Most Reverend Richard Garth Henning

Tenth Bishop

Seventh Metropolitan Archbishop of Boston



RICHARD GARTH HENNING, Tenth Bishop and Seventh Archbishop of Boston. Ordained Titular Bishop of Tabla and Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre 24 July 2018 at Rockville Centre, in St. Agnes Cathedral, by John Oliver Barres, Bishop of Rockville Centre, assisted by William Francis Murphy, Bishop emeritus of Rockville Centre, and Robert John Brennan, Titular Bishop of Erdonia and Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre. Appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Providence, 23 Nov. 2022. Liturgical reception at Providence, 26 Jan. 2023. Succeeded to the See of Providence 1 May 2023. Named to the Metropolitan See of Boston 5 Aug. 2024 and installed 31 Oct. 2024.



JOHN OLIVER BARRES, Bishop of Allentown. Ordained bishop 30 July 2009 in the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Siena, Allentown, Pennsylvania, by Justin Francis Cardinal Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, assisted by William Francis Malooly, Bishop of Wilmington, and Michael Angelo Saltarelli, Bishop emeritus of Wilmington.



JUSTIN FRANCIS RIGALI, Titular Archbishop of Bolsena and president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Ordained bishop 14 Sept. 1985 in the Cathedral of San Pancrazio Martire, Albano, Italy, by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, assisted by Eduardo Martinez Somalo, Titular Archbishop of Thagora, and Achille Silvestrini, Titular Archbishop of Novaliciana.

ST. KAROL JOZEF WOJTYLA, the future Pope John Paul II, Titular Bishop of Ombi and Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow. Ordained bishop 28 Sept. 1958 in the Metropolitan Cathedral, Krakow, by Eugeniusz Baziak, Archbishop of Lwow of the Latins and Apostolic Administrator of Krakow, assisted by Boleslaw Kominek, Titular Archbishop of Euchaita, and Franciszek Jop, Titular Bishop of Daulia.



EUGENIUSZ BAZIAK, Titular Bishop of Phocea and Auxiliary Bishop of Lwow of the Latins. Ordained bishop 5 Nov. 1933 in the Metropolitan Cathedral, Lwow, by Boleslaw Twardowski, Archbishop of Lwow of the Latins, assisted by Franciszek Lisowski, Bishop of Tarnow, and Edward Komar, Titular Bishop of Alinda and Auxiliary of Tarnow.



BOLESLAW TWARDOWSKI, Titular Bishop of Telmissus and Auxiliary of Lwow of the Latins. Ordained bishop 12 Jan. 1919 in the Metropolitan Cathedral, Lwow, by St. Jozef Bilczewski, Archbishop of Lwow of the Latins, assisted by Leo Walega, Bishop of Tarnow, and Karol Jozef Fischer, Titular Bishop of Mallus and Auxiliary of Przemysl of the Latins.



ST. JOZEF BILCZEWSKI, Archbishop of Lwow of the Latins. Ordained bishop 20 Jan. 1901 in the Metropolitan Cathedral, Lwow, by Jan Maurycy Pawel Puzyna de Kozielsko, Bishop of Krakow, assisted by Andrij Szeptycki, Archbishop of Lviv of the Ukrainians, and St. Jozef Sebastian Pelczar, Bishop of Przemysl of the Latins.



JAN MAURYCY PAWEL PUZYNA de KOZIELSKO, Titular Bishop of Memphis and Auxiliary of Lwow of the Latins. Ordained bishop 25 March 1886 in the Church of San Giovanni Canzio, Rome, by Mieczyslaw Cardinal Ledochowski, assisted by Josyf Sembratovyc, Titular Archbishop of Theodosiopolis, and Frantiszek Schonborn, Archbishop of Praha.



MIECZYSLAW LEDOCHOWSKI, Titular Archbishop of Thebes and Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium. Ordained bishop 3 Nov. 1861 in the Church of Santissima Trinita a Montecitorio, Rome, by Camillo Cardinal di Pietro, assisted by Salvatore Nobili Vitelleschi, Titular Archbishop of Seleucia in Isauria, and Alessandro Franchi, Titular Archbishop of Thessalonica.



