Edward J. Burns
Encyclopedia
Edward James Burns is an American
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He is the fifth and current Bishop of Juneau
.
, to Donald and Geraldine (née Little) Burns; he has a brother, Robert. He attended Lincoln High School
in Ellwood City
and Duquesne University
, from where he obtained a Bachelor's degree
in philosophy
and sociology
. He also earned a Master of Divinity
degree and a Master of Theology
degree from Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland
.
to the priesthood
by Bishop Vincent Leonard on June 25, 1983, and then served as parochial vicar
at Our Lady of Lourdes in Burgettstown
and Immaculate Conception in Washington
. In 1991, Burns was made Vocations
Director and Vice-Rector
of St. Paul Seminary
in the Diocese of Pittsburgh
, rising to become full Rector in 1996.
He was also executive director of the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
from 1999 to 2008, whence he was restored to the rectorship of St. Paul Seminary and Pittsburgh's top vocations post.
, Alaska
, by Pope Benedict XVI
. He received his episcopal consecration
on the following March 3 in Pittsburgh from Bishop David Zubik, with Archbishops Roger Schweitz
, OMI
, and Donald Cardinal Wuerl serving as co-consecrators
, at St. Paul Cathedral
.
He was formally installed
as Juneau
's ordinary
on April 2, 2009, and serves as the spiritual leader of 7,300 Catholics in southeastern Alaska
.
ed as follows:
His episcopal motto is "Pray with Confidence."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He is the fifth and current Bishop of Juneau
Roman Catholic Diocese of Juneau
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Juneau is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northwestern United States, comprising the southeastern part of the state of Alaska. It is led by a prelate bishop which serves as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of the...
.
Early life and education
Edward Burns was born in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, to Donald and Geraldine (née Little) Burns; he has a brother, Robert. He attended Lincoln High School
Lincoln High School (Ellwood City, Pennsylvania)
Lincoln High School is a public junior and senior high school in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Ellwood City Area School District. It enrolls some 1,079 students. School colors are blue and white.-References:*...
in Ellwood City
Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
Ellwood City is a borough in Beaver and Lawrence counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Ellwood City is 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and some 8 miles south by southeast of New Castle...
and Duquesne University
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...
, from where he obtained a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. He also earned a Master of Divinity
Master of Divinity
In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
degree and a Master of Theology
Master of Theology
A Master of Theology is an advanced theological research degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries.-North America:In North America, the Master of Theology is considered by the Association of Theological Schools to be the minimum educational credential for teaching...
degree from Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland
Emmitsburg, Maryland
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,290 people, 811 households, and 553 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,992.9 people per square mile . There were 862 housing units at an average density of 750.2 per square mile...
.
Priesthood
He was ordainedHoly Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by Bishop Vincent Leonard on June 25, 1983, and then served as parochial vicar
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at Our Lady of Lourdes in Burgettstown
Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
Burgettstown is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,576 according to the 2000 census.-History:...
and Immaculate Conception in Washington
Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...
. In 1991, Burns was made Vocations
Vocational discernment in the Catholic Church
Vocational discernment is the process in which men or women in the Catholic Church discern, or determine, their vocation in the Church. Though one may also speak of discerning a vocation to marriage or to life as a single person, discerning a vocation most frequently refers to a special vocation...
Director and Vice-Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of St. Paul Seminary
Saint Paul Seminary (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Saint Paul Seminary is the diocesan minor seminary for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. It is located in East Carnegie, a neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
in the Diocese of Pittsburgh
Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh is a Roman Catholic diocese. It was established in Western Pennsylvania on August 11, 1843. The diocese includes 211 parishes in the counties of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Lawrence, and Washington, an area of with a Catholic population of 719,801...
, rising to become full Rector in 1996.
He was also executive director of the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
from 1999 to 2008, whence he was restored to the rectorship of St. Paul Seminary and Pittsburgh's top vocations post.
Episcopal career
On January 19, 2009, Burns was appointed the fifth Bishop of JuneauRoman Catholic Diocese of Juneau
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Juneau is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northwestern United States, comprising the southeastern part of the state of Alaska. It is led by a prelate bishop which serves as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of the...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following March 3 in Pittsburgh from Bishop David Zubik, with Archbishops Roger Schweitz
Roger Lawrence Schwietz
Roger Lawrence Schwietz, OMI is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who currently serves as Archbishop of Anchorage.-Biography:...
, OMI
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816 by Saint Eugene de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, 1782. The congregation was given recognition by Pope...
, and Donald Cardinal Wuerl serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
, at St. Paul Cathedral
Cathedral of Saint Paul in Pittsburgh
The Cathedral of Saint Paul is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
.
He was formally installed
Enthronement
An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. This ritual is generally distinguished from a coronation because there is no crown or other regalia that is physically...
as Juneau
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
's ordinary
Ordinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
on April 2, 2009, and serves as the spiritual leader of 7,300 Catholics in southeastern Alaska
Alaska Panhandle
Southeast Alaska, sometimes referred to as the Alaska Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of Southeast Alaska's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...
.
Coat of arms
Bishop Burns's coat of arms, which was designed by Renato Poletti, is blazonBlazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
ed as follows:
Impaled. Dexter: per fess enarched azure and argent, a crescent of the second in the sinister chief point between, to sinister a seven points star or, to dexter the Ursa Minor constellation of the last and three wavy bars of the first in base (Diocese of Juneau). Sinister: per bend sinister gules and or, a sword inverted counterchanged between a seven points star encircled by a rosary, all of the second and a bugle-horn sable, stringed of the first; three wavy barrulets azure in base, thereupon a fishnet of the third (Bishop Burns).
His episcopal motto is "Pray with Confidence."