Early life and education

Edward James Burns was born on October 7, 1957, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Donald and Geraldine (née Little) Burns. He has a brother, Robert. Edward Burns attended Lincoln High School in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1973.^[2]

Having decided to become a priest, Burns enrolled at Saint Paul Seminary at Duquesne University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and sociology. He continued his studies at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, receiving Master of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees from Mount St. Mary's University.^[2]

Ordination and ministry

Burns was ordained to the priesthood in Pittsburgh at Saint Paul Cathedral for the Diocese of Pittsburgh by Bishop Vincent Leonard on June 25, 1983.^[3] After his 1983 ordination, the diocese assigned Burns as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania and Immaculate Conception Parish in Washington, Pennsylvania. In 1991, Burns was named as vocations director and vice-rector of St. Paul Seminary, becoming its rector in 1996.^[4]

Burns served in Washington D.C. as executive director of the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for nine years, beginning in 1999. His office produced a DVD titled Fishers of Men, a documentary on the lives of priests. Burns published a booklet, We Were There, that described the experiences of priests who served at the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In 2002, Burns was named as co-chair of a Vatican-ordered congress on vocations in North America. From 2005 to 2006, he provided support for a Vatican review of all Catholic seminaries in the U.S.^[5] Burns received the title of monsignor from the Vatican in 2006.^[1] In 2008, he returned to Pittsburgh to resume his jobs as rector of St. Paul Seminary and vocations director for the diocese.^[2]

Bishop of Juneau

On January 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Burns as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Juneau.^[5] He received his episcopal consecration on March 3, 2009, at Saint Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh from Bishop David Zubik, with Archbishop Roger Schweitz and Archbishop Donald Wuerl serving as co-consecrators; this was separate from his installation ceremony for the convenience of friends in the Continental United States, because of the distance to Alaska. He chose as his episcopal motto, "Pray with Confidence".^[6] He was installed in Juneau on April 2, 2009.

Bishop of Dallas

On December 13, 2016, Pope Francis appointed Burns as the eighth bishop of Dallas in Texas, to succeed then bishop Kevin Farrell.^[7][8] His installation was on February 9, 2017, at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Dallas.^[9]

On August 18, 2018, Burns informed parishioners at St. Cecilia Parish in Dallas that their pastor, Reverend Edmundo Paredes, had been removed from ministry in 2017 because of verified allegations of child sexual abuse and the theft of parish funds. The diocese had immediately reported Paredes to law enforcement, but he fled the country before he could be arrested.^[10]