Posted on 03/05/2020 5:59:55 AM PST by Juana la Loca
Pope Francis Thursday appointed Bishop Gregory Hartmayer of Savannah to be the next archbishop of Atlanta, Georgia.
Hartmayer is a member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual and has been bishop of Savannah since 2011.
In Atlanta, Hartmayer follows Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who was appointed to head the Archdiocese of Washington in early 2019, after leading the Georgia archdiocese for almost 15 years.
The Archdiocese of Atlanta covers 21,445 square miles in the northern half of Georgia. The archdiocese has over 100 parishes and serves around 1.2 million Catholics, according to 2018 stats.
It is also the metropolitan see of the province of Atlanta, which encompasses the suffragan dioceses of Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; and Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina.
This means, according to Pope Francis' 2019 norms Vos estis lux mundi, if a bishop in one of these dioceses were to be accused of sexual abuse or coercion, or of interfering in investigation of such conduct, it would fall to Hartmayer to investigate.
There are currently several Vos estis investigations going on in dioceses in the U.S.
Hartmayer was born in 1951 in Buffalo, New York, one of four children.
He joined the Conventual Franciscan novitiate in Ellicott City, Maryland in 1969 and made his solemn profession in 1973.
He was ordained a priest for the Franciscan order in 1979.
In addition to a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from St. Hyacinth College and Seminary in Massachusetts, Hartmayer holds three master's degrees: a master of divinity degree from St. Anthony-on-Hudson, in Rensselaer, New York; a master of arts degree in pastoral counseling from Emmanuel College, Boston and a master of education degree from Boston College.
Prior to being named bishop of Savannah, Hartmayer had spent 16 of his 32 years of priesthood in Catholic high school education, with the remaining in parish ministry.
He spent many years in New York and Massachusetts, but in 1995, he moved south to teach at a Catholic high school in Florida, before being asked to serve as pastor of St. Philip Benizi Church in Jonesboro, Georgia.
Hartmayer was appointed bishop of Savannah in 2011.
Yes, Hartmayer is my bishop. He’s a nothing burger; a company man. Simply tows whatever line the USCCB is promoting. Keeps a low profile and doesn’t rock the boat; a time-server.
Exactly what I assumed. *sigh*
Are you in Atlanta?
I’m no longer in metro Atlanta, but I’m still in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
OK......I’m in Augusta.
I knew him as Fr. Gregory when he taught in Baltimore, although I never had him as a teacher. He was well regarded by both students and parents. I have a great deal of respect for him as a priest. When my brother spent most of his junior year in the hospital due to a heart condition, Fr. Gregory was fantastic with him. Many years later, I received a call from a high school/college buddy who had led a rough life and fallen away from the church. He was dying. I asked him if he had a priest to help him, and he said Bishop Hartmayer, who had helped him in high school and had kept in touch with him over the years, had been to see him and had heard his confession. He is very Franciscan, in all the right ways.
I would agree with the other poster who said he keeps a low profile. I would not expect him to whip things into shape. But he won’t be crazy liberal, either. My brothers and Father and I, all conservative, practicing Catholics, all really like him, but wish he was stronger as a bishop, But as a priest, he’s a good man.
Many thanks to all of you for the insights, though it is your story in particular, scouter, that prompted me to reply. It is contributions like yours that make FR a gem.
Of course your contribution added needed perspective as well.
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