Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley has announced that he has established a new team ministry at Holy Family Parish in Amesbury. On Feb. 15 Father John Gentleman was named moderator and Father Marc Bishop as member of the new team ministry at the Amesbury parish.

Father Marc Bishop was born in Saugus and raised in Billerica where he attended local public grammar schools and Austin Prep High School. Father Bishop was strongly and positively influenced by priests at his home parish, St. Theresa of Lisieux, Billerica. He mentions, the now retired, Father Henry Ronan among those examples.

After high school Father Bishop attended Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. from which he was graduated in May 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. In September of that year he entered St. John’s Seminary and following seminary studies he was ordained by Cardinal Bernard Law at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on May 26, 2001.

His first assignment following ordination was as parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish, Chelmsford. During his seminary studies Father Bishop was accepted as a chaplain candidate for the United States Navy chaplain corps. As a reserve chaplain he was liable to be activated at anytime, this is especially true during war time for reserve chaplains. Having been named a chaplain to the Marines in 2004, Father Bishop was activated for service in Iraq in January 2006 ending his assignment in Chelmsford. Just before Christmas 2006 Father Bishop returned to the archdiocese and Cardinal O’Malley named him to the team ministry at Holy Family Parish, Amesbury.

At Amesbury Father Bishop will join Father John Gentleman in the newly constituted team. Father Gentleman a Lynn native was ordained by Cardinal Law on June 20, 1987 and served as parochial vicar at St. Andrew Parish, Billerica and St. John the Evangelist in Chelmsford before being named to a previous team ministry in Amesbury on May 1, 2000. Father Gentleman will serve as the moderator of the new team.