Bishop Norbert M. Dorsey, who served as an auxiliary bishop with the Archdiocese of Miami in the late 1980s, died Thursday night in Orlando after a long fight with cancer.
Born Leonard James Dorsey on Dec. 14, 1929 in Springfield, Mass., he was 83.
His religious studies led him to Munich, London and Rome, and he was ordained a priest in April 1956.
In addition to his religious degrees, he was a composer of music, holding the degree of Maestro from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music.
Throughout the 1960s and ’70s, Father Dorsey was a popular preacher of parish missions and retreats throughout the United States and Canada.
In the early 1980s, while based in Rome, he shared the life and experience of the church in five continents during his periodic “visitations” to most of the 52 countries where the passionists are established.
He learned to speak several languages, including Spanish, Italian, French and Creole.
On Jan. 10, 1986, Pope John Paul II nominated Father Dorsey Titular Bishop of Mactaris and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami. He was consecrated by Archbishop Edward J. McCarthy at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Miami on March 19, 1986.
In Miami, Bishop Dorsey served as Vicar General and Executive Director of the Ministry of Persons. He also served on the boards of St. Thomas University and Barry University in Miami, and St. Leo College near Tampa.
He was installed as the third bishop of Orlando in 1990. Under his leadership, the diocese nearly doubled there to 400,000 Catholics.
I 1996, Bishop Dorsey gathered 11,000 people together for the first Diocesan-wide celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation. On this memorable day, Catholics came together from near and far to show their unity and passion for their faith. Bishop Dorsey was the first bishop to establish the Blue Mass, a celebration of the gifts of public safety personnel, in the Diocese of Orlando.
Soon after establishing Bishop Grady Villas, a 10-acre residential community in St. Cloud for adults with disabilities in 2004, Bishop Dorsey retired.
In lieu of flowers, Bishop Dorsey asked that contributions be made to the Passionist Community Support Fund, Passionist Pastoral Center 111 S. Ridge St., Suite 300, Rye Brook, NY 10573 or Bishop Dorsey Colloquium on Priestly Life and Ministry, for clergy education and care, Diocese of Orlando, P.O. Box 4905, Orlando, FL 32802-4905.
Bishop Dorsey dies in Orlando of cancer
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Bishop Dorsey dies in Orlando of cancer
