Bishop Edward J. Burns Eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas

Appointed by Pope Francis in 2016, Bishop Burns shepherds the Catholic faithful of North Texas. A priest since 1983, he has given his ministry to vocations, priestly formation, and the young Church.

Meet Bishop Burns Contact the Office of the Bishop

About Bishop Burns

Most Rev. Edward J. Burns was appointed the eighth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas in 2016 by Pope Francis. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was ordained a priest in 1983. In 2009, Bishop Burns served as the Bishop of Juneau, Alaska.

Prior to that, he served the Catholic Church on the national level as Executive Director of the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. from 1999–2008.

Bishop Burns currently serves on the Catholic Relief Services Foundation Board. Bishop Burns has also been a frequent Bishop Catechist at World Youth Day events and a presenter at convocations, conventions and retreats nationwide.

Bishop Edward J. Burns

Curriculum vitae

From a parish in western Pennsylvania to the national conference of bishops, Alaska, and North Texas: four decades of priestly ministry.

Early life and formation

1957 – 1983

  1. 1957
    Born October 7 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

    The son of the late Geraldine Little Burns and the late Donald P. Burns.

  2. 1975
    Graduated from Lincoln High School

    Ellwood City, Pennsylvania.

  3. 1979
    B.A. in Philosophy and Sociology, Duquesne University

    Earned while in priestly formation at St. Paul Seminary, Pittsburgh. He later received a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology from Mt. St. Mary Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh

1983 – 1999

  1. 1983
    Ordained a priest on June 25

    By the Most Reverend Vincent M. Leonard. Assigned as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Burgettstown.

  2. 1988
    Parochial vicar, Immaculate Conception Parish

    Washington, Pennsylvania.

  3. 1991
    Vocation Director of the Diocese of Pittsburgh

    Also appointed Vice-Rector and Dean of Studies of St. Paul Seminary.

  4. 1993
    Director of the Department of Clergy and Ministerial Formation
  5. 1997
    Director of the Department of Clergy Personnel

Serving the Church nationally

1999 – 2008

  1. 1999
    Executive Director, Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation, USCCB

    Bishop Donald Wuerl released him from priestly service in Pittsburgh to accept the position in Washington, D.C. In 2008 the office became the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life & Vocations.

    • Rewriting of the Program of Priestly Formation
    • Staff to the Apostolic Seminary Visitations
    • Initiated the priesthood vocation program Priestly Life and Vocation Summit: Fishers of Men
    • Interim Director of the Secretariat for Priestly Life & Ministry, and consultant to the Bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People
  2. 2002
    Co-chair, Third Continental Congress on Vocations

    Called by Pope John Paul II on Vocations to Ordained Ministry and Consecrated Life in North America. Montreal, Canada, April 18–21.

  3. 2006
    Named a monsignor on June 29

    Appointed a Chaplain to His Holiness by Pope Benedict XVI.

  4. 2008
    Rector of St. Paul Seminary, Pittsburgh

    Returning home, he was appointed by Bishop David A. Zubik as Rector, Director of the Department for Pre-Ordination Formation, and Director of the Department for Priestly Vocations, effective August 18.

Bishop

2009 – present

Bishop Edward J. Burns
  1. 2009
    Appointed fifth Bishop of Juneau, Alaska

    Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on January 19. Ordained a bishop at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Pittsburgh on March 3, and installed at Saint Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Juneau on April 2.

    Bishop Edward J. Burns in Alaska
    Bishop Burns in Alaska, where he served as the fifth Bishop of Juneau until his appointment to Dallas in 2016.
  2. 2016
    Appointed eighth Bishop of Dallas

    Appointed by Pope Francis on December 13.

  3. 2017
    Installed as Bishop of Dallas on February 9

    At the Cathedral Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of Bishop Edward J. Burns: a divided shield beneath a green galero with twelve tassels, a processional cross behind, and a motto scroll below

Hover over the crest to zoom in

  • ShieldHolds the symbols of the Diocese and the Bishop
  • Processional crossFive red stones for the Five Wounds of Christ
  • Green hat (galero)Its twelve tassels mark the rank of bishop
  • ScrollCarries the Bishop’s motto

The Diocese of Dallas

On a red field for the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

  • White band: the Trinity River.

  • Three fleurs-de-lis: Pope Leo XIII, Pope when the diocese was founded, and the Holy Trinity.

  • Star: Dallas and the Lone Star State.

  • Two swords: St. Paul, patron of the first Catholic settlement in Northeast Texas.

Bishop Burns

In blue, for the soul rising toward God, and gold, for faith.

  • Star in a rosary: Our Lady of the Rosary, whose feast day, October 7, is the Bishop’s birthday.

  • Fishing net: Christ’s call to be “fishers of men.”

  • Horn: the Burns family coat of arms.

  • Three waves: the three rivers of Pittsburgh, his hometown.

The Bishop’s motto

For his motto, Bishop Burns chose familiar words from the liturgy that so often serve as an invitation to prayer. They echo the Apostle John, who encourages believers to trust that the Lord hears us when we pray, and the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus teaches his disciples to pray.

“And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours.”

1 John 5:14–15

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Luke 11:9–10
Read the blazon, the formal heraldic description

“Impaled. Dexter: Gules, on a fess per bend wavy Argent three fleurs-de-lis Azure; in the sinister chief two crossed swords of the second, in the dexter base a mullet of the same; sinister: per bend sinister of the third and Or, a seven points star encircled by a rosary of the same in the dexter chief and a bugle-horn Sable, stringed of the first in the sinister base; three wavy barrulets of the third in base, thereupon a fishnet of the fifth”

Contact the Office of the Bishop

Send a message to the Office of the Bishop using the form below, or reach the Pastoral Center directly.

  • Pastoral Center, 3725 Blackburn Street, Dallas, Texas 75219
  • (214) 528-2240