Denver, Colo., Apr 10, 2008 / 06:31 am
This morning the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict has appointed Msgr. James D. Conley of Wichita, Kansas as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Denver. During a press conference in Denver today, Bishop-elect Conley spoke of how much he looks forward to serving in Denver and of his admiration for Archbishop Chaput, calling him a “big hero of mine over the years.”
In his 23 years as a priest, Bishop-elect James D. Conley, 53, has served the Catholic Church in a wide variety of ways—as pastor, college campus chaplain, director of Respect Life ministries, theology instructor and as a Vatican official.
Throughout all of these assignments, the Bishop-elect explains that he has seen his life as a priest as a call to service and complete surrender to “God’s providential hand.”
For his episcopal motto, Bishop-elect Conley, a convert to the Catholic faith, has chosen the same motto as the great 19th century English convert, John Henry Cardinal Newman, “cor ad cor loquitur” which means “heart speaks to heart.”