Bishop Daniel Patrick Reilly (he relished including the middle name), who served as the third bishop of Norwich, Connecticut, and as the fourth bishop of Worcester, died in Shrewsbury on June 18, 2024. On June 17, 1975, he was named the third bishop of Norwich.

Daniel Patrick Reilly was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 12, 1928, a son of Francis and Mary (Burns) Reilly. He had eight siblings, all of them deceased. The tight-knit family lived in the territory of St. Michael Parish, Providence, and it was the focus of the family's life. His father died when the future bishop was quite young, and his mother raised the nine Reilly children on her own. He attended the parish school and then went for both high school and two years of college to Our Lady of Providence Seminary. The rector of the seminary then was Father Russell J. McVinney.

He was sent to the Grand Seminaire de Saint-Brieuc, a Sulpician seminary in France's Brittany section. He was a student there for five years, from 1948 to 1953, and returned home for his priestly ordination at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul, Providence, on May 31, 1953. Now, Bishop Russell J. McVinney was the ordaining bishop.

Following his ordination, he was assigned as an assistant at the cathedral parish briefly, and then was assigned to graduate studies at Boston College. The Business Department at BC had created a new program for priests focusing on business administration and finance; among his fellow students was Daniel A. Hart of Boston, who would succeed Bishop Reilly as bishop of Norwich in 1994. During his student days at BC, he lived at St. Raphael Rectory, Medford. He followed BC sports, especially football and hockey, and took particular interest in any Rhode Island or Connecticut players.

He returned to Providence, and in successive years, he was named vice-chancellor, chancellor, bishop's secretary (to Bishop McVinney), and eventually, vicar general of the diocese. He also attended two sessions of the Second Vatican Council with Bishop McVinney.

Ever the storyteller, he had an endless supply of "material" from his almost two decades at Bishop McVinney's side. The vignettes always brought a laugh but one also detected a note of admiration and respect for "the old man."

During these years, he also served as the state chaplain of the Knights of Columbus. In later years, serving as the state chaplain in Connecticut and then Massachusetts, he had the distinction of being the first to be state chaplain in three different states.

During his years in Providence, he earned a reputation for being a priests' priest. He was also a people's priest. Gregarious, self-effacing, humorous, but never at the expense of another, he played the "good cop" to Bishop McVinney's more reserved and formal style.

In later years, following the reform of the liturgy, and especially as bishop, it took the procession extra time to reach the sanctuary, no matter where he was in it. He stopped, talked to people, "kissed" babies, and waved to someone he might spot across the church. He was legendary for his prodigious memory of names.

Pope St. Paul VI named him the third bishop of Norwich on June 17, 1975, and Archbishop John F. Whealon of Hartford ordained him bishop at the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Norwich on Aug. 6, 1975. He chose as his episcopal motto "In kindness and in truth," which he successfully fulfilled in 48 years as a bishop.

He took the diocese by storm. From parish to parish, and school to school, to civic events and his favored Knights of Columbus.

On Oct. 27, 1994, Pope St. John Paul II named him the fourth bishop of Worcester and he was installed at the Cathedral of St. Paul on Dec. 8, 1994. Although the Church had changed dramatically since his ordination more than 40 years ago, the bishop seemed ageless. His enthusiasm for the faith, for the Church, and especially for priests, was boundless.

Again, he took to visiting his diocese as he had in Norwich, becoming a familiar face at all kinds of public events, both of the Church and of civic society.

Among his passions were Catholic schools. He balked at even the mention of closing one and stretched parishes and dioceses to keep as many going as humanly possible.

He was active in the bishops' conference and was a member of the committee that drafted the so-called "Peace Pastoral" of the bishops. The 1983 letter "The Challenge of Peace" was a ponderous document, which the bishop admitted in following years. He was also active in other national groups. He also served on the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Everyone in Providence, Norwich, and Worcester will have multiple stories about Father, Msgr., and Bishop Daniel Reilly. On a personal note, I came to know him first through the Knights of Columbus and then while he was Bishop of Norwich. I often reminded him of the Supreme Council meeting in Hartford in 1982. It was there that he taught me how to make martinis. Without missing a beat, he said, "Yes, Bob, remember: Beefeaters, EXTRA DRY, on the rocks, with a twist" (lemon understood!).

He duly submitted his resignation from the pastoral government of the diocese on his 75th birthday, May 12, 2003. Pope St. John Paul II accepted the resignation on March 9, 2004, and named another Providence native, Bishop Robert J. McManus, as fifth bishop of Worcester.

In retirement, he lived first at St. Paul Cathedral Rectory, then, as his health demanded more care, he moved to Notre Dame Long Term Care Facility, Worcester, and more recently, to Shrewsbury Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Shrewsbury.

Bishop Reilly's funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Paul Cathedral, Worcester, on June 26, 2024. His successor, Bishop Robert J. McManus, was the principal celebrant and homilist for the funeral Mass. Following the Mass, Bishop Reilly was buried in his family lot at St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston, Rhode Island.

Our friends at the Catholic Free Press have posted their tribute to their much beloved bishop: digital.catholicfreepress.org/Catholic-Free-Press-06212024-e-Edition/1.