Michael Joseph Bransfield

Bishop Michael J. Bransfield was born September 8, 1943, in Philadelphia, Pa. He attended St. Bridget's Grade School, St. John the Baptist School and Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. Bishop Bransfield holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and the Master of Divinity degrees from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, Pa. On May 15, 1971, he was ordained to the priesthood by His Eminence, John Cardinal Krol for service in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
From 1971 to 1973, Bishop Bransfield served as Assistant Pastor of St. Albert the Great Parish in Huntington Valley, Pa. In 1973, Bishop Bransfield received the Master of Philosophy Degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and serviced as a teacher, chaplain, and Chairman of the Religion Department at Lansdale Catholic High School.
In 1980, Bishop Bransfield was appointed assistant director and director of liturgy at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. In 1982, he was named director of finance of the National Shrine. In October 1986, Bishop Bransfield was appointed the tenth director of the National Shrine. He was named a Prelate of Honor by His Holiness Pope John Paul II in 1987. When the National Shrine was designated a Basilica in 1990, Bishop Bransfield was named the first rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception.
On February 22, 2005, Bishop Michael J. Bransfield was ordained and installed as the Eighth Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling.
Bishop Bransfield currently serves as President of The Papal Foundation, Bala Cynwyd, Pa.; and is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception; the Catholic University of America; and the Catholic Distance University, Arlington, Va. Bishop Bransfield is a member of the Communications Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is also the liaison for the USCCB to the National Council of Catholic Women. Bishop Bransfield is also appointed to the USCCB Task Force for the .
Category:American Roman Catholics
Category:Bishops
Category:Living people