Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., center, and other bishops pray during a Nov. 16, 2022, session of the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)
By Dennis Sadowski
Catholic News Service
BALTIMORE — Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services was elected Nov. 15 to a three-year term as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops during the bishops’ fall general assembly in Baltimore.
The native of suburban Cleveland was chosen from a slate of 10 nominees, winning with 138 votes.
In subsequent voting, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore was elected to serve a three-year term as conference vice president. He was elected on the third ballot by 143 to 96 in a runoff with Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana.
Under USCCB bylaws, the vice president is elected from the remaining nine candidates.
The two top officers begin their terms at the conclusion of the fall assembly Nov. 17.
Archbishop Broglio, 70, worked in the Vatican diplomatic corps before being named the head of the military archdiocese in 2007. He has served as conference secretary for the past three years.
The prelate has been an advocate for members of the U.S. military around the world. He regularly visits U.S. service members as part of his responsibilities in leading the archdiocese. Archbishop Broglio also has been an advocate for pro-life causes.
Because Archbishop Broglio is conference secretary, the bishops Nov. 16 elected Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City as his replacement over Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, 130 to 104.
Similarly, Archbishop Lori, 71, stepped down as chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities with his election as USCCB vice president. On Nov. 16, the bishops elected Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, as the new pro-life chair. He won over Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Missouri, 174 to 63.
Archbishop Broglio has served as chairman of the bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace and their Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance and as a member of the Task Force for the 2013 Special Assembly.
He also served on the committees for Religious Freedom and International Justice and Peace and the subcommittees for the Defense of Marriage and Health Care.
He was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Cleveland in 1977. In the Vatican diplomatic corps, he served as secretary in the apostolic nunciature in Ivory Coast and later in Paraguay. From 1990 to 2001 he was chief of cabinet to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state under St. John Paul II and desk officer for Central America.
In 2001, he was named nuncio to the Dominican Republic and apostolic delegate to Puerto Rico.
Archbishop Lori was appointed the 16th archbishop of Baltimore by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.
He is the former chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine and its Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty. He began a three-year term as the bishops’ pro-life chairman at the end of the USCCB’s 2021 fall assembly.
Archbishop Lori is chancellor and chairman of the board of St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, chancellor of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland, and past chairman of the board of trustees of The Catholic University of America in Washington.
He also is currently supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus.
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Washington in 1977 in St. Matthew Cathedral in Washington. His first assignment was as associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Landover, Maryland. Then he served as secretary to Washington Cardinal James A. Hickey as well as chancellor, moderator of the curia and vicar general.
In 1995, Archbishop Lori was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Washington. In 2001, he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
