Cites predecessor’s outstanding leadership qualities
and professional preparation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, today extended congratulations to his predecessor at the Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS), Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, on his promotion to the College of Cardinals. Cardinal-designate O’Brien preceded Archbishop Broglio as Archbishop for the Military Services from 1997 to 2007. He was installed as Archbishop of Baltimore on October 1, 2007 and served in that capacity until August 2011 when Pope Benedict appointed him pro-grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. At this time, he continues to serve as Apostolic Administrator of the nation’s oldest Catholic diocese until his successor is named and installed.
Archbishop Broglio said:
“The news of Cardinal-designate O’Brien’s promotion to the College of Cardinals can only be greeted with great joy. His serious commitment to the priesthood impressed me when I first met him in 1973. His outstanding leadership qualities and professional preparation will be of immense benefit to the College of Cardinals and the Church at large. This determination by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI recognizes the immense contribution Cardinal-designate O’Brien made as Rector of the North American College, as the Archbishop for the Military Services, and as Archbishop of Baltimore. All of those he served so well as the third Archbishop for the Military Services join me in thanking him for his ministry and assuring him of our prayers for him as he begins a new chapter in his service to the Church. To Cardinal-designate O’Brien personally, I extend heartfelt congratulations and very best wishes.”
Cardinal-designate O’Brien is among 22 new cardinals announced by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome on Friday—the feast of the Epiphany. The only other American included in the group is Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York. The Pope made the announcement from the window of the papal apartment at his noontime angelus blessing in St. Peter’s Square.
Cardinal-designate O’Brien will be eligible to vote in a Conclave for a new Pope, and will have other duties as one of the primary consultors to the Pope. He will receive the red birettum in the formal promotion into the College of Cardinals, called a Consistory, at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in ceremonies on February 18 and 19.
The AMS is the nation’s only archdiocese responsible for endorsing priests for on-site ministry at more than 200 locations throughout the country and around the world to Catholics and their families in the U.S. armed forces, VA Medical Centers and overseas civilian posts. Worldwide, an estimated 1.5 million Catholics depend on the AMS and its endorsed priests to serve their spiritual and sacramental needs.
The AMS receives no government funding and has no parishes to support the archdiocese with weekly collections. The AMS depends entirely on grants and donations for survival.
For more information on the AMS, visit https://www.milarch.org, the only official Web site for Catholics in the military and for the Cause of Father Vincent Capodanno, M.M.
