Early life and education Robert Cunningham was born on June 18, 1943, in
Buffalo, New York, to Cecil and Grace Cunningham; he has a brother, Patrick, and a sister, Eileen. He attended St. John the Baptist Parish School and the Diocesan
Preparatory Seminary, then entered St. John Vianney Seminary in
East Aurora, New York. He received his
Bachelor of Arts and
Master of Divinity degrees from St. John Vianney.
Ordination and ministry Cunningham was
ordained to the priesthood for the
Diocese of Buffalo by Bishop
Bernard McLaughlin on May 24, 1969, in
St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo. After his ordination, the diocese assigned Cunningham as associate
pastor at Blessed Sacrament Parish in
Kenmore, New York. In 1972, he was named assistant pastor at his home
parish of St. John the Baptist, also in Kenmore. In January 2002, Cunningham was named pastor of St. Louis Parish in Buffalo. He served as administrator of the diocesan
College of Consultors from 2003 to 2004. Cunningham had board memberships for Christ the King Seminary,
Catholic Charities, Baker Victory Services in Buffalo, and the Cantalician Center for Learning in
Depew, New York. In 2015, when those statements became public, Cunningham said he wished he phrased his response differently. "It is obvious that my choice of words should have been better. Bottom line is, I cannot go back and change my words but I can assure you that I did not believe the individual involved in the case was at fault." He also repeatedly reiterated that he didn't believe children were responsible for being abused.On September 21, 2012, the Vatican appointed Cunningham as
apostolic administrator of the
Diocese of Rochester after the retirement of Bishop
Matthew Clark.
Pope Francis accepted his resignation on June 4, 2019. Cunningham served as
apostolic administrator of the diocese until Reverend
Douglas Lucia was consecrated a bishop on August 8, 2019. == Honors ==