New bishop ordained in Portland, Maine: A Franciscan shepherd for the people

Bishop James Ruggieri prays during his ordination Mass in Portland, Maine on May 7, 2024. / Credit: McKenney Photography

National Catholic Register, May 10, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

New Bishop James Ruggieri became a Third Order Franciscan not long before his ordination in Portland, Maine, on Tuesday — a marker of why Pope Francis appointed him.

Ruggieri, 56, profiled by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, in April, is known for driving a food truck to homeless people when he was a pastor in Providence, Rhode Island.

“His love for the poor and the homeless certainly reflect these Franciscan ideals. And I am certain that the themes of the life of St. Francis and his spirituality will be reflected in the ministry of our new bishop, just as it is in the ministry of Pope Francis,” said Cardinal Seán O’Malley, a Capuchin Franciscan, the archbishop of Boston, and the principal consecrator of the new bishop during his ordination Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland.

The papal nuncio, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, also highlighted poverty, quoting a November 2022 message from Pope Francis marking the World Day of the Poor that said: “Where the poor are concerned, it is not talk that matters; what matters is rolling up our sleeves and putting our faith into practice through a direct involvement, one that cannot be delegated.”

“Your closeness to the poor is one of the reasons that the Holy Father has decided to make you the shepherd of an even greater number of people,” Pierre said near the beginning of the Mass, before presenting Ruggieri with his letter of appointment from the pope.

Lack of material means is one type of poverty, Pierre said, but a bishop must also address “the many faces of poverty in our culture,” including what he called “the poverty that exists where Christ is not known, or where his love and mercy are not fully appreciated by those who are struggling to recognize their own dignity.”

O’Malley gave the sermon. As archbishop of Boston, the cardinal is also the metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Boston, which includes the Diocese of Portland.

O’Malley said Ruggieri is “being called to be a teacher of the faith” and that bishops “must be witnesses of the resurrection.”

In former times, he said, the Church was persecuted because of what it taught about Jesus, Mary, and the sacraments.

“Today so often the attacks on the Church come because of the Church’s teachings about the dignity of each and every human being, the centrality of life, and the Church’s social gospel. Of all of these truths, you must be a herald, proclaiming the good news with clarity, with enthusiasm, and with joy,” O’Malley said.

Ruggieri is now the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Portland, which includes all of Maine. He replaced Bishop Robert Deeley, 77, who is planning to stay in the diocese to assist as bishop emeritus.

“My joy would be complete if Bishop Deeley would grow a beard and become a Capuchin,” O’Malley said during his sermon, to laughter.

The cardinal served from 1992 to 2002 as bishop of Fall River, which is only about 16 miles from Providence, which is known for its Italian restaurants.

“The new bishop is from Providence. I could see Providence from my house on Highland Avenue in Fall River. And I was an occasional pilgrim to Federal Hill. After all, the shortest book in the world is the Irish cookbook, so …” O’Malley said, to laughter.

Then he made a pun using Ruggieri’s previous home city, calling his appointment as bishop “an act of God’s providence.”

“God’s loving providence is giving us the new Catholic bishop here, in this local Church of Portland. In that sense, he’s not just a priest of Providence, but he is a providential bishop, a gift of God’s loving care for us. And we receive him with joy and with thanksgiving,” O’Malley said.

Ruggieri spoke for about eight minutes near the end of the ordination Mass but spent most of that time thanking people, including his brothers and his elderly mother, who attended.

He told one story, taken from Bishop Robert Mulvee (1930–2018), who served during the 1990s and 2000s as bishop of Providence, about an encounter Mulvee had with Mother Teresa (now St. Teresa of Calcutta).

“And he said Mother Teresa — as only Mother Teresa could unabashedly do — got kind of right in his face — in a loving way, of course. And she said to him, ‘Bishop: Don’t get in God’s way,’” Ruggieri said. “I take those words to heart today.”

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.