Longtime Vermont priest Monsignor John J. McDermott has been appointed bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, the diocese announced on Monday. McDermott, 61, pastor of the Catholic Center at the University of Vermont and current diocesan administrator, has long served in the statewide diocese's No. 2 position, vicar general. He will be ordained and installed as the diocese's 11th bishop on July 15, succeeding Bishop Christopher Coyne, who left in October to become coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn. During a press conference on Monday, McDermott expressed gratitude for his life, family, faith and the church before asking for prayers from all in Vermont parishes "that I may always serve you with the heart of Christ, the high priest and good shepherd." In McDermott, Pope Francis has selected a priest who has served in Vermont for nearly 35 years and in diocesan offices for 20. "So I know the diocese very well," McDermott said. "I know the priests, know the people, know the parishes." McDermott has served at St. Augustine Parish in Montpelier, St. Mark in Burlington, St. Mary in Middlebury, St. Bernadette in Bridport, St. Thomas in Underhill, St. Mary in Cambridge and Christ the King-St. Anthony in Burlington. He has been chaplain at Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington and at Middlebury College. His parishioners have known him as a runner, avid golfer and competent performer of show tunes. Regarding dwindling mass attendance, McDermott said on Monday that the challenge for the church "is to be authentically who we are, is to be a place where people encounter Jesus Christ in word and sacrament, to be a place where they experience God's mercy and love, where they come to know that they're children of God. If we do that well, then people will come." Engaging young people through college ministry can help combat the church's priest shortage, he said: "The best attraction to the priesthood is a happy priest and a fulfilled priest." Addressing the ongoing recovery from abuse by priests, McDermott said the church must be vigilant to protect children and vulnerable adults. "It's a terrible tragedy in the life of the church," he said, and the church has an obligation to help those who have been harmed. McDermott was born in New Jersey and grew up in Hudson, Mass., and Central Valley, N.Y. After a year at the United States Coast Guard…