PORTLAND, Maine — The leader of the Roman Catholic Church has named a new bishop to the Diocese of Portland. The current bishop, Robert Deeley, announced during a Tuesday press conference that Pope Francis appointed James Ruggieri of Providence, Rhode Island, as Deeley's successor when he retires.
Ruggieri will be ordained and installed as bishop May 7 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland.
“I am honored and humbled to have been chosen as the next Bishop of the Diocese of Portland by the Holy Father,” Ruggieri said in the release. “I very much look forward to diving right into getting to know all who make up the diocese, especially the priests and parishioners. I am grateful that Bishop Deeley will retire in Maine and provide me with valuable support.”
Deeley introduced Ruggieri, who then smiled as he took the podium.
"When I heard about the appointment I said, 'Wow, this is big. I’m just a pastor,'" the incoming bishop shook his head, then referenced Deeley's remarks from a few moments before. "But I love what you said, Bishop Deeley. I hope, as a pastor, I’ll make a good bishop. I’ll try my best. I’ll try my best."
Ruggieri said he is from Rhode Island and became a priest in 1995 in the Diocese of Providence, where he was the pastor of Saint Patrick Parish since 2003 and Saint Michael Parish since 2020. In 2009, he and other parishioners and supporters founded Saint Patrick Academy, a Catholic college-preparatory high school in Providence. Before St. Patrick Parish, the release stated, Rev. Ruggieri was an assistant pastor at St. Matthew Church in Cranston, All Saints Parish in Woonsocket, and Holy Spirit Parish in Central Falls. All are located in Rhode Island.
Church officials report Ruggieri's education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Providence College and a Master of Divinity from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD.
It was revealed in the official announcement that Bishop Deeley, who has led the diocese for 10 years, would retire at the age of 75 and will continue to live in Maine as Bishop Emeritus.
When asked what he would remember most about his tenure, Deeley said he knew very little about Maine before arriving to serve, and that he would remember the beautiful state and its people.
“I have enjoyed immensely being Bishop of the Diocese of Portland for the last decade,” Bishop Deeley stated in the announcement. “The state of Maine is a very special place, with deep Catholic roots. It has been a blessing to get to know our communities of the faithful from Kittery to Fort Kent, from Rangeley to Eastport, and everywhere in between. I look forward to continuing my relationship with this great diocese and supporting Bishop Ruggieri.”
He said the hardest challenge the community likely faced during his time in office was recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The church is a community. It needs to come together," Deeley said while standing at the podium. "It needs to gather together to draw strength from each other and from the lord. And, to not be able to do that for such a long period of time was very difficult for the church, and we have continued to build back from that."
The Diocese of Portland reports it was established by Pope Pius IX in 1853 and today represents the entire state of Maine which includes more than 275,000 Catholics.
The religious organization has been in the news in recent years because of sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the Diocese and its fight against the removal of the statute of limitations on these cases.
The law only passed in 2021, but many people have already come forward to sue the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, claiming they were abused by priests and other church employees decades ago.
But the cases are on hold while the state's highest court decides whether the law is constitutional.
Inside the Penobscot Judicial Center, the attorney for the Roman Catholic Diocese told Maine's highest court that removing the statute of limitations on child sex abuse claims is unconstitutional.
Gerald Petruccelli said the law passed in 2021 imposes new liabilities and undermines the dioceses' due process to a fair trial.
"A vested right to freedom from liability may not be yanked away," Petruccelli told the court.
The case was moved to the Maine Supreme Court after a lower court in March of 2023 ruled that the law was constitutional.
More than 100 people have filed civil lawsuits against the Diocese, alleging abuse at the hands of its employees decades ago, according to previous reporting.
For the latest breaking news, weather, and traffic alerts, download the NEWS CENTER Maine mobile app.