POPE LEO ACCEPTS RETIREMENT OF BISHOP BYRNE
Pope Leo XIV today has accepted the retirement of Bishop Peter J. Byrne, from the office of Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York. Bishop Byrne had submitted his letter of resignation on his 75th birthday, on July 24, 2026, as required by Canon Law.
As Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus, Bishop Byrne will continue to serve as pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish on Staten Island.
Bishop Byrne expressed his gratitude for his years serving in the archdiocese. “I thank Almighty God that, for the past 42 years, I have been able to serve Jesus and His Church as a priest, these past dozen years as a bishop. My thanks to our Holy Father, Pope Leo, for the gift of retirement, and pledge to Archbishop Hicks my continued loyalty and willingness to serve God’s people in this magnificent Archdiocese of New York.
Archbishop Ronald Hicks, Archbishop of New York, said, “In the eight months that I have been in New York, I have come to recognize that Bishop Byrne is a true shepherd, intensely close to his flock, who loves being a priest with his people. I am especially glad that he will continue to serve as a pastor, and I know that I can call on him to serve whenever and however he may be needed.”
Born in Manhattan in 1951, Bishop Byrne was ordained a priest by Cardinal John O’Connor in December, 1984, and served in a variety of parishes in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. He was appointed an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese by Pope Francis in 2014, and was ordained to the episcopacy by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, with Bishop Dominick Lagonegro and Bishop Gerald Walsh serving as co-consecrators.