CAMILLO di PIETRO, Titular Archbishop of Beirut. Ordained bishop 14 July 1839 in the Church of SS. Domenico e Sisto, Rome, by Chiarissimo Cardinal Falconieri Mellini, Archbishop of Ravenna, assisted by Ignazio Giovanni Cadolini, Titular Archbishop of Edessa in Osrhoene, and Fabio Maria Asquini, Titular Archbishop of Tarsus.



CHIARISSIMO FALCONIERI MELLINI, Archbishop of Ravenna. Ordained bishop 15 Aug. 1826 in the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome, by His Holiness Pope Leo XII, assisted by Filippo Filonardi, Archbishop of Ferrara, and Giuseppe Perugini, OSA, Titular Bishop of Porphyreon and Sacristan of His Holiness.



ANNIBALE SERMATTEI DELLA GENGA, the future Pope Leo XII, Titular Archbishop of Tyr. Ordained bishop 24 Feb. 1794 in the Cathedral, Frascati, by Henry Benedict Mary Clement Cardinal Stuart, Duke of York, Bishop of Frascati, assisted by Antonio Felice Zondadari, Titular Archbishop of Adana, and Ottavio Boni, Titular Archbishop of Nazianzus.



HENRY BENEDICT MARY CLEMENT STUART, Duke of York, Cardinal, Titular Archbishop of Corinth. Ordained bishop 19 Nov. 1758 in the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles, Rome, by His Holiness Pope Clement XIII, assisted by Giovanni Antonio Cardinal Guadagni, Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina, and Francesco Cardinal Borghese, Bishop of Albano.



CARLO REZZONICO, Cardinal Bishop of Padova, the future Pope Clement XIII. Ordained bishop 19 March 1743 in the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles, Rome, by His Holiness Pope Benedict XIV, assisted by Giuseppe Cardinal Accoramboni, Bishop of Frascati, and Antonio Saverio Cardinal Gentili.



PROSPERO LAMBERTINI, Titular Archbishop of Theodosia, the future Pope Benedict XIV. Ordained bishop 16 July 1724 in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace of the Quirinal, Rome, by His Holiness Pope Benedict XIII, assisted by Giovanni Francesco Nicolai, OFM Ref., Titular Archbishop of Myra, and Nicola Maria Lercari, Titular Archbishop of Nazianzus.



VINCENZO MARIA ORSINI, OP, Cardinal Archbishop of Manfredonia, the future Pope Benedict XIII. Ordained bishop 3 Feb. 1675 in the Church of SS. Domenico e Sisto, Rome, by Paluzzo (Paluzzo degli Albertoni) Cardinal Altieri, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, assisted by Stefano Brancaccio, Archbishop-Bishop of Viterbo e Tuscania, and Costanzo Zani, OSB, Bishop of Imola.



PALUZZO (PALUZZI degli ALBERTONI) ALTIERI, Cardinal Bishop of Montefiascone e Corneto. Ordained bishop 2 May 1666 in the Church of San Silvestro in Capite, Rome, by Ulderico Cardinal Carpegna, assisted by Stefano Ugolini, Titular Archbishop of Corinth, and Giovanni Tommaso Pinelli, Bishop of Albenga.



ULDERICO CARPEGNA, Bishop of Gubbio. Ordained bishop 7 Oct. 1630 in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace of the Quirinal, Rome, by Luigi Cardinal Caetani, assisted by Antonio Ricciulli, Bishop emeritus of Belcastro and Vicegerent of Rome, and Benedetto Landi, Bishop of Fossombrone.



LUIGI CAETANI, Titular Patriarch of Antioch. Ordained bishop 12 June 1622 in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, by Ludovico Cardinal Ludovisi, Archbishop of Bologna, assisted by Galeazzo Sanvitale, Archbishop emeritus of Bari, and Vulpiano Volpi, Archbishop emeritus of Chieti.



