Loverde served assistant pastor at St. Sebastian Parish in Middletown, Connecticut and as a religion teacher at various high schools in the diocese. He also served as campus chaplain at the following institutions of higher learning in Connecticut:
On February 3, 1988, Pope John Paul II named Loverde as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford and titular bishop of Octabia. He was consecrated on April 12, 1988, by Archbishop John F. Whealon at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, Connecticut.[7][2] Loverde chose as his episcopal motto, "Encourage and Teach with Patience," (2 Timothy 4:2).
Bishop of Ogdensburg
On November 11, 1993, John Paul II appointed Loverde as the eleventh bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg. He was installed at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Ogdensburg, New York, on January 17, 1994.[7][2]
While in Ogdensburg, Loverde started vocation and evangelization initiatives. In 1999, he closed Mater Dei College in Oswegatchie, New York.[8] From 1997 to 1999, Loverde was state chaplain of the New York Knights of Columbus.[7]
Bishop of Arlington
After the sudden death of Bishop John Keating on March 22, 1998,[9] John Paul II appointed Loverde as the third bishop of the Diocese of Arlington. He was installed on March 25, 1999, at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, Virginia.[7]
For the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Loverde served as chair of the Committee on Vocations from 1995 to 1998 and as a member of the Administrative Committee from 2004 to 2008.[11]
In 2004, Loverde charged one of his priests, James R. Haley, with several offenses at a church tribunal in Pennsylvania. In response, Haley accused Loverde of retaliation because he had exposed serious wrongdoing by three priests in the diocese. One priest had impregnated a man's wife, another embezzled over $320,000 from his church and the third was in possession of gay pornography. Haley also accused Loverde of sheltering gay priests in the diocese. Loverde suspended Haley after he refused to enter treatment.[12][13]
In March 2006, Loverde announced that he would allow girls to serve at Mass in the diocese at the discretion of the local pastors. Prior to 2006, Arlington was one of only two dioceses in the United States to forbid girls from that role.[14][15][16][17]
On June 20, 2012, a Virginia woman sued Loverde, the diocese and other parties. She claimed that Thomas J. Euteneuer, a priest from the Diocese of Palm Beach, working for an anti-abortion organization in Arlington, had sexually abused her on several occasions in 2008. The plaintiff stated that Euteneuer, under the guise of conducting an exorcism, had kissed and fondled her. The plaintiff claimed that Loverde had given Euteneuer permission to perform exorcisms on other individuals. The woman eventually dropped her claims against Loverde and the diocese, but continued to sue Euteneuer's employer.[18]
Pope Francis accepted Loverde's letter of retirement as bishop of the Diocese of Arlington on October 4, 2016, and appointed Bishop Michael F. Burbidge as his successor.[23]
