Many bishops and priests to concelebrate ordination Mass

Bishop-elect Robert J. Coyle

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Bishop-elect Robert J. Coyle will be ordained Titular Bishop of Zabi through the invocation of the Holy Spirit and the imposition of hands by His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, on Thursday, April 25, 2013, the Feast of St. Mark, at 2:00 p.m. (EDT) in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception,400 Michigan Avenue, Northeast Washington, D.C. The ordination is open to the public.

Upon ordination,Bishop-elect Coyle, 48, will serve the Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) as Episcopal Vicar for the Eastern Half of the United States. He succeeds the late Bishop Joseph W. Estabrook, who died last year following a lengthy illness.Archbishop Broglio will celebrate the ordination Mass, with 18 other bishops and 85 priests concelebrating, including Bishops William Murphy of Rockville Centre, the home diocese of the new bishop and Robert Guglielmone, Bishop of Charleston who will be the co-consecrators. The Apostolic Nuncio, Carlo Maria Viganò and AMS Auxiliary Bishops Richard B. Higgins, Episcopal Vicar for Veterans Affairs; F. Richard Spencer, Episcopal Vicar for Europe and Asia; and Neal J. Buckon, Episcopal Vicar for the Western Half of the United States will also concelebrate.

Bishop-elect Coyle was born September 23, 1964 in Brooklyn, N.Y. His parents, Robert and Kathryn Coyle, currently live in Cold Spring Hills, N.Y. The product of a life-long Catholic education, Bishop-elect Coyle graduated from St. Edward Confessor Elementary School, Syosset, N.Y., in 1978; St. Mary’s Boys High School, Manhasset, N.Y., in 1982; Fordham University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, in 1986; and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, N.Y., with a Master of Divinity in 1991 and a Master of Arts degree in Theology in 1998. He was ordained a priest on May 25, 1991 for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y. by Bishop John R. McGann at St. Agnes Cathedral.

Bishop-elect Coyle was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy on June 3, 1988 and served 24.5 years on Active and Reserve Duty before his retirement from the Naval Reserve on January 1, 2013. As a Navy Reserve Chaplain, Bishop-elect Coyle served as Associate Pastor at St. Dominic Church in Oyster Bay, N.Y. from 1991 to 1996 and St. Patrick’s Church in Glen Cove, N.Y. from 1996 to 1999.

Bishop-elect Coyle served on Active Duty from 1999 to 2009. He was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division on Okinawa, Japan from 1999 to 2000, during which time he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and deployed to Southeast Asia as Landing Force Chaplain. During a three year assignment aboard the USS Harry S. TRUMAN (CVN75) Aircraft Carrier from 2000 to 2003, he deployed to the Middle East from 2000-2001 and served in Operation Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2002 to 2003. Assigned to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. from 2003 to 2007, Bishop-elect Coyle reported first as Assistant Command Chaplain before assuming duties as Command Chaplain.

In April of 2005, Bishop-elect Coyle was promoted to the rank of Commander, U.S. Navy. From 2007 to 2009, he served on the USS Dwight D. EISENHOWER (CVN69) Aircraft Carrier and deployed to the Middle East in 2009 for Operation Enduring Freedom.

In August of 2009, Bishop-elect Coyle separated from Active Duty, returned to Reserve status and began his current ministry as Pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Mineola, N.Y. In 2008, he was named by Pope Benedict XVI a Chaplain to His Holiness, a recognition that carries the honorary title, “Monsignor.” Bishop-elect Coyle is a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus.

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The AMS was created as an independent archdiocese by Pope John Paul II in 1985 as the only Catholic jurisdiction responsible for endorsing and granting faculties for priests to serve as chaplains in the U.S. military and VA Medical Centers.

AMS-endorsed priests serve at more than 220 U.S. military installations in 29 countries, making the AMS the nation’s only global archdiocese. AMS-endorsed chaplains also serve at 153 VA Medical Centers throughout the U.S.

The AMS service population also includes American Catholic civilians working for the federal government in 134 countries, but currently, due to limited resources, the AMS cannot adequately serve this population.

Worldwide, an estimated 1.8 million Catholics depend on the AMS to meet their spiritual and sacramental needs.

For more information on the Archdiocese for the Military Services, visit www.milarch.org, the only official Web site for Catholics in the military and for the Cause of Father Vincent Capodanno, M.M.