Cleveland Bishop Nelson Perez will celebrate the funeral Mass for Bishop emeritus Richard Lennon at 11 a.m. Nov. 5 in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 1007 Superior Ave., Cleveland. Bishop Christopher Coyne, bishop of Burlington, Vermont, will be the homilist. The Mass will be live streamed on the diocesan website.
Bishop Lennon, the 10th bishop of Cleveland, died Oct. 29 at age 72.
His wake will begin with vespers at 3 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. Bishop Perez will be the presider and the homilist. The wake will continue until 7 p.m.
Bishop Lennon’s body will lie in state 8:30-10:45 a.m. Nov. 5 in the cathedral, prior to the funeral Mass.
A native of Arlington, Massachusetts, Bishop Lennon was born on March 26, 1947. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 19, 1973 for service to the Archdiocese of Boston. His first assignment from June 1973 to June 1982 was as parochial vicar of St. Mary of the Nativity Parish in Scituate, Massachusetts. From June 1982 until June 1988, he served as parochial vicar of St. Mary Parish in West Quincy, Massachusetts.
Bishop Lennon served as assistant for canonical affairs for the Archdiocese of Boston from July 1988 until December 1998. In January 1999, he was named rector of St. John Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts.
On Sept. 14, 2001, he was ordained to the episcopate to serve as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston and titular bishop of Sufes. He served as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese from Dec. 13, 2002 until July 30, 2003. From August 2003 until April 2006 he was vicar general and moderator of the curia of the Archdiocese of Boston.
Bishop Lennon was appointed bishop of Cleveland on April 4, 2006 and he was installed on May 15, 2006. On Dec. 28, 2016, he retired.
He was a member of the Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Archdiocese of Boston, a member of the Canon Law Society of America and a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre.
Interment will be in the Resurrection Chapel at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.