LUDOVICO LUDOVISI, Cardinal Archbishop of Bologna. Ordained bishop 2 May 1621 in the private chapel of his consecrator, near St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, by Galeazzo Sanvitale, Archbishop emeritus of Bari and Prefect of the Apostolic Palace, assisted by Cosmo de Torres, Titular Archbishop of Hadrianopolis in Haemimonto, and Ottavio Ridolfi, Bishop of Ariano.



GALEAZZO SANVITALE, Archbishop of Bari. Ordained bishop 4 April 1604 in the chapel of the Apostolic Sacristy, Rome, by Girolamo Cardinal Bernerio, OP, Bishop of Albano, assisted by Claudio Rangoni, Bishop of Piacenza, and Giovanni Ambrogio Caccia, Bishop of Castro di Toscana.



GIROLAMO BERNERIO, OP, Bishop of Ascoli Piceno. Ordained bishop 7 Sept. 1586 in the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles, Rome, by Giulio Antonio Cardinal Santoro, assisted by Giulio Masetti, Bishop of Reggio Emilia, and Ottaviano Paravicini, Bishop of Alessandria.



GIULIO ANTONIO SANTORO, Archbishop of Santa Severina. Ordained bishop 12 March 1566 in the Pauline Chapel of the Vatican Apostolic Palace by Scipione Cardinal Rebiba, Titular Patriarch of Constantinople, assisted by Annibale Caracciolo, Bishop of Isola, and Giacomo de`Giacomelli, Bishop emeritus of Belcastro.



SCIPIONE REBIBA, Titular Bishop of Amicle and Auxiliary of Chieti. Elected Titular Bishop of Amicle and Auxiliary to Giovanni Pietro Cardinal Carafa, Archbishop of Chieti, 16 March 1541. Ordained bishop 14 May 1541. To date, after extensive research, no record of his episcopal ordination, other than the date, has been found.



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bransom, Charles N. Jr. "Ordinations of U. S. Catholic Bishops, 1790-1989." Washington, D.C. 1990.

Nagy, Ferenc, S.J. "La Comune Genealogia Episcopale di Quasi Tutti gli Ultimi Papi (1700-1978)." Archivum Historiae Pontificiae. 17. Roma. 1979.



NOTES

Until 1965, the episcopal lineages prepared for most bishops showed Pope Alexander VII as the consecrator of Cardinal Paluzzo Altieri, and those lineages reached back to the early 1400s. In the mid 1960s, a contemporary account of Cardinal Paluzzo Altieri's consecration, published in the Gazette de France, was found. This account revealed that Pope Alexander VII became ill shortly before the ceremony and was replaced as consecrator by Cardinal Ulderico Carpegna. This change in consecrators fundamentally changes the previously published genealogies and results in lineages that end in the year 1541.

Episcopal lineages have long fascinated students of church history. It was not until the middle of the 20th century, however, that a systematic attempt was made to trace and catalog the consecrations of bishops on a world-wide basis. A small group of researchers has cataloged the consecrations of tens of thousands of bishops dating back many centuries. The fruits of their labors -- labors which are on-going -- have resulted in a database, which can trace the episcopal lineage of any living bishop and the vast majority of deceased bishops.

One startling fact emerges from this research: more than 95 percent of the more than 5,550 bishops alive today trace their orders back to a single bishop named in 1541 -- Scipione Rebiba. Why so many bishops should trace their lineages to this one bishop can be explained, in great part, by the intense sacramental activity of Pope Benedict XIII, who ordained at least 159 bishops before and during his pontificate, many of them cardinals, nuncios, and bishops of important Sees who, in turn, ordained many other bishops. And it is the consecrator of Benedict XIII who gives us the direct link to Scipione Rebiba.

It is widely believed that Rebiba was ordained bishop by Gian Pietro Cardinal Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV, but no documentation of any kind has been found and therefore we must stop at Rebiba.



Compiled by Charles N. Bransom, Jr., July 20, 2018 -- revised Sept. 4, 2024