July 27, 2009
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, will ordain Reverend Monsignor Timothy C. Senior as an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Friday, July 31, 2009. Co-consecrators are Most Reverend Michael Bransfield, Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, and Most Reverend Daniel Thomas, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia.
Procession 1:40 p.m. (Live streaming video begins at archphila.org)
Ordination Mass 2:00 p.m.
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia
A procession including 4 Cardinals, 3 Archbishops, 28 Bishops and approximately 300 priests will begin at 1:40 p.m. at the Archdiocesan Office Center (222 N. 17th Street). It will exit left from the front of the building; proceed through the parking lot to the entrance of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on 18th Street.
Pope Benedict XVI named Monsignor Timothy Senior a bishop on June 8, 2009. Cardinal Rigali announced the papal appointment at a news conference. Bishop-elect Senior, age 49, is a native of North Wales, Montgomery County. He is a graduate of Lansdale Catholic High School and Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood and was ordained a priest in 1985. Cardinal Rigali recently appointed him Vicar for Administration for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Photo Opportunities:
As Bishop-elect Senior prepares to enter the Cathedral, approximately 20 students from Lansdale Catholic High School will honor him by singing the school song. Bishop-elect Senior is a graduate of Lansdale Catholic and wrote the music for the Lansdale Catholic alma mater. Lansdale Catholic students also will serve as flag bearers and ushers for the Ordination Mass.
The women of Divine Providence Village, a residence for women with severe developmental disabilities located in Springfield, Delaware County, will also be represented. Bishop-elect Senior has served as Chaplain for the women for 14 years. Approximately 50 women, accompanied by 20 staff members, will be present. Two residents from Divine Providence Village will assist in serving the Mass and will carry Bishop-elect Senior's mitre and crosier after he is ordained.
Biographical Information:
Timothy C. Senior was born on March 22, 1960 to the late James Harwood Senior and to Elise Rockwell Senior. He is the youngest of three children. He is a graduate of St. Rose of Lima Parish School in North Wales and is a 1977 graduate of Lansdale Catholic High School, for which he later authored the Lansdale Catholic alma mater. He graduated from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania and was ordained a priest in 1985.
He earned a Masters of Divinity and Master of Arts in Theology from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood, PA in 1988, served as an assistant pastor at Assumption Blessed Mary Parish in Feasterville, Bucks County from 1985 to 1988. He taught religion at Archbishop Kennedy High School for one year before pursuing full-time graduate studies at Boston College. After earning his Masters in Social Work and Masters in Business Administration from Boston College in 1992, Monsignor Senior served as Deputy Secretary for Catholic Human Services from 1992 until 1997 when he was appointed Secretary. In that role, he had the responsibility for the governance and operation of the network of Catholic health care and social services ministries sponsored by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. In 1998, he was named Chaplain to His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, with the title "Monsignor," and in 2005, was named a Prelate of Honor by the late Pope John Paul II. In 2004, he was named Vicar for Clergy by Cardinal Justin Rigali. Cardinal Rigali recently appointed Bishop-elect Senior as Vicar for Administration.
Editor's Notes: Bishop-elect Senior will join the students from Lansdale Catholic H.S. for a photo at 12:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Archdiocesan Office Center. (The Office for Communications will make this photo available. Please contact communof@adphila.org if you wish to receive it.)
An audio and video mult-box feed will be provided in the rear parking lot of the Cathedral. Please enter on 17th Street between Race and Vine Streets. Crews will need a bnc connector and a recording deck or a live truck. Television cameras will not be permitted in the Cathedral. Reporters and still photographers will be permitted.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747