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For a 9-year-old, it’s a long trip from Parkville to Catonsville.

Father Robert F. Leavitt, S.S., made an impact on Bishop W. Francis Malooly’s ministry when, as a young priest just ordained, he taught the future bishop in a theology course at St. Mary’s Seminary, Roland Park, in 1968.

Every now and then, Bishop W. Francis Malooly surprised callers to his Catholic Center office by picking up the phone himself. Expecting to hear the voice of Katherine Williams, his longtime administrative assistant, the callers were bewildered at hearing the bishop greet them with a cheery “bishop’s office.”

From hero worship of a Baseball Hall of Fame centerfielder to holding his own in serious pick-up basketball games to name-dropping the Ravens’ No. 1 draft choice, sports are an enduring reference point and release for Bishop W. Francis Malooly.

Three weeks after Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop W. Francis Malooly the new bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington, Del., Baltimore’s native son sat down with The Catholic Review July 28 to discuss his role as a bishop, his goals for his new diocese and his thoughts about the state of today’s church.