Bishop William J. McCormack
The Most Reverend William Jerome McCormack
The Most Reverend William J. McCormack was born in New York City on January 24, 1924. He attended primary school in New York City and completed his secondary education at Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island.
Bishop McCormack served in the United States Coast Guard from 1942 to 1945. Afterward he graduated from St. Bonaventure University and attended Christ the King Seminary were he was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of New York on February 21, 1959.
In 1961, Bishop McCormack was appointed Assistant Director of The Society for the Propagation of the Faith and in 1962 he was named a Papal Chamberlain and a Domestic Prelate in 1965. He was elected to the National Council of The Society for the Propagation of the Faith where he served until 1971.
From 1968 to 1976, Bishop McCormack served as Director of the New York Archdiocesan Office of World Justice and Peace and from 1970 to 1980 he was Vice Chancellor of the Archdiocese of New York as well as Secretary of the Board of Consultors.
From 1975 through 1976, Bishop McCormack administered to the Church of the Holy Family in Manhattan and from 1980-1985, he was appointed by the Holy See to two terms as National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
In 1987, Bishop McCormack was ordained an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York.He officially retired in March 2001.