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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF THE MOST REVEREND, BISHOP

ROBERT E. MULVEE

     

     Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Ruggerio, Goodwin, Algiere, and Felag

     Date Introduced: January 09, 2019

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

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     WHEREAS, The Most Reverend Robert E. Mulvee, the beloved Bishop of the Diocese of

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Providence, from 1997 to 2005, passed away on December 28, 2018 at the St. Antoine Residence;

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and

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     WHEREAS, Bishop Mulvee was originally from Boston. He studied for the priesthood at

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seminaries in Connecticut, Canada and Belgium. Upon ordination, he was assigned to serve the

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Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1957. He served at a number of parishes in New

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Hampshire before returning to Europe for graduate studies. While in Europe, he earned a

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Doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, and a Master's degree in

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religious education from the University of Louvain in Belgium in 1964. Shortly thereafter, he

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returned to New Hampshire and was named Assistant Chancellor of the New Hampshire Diocese;

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and

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     WHEREAS, In 1966, Bishop Mulvee was named a Papal Chamberlain with the title of

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Monsignor by Pope Paul VI. He was later named the First Auxiliary Bishop of Manchester in

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1977 and the seventh Bishop of Wilmington, Delaware, in 1985; and

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     WHEREAS, Bishop Mulvee came to Providence in 1995, when he was named coadjutor

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Bishop of the Diocese of Providence. He became the seventh Bishop of Providence in June of

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1997, and served on numerous important national and regional boards and committees; and

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     WHEREAS, In his heart, Bishop Mulvee was a parish Priest who believed in the

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importance of listening to people, especially those who were hurting, including some who were

 

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hurt by the Church. Former Governor Carcieri remembered Bishop Mulvee as being someone he

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"had great respect and admiration for", and for being "very down to earth, someone you could

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talk to." Bishop Mulvee's gentle demeanor and abundance of compassion touched the hearts and

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lives of countless Rhode Islanders. In the words of Bishop Tobin, the current Bishop of

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Providence, Bishop Mulvee was "a good and gentle shepherd of God's people," and "was a

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faithful follower of Christ who served the Church with dignity and compassion"; now, therefore

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be it

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

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hereby expresses its deepest condolences on the passing of the Most Reverend Bishop Robert E.

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Mulvee; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Bishop Thomas Tobin and the Diocese of

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Providence.

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