Early life and education

Christopher Coyne was born on June 17, 1958, in Woburn, Massachusetts, to Rita and Bill Coyne,^[1] a postal worker and a parish secretary. He had three older brothers and three younger sisters.^[2] He attended public schools in Woburn, graduating from Woburn Memorial High School in 1976. In 1980, Coyne received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from University of Massachusetts Lowell in Lowell, Massachusetts.^[3] To pay for college he worked multiple jobs, including stints as a YMCA lifeguard, in retail at Sear's, and bartending.^[4] For two years after graduation, Coyne worked as a bartender,^[3] and he occasionally bartended to earn money as a seminarian.^[4] Having decided to enter the priesthood, Coyne enrolled in 1982 at St. John's Seminary in Boston. He graduated in 1986 with a Master of Divinity degree.^[1]

Priesthood

On June 7, 1986, Coyne was ordained a priest for Archdiocese of Boston by Cardinal Bernard Law at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston.^[5] After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Coyne as parochial vicar for St. Mary of the Hills Parish in Milton, Massachusetts.^[3][1]

Coyne went to Rome in 1989 to study at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute. In 1992, he earned his Licentiate in Sacred Theology and in 1994 his Doctor of Sacred Liturgy degree.^[1][3] In 1994, Coyne returned to Boston to become director of the pre-theology program at St. John's Seminary. In 2004, he became an adjunct faculty member there.^[3] Coyne became director for the archdiocesan Office of Worship in 2000.^[3]

In 2002, Coyne became cabinet secretary for communications and archdiocesan spokesman in the middle of the clerical sex abuse scandal in the archdiocese. According to Coyne, he turned down two prior offers for the position from Cardinal Law. On accepting the job, Coyne said he told Law that he would not lie or disparage victims and wanted full access to archdiocese records.^[6]

On September 27, 2005, Law's successor in Boston, Archbishop Sean O'Malley, appointed Coyne pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Newton, Massachusetts.^[3][7] Some parishioners there who objected to O'Malley's removal of the previous pastor continued to press for his reinstatement. Some opposed Coyne as pastor because of his work for Law.^[8] Coyne requested a transfer, which was granted by the end of January 2006.^[9] He became pastor of Saint Margaret Mary Parish in Westwood, Massachusetts, in May 2006.^[2]

Auxiliary Bishop of Indianapolis

In January 2011, Pope Benedict XVI named Coyne as an auxiliary bishop of Indianapolis and titular bishop of Mopta. On March 2, 2011, he was consecrated in St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis by Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, with Bishop Richard Lennon and Bishop Paul Dennis Etienne serving as co-consecrators.^[5] Coyne was the first auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese since 1933.^[10]

In March 2011, Buechlein named Coyne as vicar general, a post he would hold until 2016.^[3] From September 21, 2011, to December 3, 2014, Coyne was the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, from Buechlein's early retirement due to ill health until the installation of Archbishop Joseph Tobin.^[11] In November 2014, Coyne was elected chair of the Committee on Communication of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).^[12]

Bishop of Burlington

On December 22, 2014, Pope Francis named Coyne as bishop of Burlington.^[13] His installation occurred on January 29, 2015.^[14]

On September 28, 2016, Coyne waived the non-disclosure agreements for all sexual abuse victims from St. Joseph's Orphanage in Burlington who had settled lawsuits against the diocese. He said that he wanted these victims to tell their abuse stories without fear of being sued.^[15] On December 17, 2020, Coyne apologized to the victims after the release of an investigative report by the State of Vermont that verified sexual abuse crimes at St. Joseph's:^[16]

I absolutely believe that children were abused at the orphanage. No one is contesting that at all. Any victim of abuse at the hands of clergy of the church is an awful thing and I can't apologize enough.

Coadjutor Archbishop of Hartford

On June 26, 2023, Pope Francis named Coyne as coadjutor archbishop of Hartford in Connecticut.^[17] He was to also serve as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Burlington until the pope appointed a new bishop.^[18] Coyne took up residence in Hartford with a Mass of Welcome on October 9, 2023.^[19]