Robert Hennessey was born on April 20, 1952, in
South Boston,
Massachusetts, to John and Eileen (
née Cahill) Hennessey. His father was an officer with the
Boston Police Department. The second of five children, Robert Hennessey has two brothers, John and Daniel, and two sisters, Deborah and Barbara.
Priesthood Hennessey was ordained to the
priesthood by Cardinal
Humberto Medeiros at the
Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston on May 20, 1978 for the Archdiocese of Boston. After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Hennessey as
parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish in
Hanson, Massachusetts. Hennessey's next assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Peter Parish in
Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1983, he was assigned to St. Joseph Parish in
Needham, Massachusetts, staying there for three years. Hennessey then entered a graduate studies program at the Moreau Seminary at the
University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana. Hennessey first held the post of
episcopal vicar for the Central Pastoral Region of the archdiocese, but was transferred in January 2014 to the Merrimack Region. In the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Hennessey has served as a member of the Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. As of 2025, Hennessey is the vicar general regional bishop for the Merrimack Region. ==See also==