SPRINGFIELD – The bishop-elect of the Diocese of Springfield wants to listen.    

In an interview with Reminder Publishing Bishop-elect William Byrne said, “My first commitment is to listen and to hear where people are, our priests and our people. This is the duty of the shepherd, not just to drag the flock but to walk with them as Pope Francis said, to accompany them. I’m a firm believer that the Holy Spirit does not just speak to me or to pastors but to every believer.”    

Byrne will be ordained and installed as the 10th bishop of Springfield on Dec. 14 at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield.

He is a native of Washington, DC, and graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. He then studied at Pontifical North American College in Rome, completing his Licentiate in Sacred Theology from Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) and was ordained in 1994.

Among his assignments as a priest, he was the chaplain for the University of Maryland’s Catholic Student Center from 1999 until 2007.

When asked how he became a priest, Byrne said, “It was a hunch among many hunches. So, all things were on the table. My uncle was a priest. It was a normal part of how the family lived. We just understood it was one of the many career options. My father was a surgeon and three of my siblings are doctors. When I was at Holy Cross [College] down the road the hunch became a little bit more. I told my parents I was thinking about priesthood. My mom said she would love to have a son who was a priest but she would hate to have one who used to be a priest. She wanted me to be certain.”

Byrne continued, “I worked and grew up a bit. You don’t enter the seminary convinced you’re supposed to be a priest. You go there to figure it out.”

When asked if it has been the usual path of advancement in the church for a parish priest to be elevated to bishop, Byrne said, “I think we are seeing more and more of that under Pope Francis because to him, he really wants not just administrators but shepherds – people who have been in the thick of it with the flock. Being a pastor for 22 years gives me a deep understanding of parish life, which is the meeting place between our people and the church.”

If you search for Byrne on the Internet, a series of videos pops out as well as the nickname “The YouTube Priest.” He explained he had written a series of columns called “5 Things” and that column led to the video series. A book collecting the columns, “5 Things with Father Bill,” was published this year. He would like to continue the video series as bishop.

He laughed, “Now I’ll be the ‘YouTube Bishop.’”

When asked how the pandemic has affected people of faith and the church, Byrne said, “The challenge is to keep people connected when we’re isolated.” He noted the benefit of such events happening now is social media is tool that can be used to reach people.

In his parish, he used social media, traditional mailing and even door-to-door delivery of bulletins. Parishioners formed teams to contact people by phone to see how they were doing.

“It forced us to realizing opportunities and making them real to keep people connected,” he said.

He added, “What I believe is our goal is to not get back to normal – it’s to get back to better. To take the lessons we’ve learned and grow.”

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Following the announcement story that appeared in October about Byrne’s selection as bishop, Reminder Publishing reader Madeline Dowd wrote a letter.

“I want to know the whole person,” she wrote and included a number of questions, which this reporter relayed to Byrne.

How old is he? The bishop-elect is 56 years-old.

Does he have any siblings? He is the “baby” of a group of eight siblings.

What about his parents? Byrne said his father passed away nine years ago. “My mom is alive and well and living by herself at 97 and half years old,” he said. He added his mother would be at his ordination “God willing, with bells on.” He said his parents were “joyful practicing Catholics who lived the faith in an unassuming way but they lived it each day.”

Do you have a favorite sports team? Byrne burst out laughing. “That is a most dangerous question. I just want to say my loyalties are shifting with my location. So, I have to say, of course, the Red Sox, the Patriots, the Bruins and the Celtics.” He added with a smile, “It’s easy for me not to feel any nostalgia towards the Washington Football Team.” He admitted that he prefers college sports as he finds them “a little bit more pure.”

What is his favorite food? “I have to say I’m a pretty decent Italian cook. Having lived in Rome, I know what ‘al dente’ really should be. I like to use as few ingredients as possible, like any good Italian grandmother does." He added, the key to a great red sauce is how “you do the garlic in the oil. Low and slow no burn, take you time. It’s all about getting the garlic right.”

What does he do in his down time? He has a black lab who he walks and takes hikes. He used to play golf, but has found he hasn’t as much time to do so. “I’m dying to poke around the museums in this neighborhood,” he added.