Biography of bishop

In 1969, Bishop Edwin Bernard Broderick was an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of New York City when he was named by Pope Paul VI as the eighth bishop of the Albany Diocese.

Born in 1917 in the Bronx to Irish immigrant parents, he was ordained a priest in 1942. He held pastoral and teaching positions in the New York Archdiocese, while, at the same time, getting a master's and then a doctorate in English literature at Fordham University.

He became the first full-time director of radio and television for the Archdiocese, producing shows for Bishop Fulton J. Sheen as well as "Chapel of the Air" and "Frontiers of Faith."

Before he was named to the Albany Diocese, Bishop Broderick (who was ordained a bishop in 1967) held various other positions, including secretary to Cardinal Francis Spellman, archbishop of New York City, and rector of St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers.

After his installation in Albany in May 1969, Bishop Broderick sought to bring clarity to the changes of the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s by creating "Listen to the Spirit," a series of open sessions held at locations throughout the Diocese. At the gatherings, he heard the concerns and ideas of Catholics.

He also fostered the Diocese's historic interest in ecumenism and interfaith relations. Welcoming him to the Diocese in messages that appeared in The Evangelist, for example, were representatives of the Episcopal, Presbyterian and Baptist denominations, of Councils of Churches, and of the Capital District Board of Rabbis.

Bishop Broderick also presided over a covenant that linked the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the Episcopal Cathedral of All Saints; welcomed to Albany the Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey; and hosted a clergy day at the Cathedral with the Archbishop.

During his brief, seven-year tenure, he made the services of Catholic Charities more available throughout the 14-county Diocese. Catholic Charities birthed separate corporations in various sections of the Diocese, each designed to confront the problems found in its region.

Under Bishop Broderick, inner-city parishes became centers for social services, serving populations that often were not necessarily Catholic but were definitely needy. Those individuals would appear at churches to find out how to approach governmental programs designed to help them, but which were too impersonal to care.

In the wake of the 1971 Attica Prison uprising in western New York, the state government sought solutions from advisors. Bishop Broderick was the only clergyman appointed to a state committee of nine experts. They were chosen by state judges to review what happened at the prison and to recommend policies to prevent similar occurrences. Bishop Broderick said he accepted the role as part of "the necessary involvement of the Church in the public forum."

Given his background in social services and Church concern for the needy, Bishop Broderick was approached in 1976 to serve a far wider audience. He resigned as bishop of the Albany Diocese and was named director of Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. Catholic Church's overseas aid agency.

After his retirement from that position, Bishop Broderick often returned to the Albany Diocese to preside at Confirmations. He was also present for major celebrations, including the Diocese's Sesquicentennial in 1997.

The Diocese honored his years of service by naming Bishop Broderick Apartments in Albany in his honor. The apartments house low-income senior citizens and adults with physical disabilities.

Bishop Broderick died in Albany on July 2, 2006.

(7/13/06) [[In-content Ad]]