Pensacola Native Named New Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, D.C.
 Pope
John Paul II today, May 18, 2004, named Reverend Martin D. Holley, native of
Pensacola, Fla, the new Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.
in an announcement in Rome at noon local time (5:00 a.m. U.S. Central Daylight
Time.)
Bishop-Elect Holley will serve under the
leadership of Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, Archbishop of
Washington. The Archdiocese of Washington has two other auxiliary
bishops, Bishop Kevin Farrell and Bishop Francisco Gonzalez, SF.
In a concurrent announcement, Pope John Paul II
accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Leonard Olivier, SVD from
the Archdiocese of Washington. Bishop Olivier, 80, had served in
Washington for nearly 16 years, and until his retirement, was the most
senior active Catholic bishop in the United States.
Bishop-Elect Holley's Biographical Information:
Bishop-Elect Holley was born and raised in
Escambia County, Fla., and has served the Northwest Florida region for
17 years as a priest of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. He was
born December 31, 1954 at Our Lady of the Angels Maternity Hospital, the
8th child of 14 born to Sylvester Thomas Holley (deceased) and Mary
Elizabeth (Jemison) Holley (deceased.). The hospital, attached to St.
Joseph's Church in Pensacola, has been closed for several years.
Bishop-Elect Holley has seven brothers living, one deceased, and five
sisters.
Bishop-Elect Holley attended Our Lady of Fatima
School (now closed), Ransom High School (now merged with Tate,) St.
Joseph School (now closed,) and Tate High School (class of '73.) While a
student at Tate High School, Bishop-Elect Holley was a basketball
standout and active in student government. He graduated in 1975 from
Faulkner State Junior College in Bay Minette, Alabama with an Associate
of Arts in general studies, and from Alabama State University in
Montgomery in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts in management. At both
institutions, Bishop-Elect Holley excelled at both basketball and
student government, winning a number of accolades.
Bishop-Elect Holley's post graduate studies
include the Theological College at Catholic University in Washington,
D.C. and St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla., where he
earned a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained to the priesthood on
May 8, 1987 at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Pensacola, Fla.
Bishop-Elect Holley has served as parochial vicar
and administrator of St. Mary Catholic Church, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.,
parochial vicar of St. Paul Catholic Church, Pensacola, and as
administrator and pastor of Little Flower Catholic Church, Pensacola. In
addition, he has served as a member of the diocesan Council of Priests,
as the spiritual director of the Serra Club of West Florida, as
spiritual director and instructor for the Permanent Diaconate Program,
as Director of the Department of Ethnic Concerns of the diocese, and is
a member of the Joint Conference of the National Black Catholic Clergy
Caucus.
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