Editor’s note: The following is a letter to the faithful Bishop John Noonan offered on his birthday, Feb. 26, 2026.
My Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord! I am grateful to God for your faithfulness as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day. St. Paul reminds each one of us to stir into flame the gift of God! For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power, love, and self-control.
Today is my 75th birthday, and according to Canon 401 §1, I wrote a letter to our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, offering my retirement. I have served you, God’s holy people, as bishop of the Diocese of Orlando since December 2010, and as auxiliary in Miami since 2005. I pray, rejoicing, to God for my priestly ministry since the Sacrament of Holy Orders was conferred upon me in 1983, and I ask always for His blessing to lead His people, so that the bond of heaven flourishes upon this earth.