BRAINTREE -- Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley announced June 29 that he has appointed Msgr. William P. Fay, as the director of the Pontifical Mission Societies for the Archdiocese of Boston, which include the archdiocesan office of the Propagation of the Faith. Msgr. Fay will continue as Director of Campus Ministry. He recently completed his service as interim Director of the Formation Program for the Permanent Diaconate. His appointment is effective July 1.

In welcoming Msgr. Fay to this new responsibility, Cardinal O'Malley said, "The Church has a long standing commitment to the good works of mercy in our missions worldwide. I am pleased Msgr. William Fay has accepted the invitation to carry on the important work of the Pontifical Mission Societies."

The Cardinal also expressed his gratitude to the Father Rodney J. Copp who has served as director of the Pontifical Societies since 2010.

"I am very grateful for the outstanding work of Father Copp as director of the Propagation of the Faith and the entire staff, under his leadership, for advancing the important work of the Church in the missions," said the cardinal.

Father Copp will continue his priestly ministry as pastor of St. Gerard Majella in Canton.

"I thank Cardinal Sean for this opportunity to work in behalf of the worldwide mission of the Church," said Msgr. Fay. "It is a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Father Rod Copp, Msgr. Andy Connell and Cardinal Richard Cushing who have done so much good in this office, and to be able to work closely with the Church's missions in places such as Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands. I know it will strengthen my own appreciation of the cardinal's commitment to evangelization that is at the heart of our archdiocesan pastoral plan, Disciples in Mission, and I hope that I can bring a greater knowledge and love for evangelization at home and abroad to our college students with whom I work."

Ordained in 1974, Msgr. Fay recently served as pastor of St. Columbkille Parish in Brighton (2006-2013) and the collaborative parishes of St. Lucy and St. Monica in Methuen (2013-2015). He earned his doctorate in philosophy at The Catholic University of America in 1987 while serving at St. John Seminary, where he was a member of the faculty and an administrator from 1981 to 1995. In 1995 he was called by the bishops of the United States to work in the Office of the General Secretary of the USCCB where he served as Associate -- and then General Secretary of the USCCB through 2006. Msgr. Fay has served on a number of committees in the archdiocese, including the Presbyteral Council and the Archdiocesan College of Consultors, and he co-chaired the Archdiocesan Planning Commission, which developed Disciples in Mission in 2012. He was named a Prelate of Honor by Pope John Paul II in 1996, is a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, and was inducted into the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 2012.