Baltimore auxiliary bishop named head of Jamaican diocese

Published: 2004-07-06

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II has named Auxiliary Bishop Gordon D. Bennett of Baltimore to be the new bishop of Mandeville, Jamaica. In Mandeville he succeeds Bishop Paul M. Boyle, a Detroit native who turned 78 in May. Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, papal nuncio to the United States, announced the appointment in Washington July 6. Bishop Bennett, 57, is a Jesuit and one of 10 active African-American bishops in the United States. His departure will reduce that number to nine. He has been an auxiliary bishop of Baltimore for six years. Born in Denver Oct. 21, 1946, he made his first vows as a Jesuit in 1966 and was ordained a priest June 14, 1975. He studied at the Jesuit College of Queen of Peace in Montecito, Calif.; Mount St. Michael's Scholasticate at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.; the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif.; and Fordham University in New York. He has master's degrees in theology and education. Besides English, he speaks Spanish, Italian and French and a little Portuguese and German.

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