] was always known, both in New York and in the Diocese here - as a fireman. He came in very difficult situations and had to put out some fires and do some rebuilding," the current bishop said. "He came at a time of … a need to consolidate: a pastoral plan, which he did with courage and love, but also had to face the initial years of the clergy abuse crisis and with transparency and compassion, he dealt with that as much as could be done at that time, and we continue to try and bring healing to that issue.”
PALEOLOGOPOULOS: Byrne appeared to reference how, in the 90s, McDonnell assisted the New York-based Covenant House charity during the fallout another infamous sexual abuse scandal – one involving the late-Father Bruce Ritter.
SIMMONS: So, a legacy of working amid tough circumstances?
PALEOLOGOPOULOS: Exactly. Byrne referred to McDonnell as “very effective” as well as a “shepherd and a blessing to the diocese.” A 2004 article in the Springfield Republican newspaper noted how, during his first homily, he said he hoped “to be a reconciler.”
He and the diocese also had to reckon with massive consolidation efforts across the diocese spanning Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties.
2008 and 2009 alone saw around two dozen churches close, merge or consolidate in some way. A lot of these closures were painful in their respective communities.
“There [were] difficult decisions. The challenge in New England is that you often have ethnic parishes right next door to each other. If you go to the south, you don't have a Spanish parish next to an Italian parish next to an Irish parish, whereas you would have these legacy parishes [here]," Byrne noted. "So, in Pittsfield alone, there were something like 11 parishes I believe ... he helped make the hard decisions, sometimes with greater or less success, but always with a great pastor's heart … he was a wonderful bishop for this diocese.”
PALEOLOGOPOULOS: McDonnell’s retirement would be accepted by Pope Francis in June 2014. He was succeeded by Bishop Mitchell Rozanski, who departed in 2020 to become the Archbishop of St. Louis.
SIMMONS: Any word yet on funeral arrangements?
PALEOLOGOPOULOS: Yes, according to the diocese, a viewing is scheduled for Thursday, March 12 at 4 p.m. at St. Joseph’s in Pittsfield, followed by a Mass of the High Priest at 6.
McDonnell will then lay in state at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield on Friday, March 13, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., with a funeral mass at 11.
SIMMONS: James, thank you so much.
PALEOLOGOPOULOS: Sam, thank you.
