Vice Chair of the Board of Directors Celebrates 50 Years of Priesthood
The Most Reverend Denis J. Madden, Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bethlehem University Foundation, celebrated his golden anniversary of priesthood on Sunday, the 25th of June, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Bishop Madden was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, on 8 March 1940. He was ordained a priest for the Benedictine community of St. Paul's Abbey in Newton, New Jersey, on 1 April 1967. Among his duties included the establishment of a Benedictine community in New Orleans to support the pastoral work of the Archdiocese of New Orleans especially in working with the poor. At the invitation of Cardinal Lawrence Sheehan,  Father Denis was incardinated into the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 1975.

During the course of his priestly ministry, Bishop Madden has served on the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem and as the Director of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine. He was also the Director of the University of Notre Dame Studies Abroad Program in Jerusalem. From 1996-2005, the future bishop served as Associate Secretary General of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), working on behalf of the Holy See in those lands in which from ancient times the majority of Christians belonged to the Eastern churches. Among his duties while with CNEWA, Bishop Madden served as the chief negotiator among the three ecclesiastical authorities responsible for repairing the dome of the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. 

Bishop Madden was consecrated a bishop by His Eminence William Cardinal Keeler at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on the 24th of August, 2005.
In connection to his many years of service on behalf of Christians in the Holy Land, Bishop Madden was elected to the Board of Directors of the Bethlehem University Foundation in 2010. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board. Bishop Madden is shown with fellow board members Mr. Elias Aburdene and Ms. Katie Acuff at the Foundation's Reception at the Residence of the Holy See to the United Nations this past April.

Though he is officially retired, Bishop Madden continues to serve the faithful of the Archdiocese of Baltimore as vicar for the urban vicariate. At the Board's most recent meeting, Bishop Madden renewed his membership for another term of three years. In his years of service as a priest and a bishop, he has certainly lived up to his episcopal motto: "That in all things may God be glorified."

To learn more about the anniversary Mass on the 25th of June, click here.

To make a gift in celebration of Bishop Madden's 50 years of priesthood, please click on the donate button below. Designate "other" and type in Bishop Madden's name.
About Bethlehem University:
Jointly founded by the Vatican and the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Bethlehem University annually enrolls more than 3,200 students in bachelor, master, and professional diploma programs. A Catholic co-educational institution, the University is the only Catholic/Christian university in the Holy Land. The University's mission is to provide quality higher education to the people of the Holy Land and to serve them in its role as a center for the advancement, sharing, and use of knowledge.

About Bethlehem University Foundation:
The Bethlehem University Foundation is the U.S. registered not-for-profit organization entrusted with the sole mission of supporting and promoting Bethlehem University. The Foundation is a means for United States citizens to make a tax deductible donation in support of Bethlehem University.

To learn more about the Foundation, visit www.bufusa.org
or like the Foundation's Facebook page "Bethlehem University Foundation"