August 4, 2019 - "Bishop Mark E. Brennan-Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virgina"

On Tuesday, July 23, 2019, the Holy See announced that the Most Reverend Mark E. Brennan, an auxiliary bishop in Baltimore, had been named the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia.  Bishop Brennan is well known to many in the parish, particularly since he was the Pastor of St. Martin of Tours Parish in Gaithersburg, when he was named to be an auxiliary bishop in Baltimore.  He will be installed as Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston on August 22, 2019.  I have actually known Bishop Brennan since his first assignment as the Associate Pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Potomac.  Father Brennan was the Vocation Director and Director of Seminarians when I was accepted as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington.  A new Vocation Director and Director of Seminarians was named shortly after I was ordained to the priesthood.  Father Brennan had served in that role for ten years.  I hope that my ordination class was not the straw that broke the camel’s back!  When I was appointed Pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in July 2013, he was one of the first to call me to congratulate me and welcome me to the neighborhood.  I am delighted that he is going to be the next bishop of Wheeling-Charleston.  I have always known him to be humble and prayerful man. 
 
Others agree with that sentiment.  Sean Caine, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Baltimore remarked recently that Bishop Brennan is a very down-to-earth person who drives a Ford Focus.  Mr. Caine believes that the people in West Virginia are going to appreciate his humble demeanor and his very simple way of life. 
 
John Carr, the founder and director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, thinks that Bishop Brennan will be the antithesis of his predecessor.  He went to add that Bishop Brennan is what the people of the Diocese of Wheeling Charleston need because he is someone who cares about people and not about things. Mr. Carr also believes that since Bishop Brennan is already seventy-two, it seems like his appointment is one to try to heal and set things right over the next few years.
 
Father Ray Kemp, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, also said that Bishop Brennan is the polar opposite of his predecessor.  Father Kemp said that he knows Bishop Brennan to be a holy priest who loves the poor and those living in the margins.  He is sincere and honest to a fault.
 
At a Press Conference in Wheeling when Bishop Brennan was introduced to the diocese in which he will soon serve as their ninth ordinary, he said the following:
 
“Will we have to deal with the past?  Yes, but I need to get to know the people in the present and determine what we can do well and what we can do better to move into the future.  As far as I can, with God’s help, I want to bring healing to the souls of those who have been affected.”

Bishop Brennan will need to bring healing to the people in multiple ways.  In addition to being a shepherd to the people after the ordeals that they have suffered under his predecessor, there is also the opioid crisis in West Virginia.  West Virginia leads the nation in drug overdose death rates.  The average in West Virginia in these death rates is 57.8 deaths per 100,000 residents.  That is nearly three times the national average of 21.7 deaths per 100,000 residents.  Bishop Brennan will no doubt continue to support the work of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to help those who have been impacted by drug addiction.  I feel confident from what I have seen him do as Pastor of St. Martin’s in Gaithersburg that he will continue the discussions with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources that had been going on under Archbishop Lori as the Apostolic Administrator.  I feel certain that he will also continue the work with the ecumenical partners of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston through the council of churches to determine how the diocese can further help the statewide effort to address the root causes and impact of drug addiction throughout West Virginia.
 
Bishop Brennan has much work cut out for him in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.  I do ask you to join me in praying for him that God will prosper the work of his hands.
 
Until next week,
Fr. John