By Michael Donoghue, Vermont News First
The very Rev. Msgr. John McDermott of Burlington has been elected to serve as the Diocesan Administrator as the state of Vermont waits word on a permanent replacement for the outgoing Catholic Bishop, the most Rev. Christopher J. Coyne.
Vermont News First learned today the College of Consultors met on Tuesday to elect Msgr. McDermott to run the statewide diocese as it awaits the appointment of the new bishop. The consultors also discussed its role in overseeing the diocese while it is without a Bishop.
Msgr. McDermott, who has been Bishop’s primary assistant, will take over as the temporary head of the diocese after Archbishop Coyne’s welcome to the Archdiocese of Hartford on October 9.
Coyne, 65, who served Vermont for almost a decade, was announced as the new Archbishop of Hartford on Monday.
A formal announcement about McDermott’s election is expected shortly, according to a person familiar with the process, but believed they were unable to speak publicly about it.
Msgr. McDermott is expected to make his Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity in the presence of Archbishop Coyne and others in the diocese in early September, the source said.
The College of Consultors is comprised of the following priests: the Revs. Luke Austin, Tim Naples, Maurice Roy, Yvon Royer, Jon Schnobrich and Msgrs. Peter Routhier and McDermott.