Denis J. Madden


Denis James Madden is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, who served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland.

Biography

Early life

Denis Madden was born to William and Anna Madden in Carbondale, Pennsylvania; his father was of Irish descent and his mother of Lithuanian. He later entered the Order of St. Benedict, more commonly known as the Benedictines, and studied at St. Benedict's College in Atchison, Kansas.

Ordination and ministry

Madden was ordained to the priesthood on April 1, 1967. After about nine years as a Benedictine monk, Madden was allowed to leave the order and become a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
He attended Columbia University, where he obtained a Master's degree in psychology, and the University of Notre Dame, earning a PhD in clinical psychology. In 1973, Madden assumed a post in the psychology program at the University of Maryland, concurrently working as a marriage and family counselor for Associated Catholic Charities. He taught as a professor at the University of Maryland's , and provided counseling to the clergy and religious of the Archdiocese as well. After co-founding the humanitarian organization Accord Foundation, he was director of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine office in Jerusalem from 1994 to 1996, whence he became Associate Secretary General of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association.

Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore

On May 10, 2005, Madden was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore and Titular Bishop of Baia by Pope Benedict XVI. He was that pope's first episcopal appointment in the United States. He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 24 from William Cardinal Keeler, with Bishops William Francis Malooly and Mitchell T. Rozanski serving as co-consecrators.
Madden chose as his episcopal motto, In All Things May God Be Glorified, a phrase taken from The Rule of St. Benedict. Madden was also given the additional role of Urban Vicar for the fifty parishes in Baltimore City.
He currently serves as the Neumann Vicar which includes parishes in Baltimore City, and Baltimore and Harford Counties. He also served as interim rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. Madden is a licensed clinical psychologist in both Maryland and Washington, D.C.
On March 8, 2015, Madden reached age 75 and was required by canon law to submit a letter of resignation to the Holy See.

Episcopal succession