Bishop O'Connell participated in USCCB General Assembly

The faithful of the Diocese of Trenton kept Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., and all the U.S. Catholic bishops in their prayers last week as they met for their annual Fall General Assembly in Baltimore.

Public sessions of the Assembly were available to watch via live stream Nov. 13 and 14. The USCCB also provided live coverage on social media via hashtag #USCCB17 on their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

During the assembly, the bishops elected a new secretary for the Conference and Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, also gave his first address to the body of bishops as President of the USCCB as he completed the first year of his three-year term.

The bishops also voted for new chairmen-elect of the following five USCCB committees: Communications; Cultural Diversity in the Church; National Collections; Pro-Life Activities, and Doctrine. They also voted for a new chairman for the Committee for Religious Liberty.  Bishop nominees for the board of directors for Catholic Relief Services were also elected.

In addition, the body of bishops heard an update from the bishops working group on immigration, among other reports.

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the USCCB, which began in 1917 as the National Catholic War Council. The organization was founded to support Catholic war efforts and liaise with U.S. government. You can learn more about USCCB history, here.