William Draper Byrne

William Draper Byrne (born September 26, 1964) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts since 2020.

William Byrne grew up in McLean, Virginia, and attended the Mater Dei School in Bethesda, Maryland.

[7][6][3] He received his episcopal consecration at St. Michael's Cathedral in Springfield on December 14, 2020, from Cardinal Sean O'Malley, with Bishops James F. Checchio and Austin Vetter serving as co-consecrators.

In May 2021, Byrne released an expanded list of priests within the diocese who faced credible accusations of sexual abuse.

[9] He said:As a Church, both locally and universally, too many times in the past we have failed to protect the innocence and dignity of minors from those who committed these heinous crimes.