{{Short description|American prelate}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2015}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = Bishop | honorific-prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend | name = William Benedict Friend | honorific-suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | title = Bishop of Shreveport<br />titular bishop of Pomaria | image = William Benedict Friend.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | church = Roman Catholic | archdiocese = | province = | metropolis = | diocese = Diocese of Shreveport | see = | elected = | appointed = | term = 1982–2006 | term_start = | quashed = | term_end = | predecessor = None | opposed = | successor = Michael Duca | other_post = <!---------- Orders ----------> | ordination = May 7, 1959 | ordained_by = James Gibbons | consecration = October 30, 1979 | consecrated_by = Thomas Joseph Toolen | cardinal = | rank = <!---------- Personal details ----------> | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1931|10|22}} | birth_place = Miami, Florida, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2015|04|02|1931|10|22}} <!-- (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = Coral Springs, Florida | buried = | nationality = | religion = | residence = | parents = | spouse = | children = | occupation = | profession = | previous_post = Bishop of Alexandria-Shreveport (1979 to 1982)<br>Auxiliary Bishop of Alexandria-Shreveport (1982 to 1986) | education = | alma_mater = | motto = Live in the spirit | signature = | signature_alt = | coat_of_arms = | coat_of_arms_alt = <!---------- Sainthood ----------> | feast_day = | venerated = | saint_title = | beatified_date = | beatified_place = | beatified_by = | canonized_date = | canonized_place = | canonized_by = | attributes = | patronage = | shrine = | suppressed_date = <!---------- Other ----------> | other = }}{{Infobox bishop styles | bishop name = William Benedict Friend | dipstyle = His Excellency | offstyle = Your Excellency | relstyle = Monsignor | deathstyle = <!--if applicable--> | image = COABishopFriend.svg | image_size = 200px }}
'''William Benedict Friend''' (October 22, 1931 – April 2, 2015) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Shreveport in Louisiana from 1986 to 2006. He previously served as auxiliary bishop and then bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria-Shreveport from 1979 to 1986.
== Biography ==
=== Early life === William Friend was born on October 22, 1931, in Miami, Florida. He was ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the immaculate Conception in Mobile, Alabama, by Cardinal James Gibbons on May 7, 1959, for the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham, Alabama.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Bishop William Benedict Friend [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bfriend.html |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref>
=== Auxiliary Bishop and Bishop of Alexandria-Shreveport === On August 31, 1979, Pope John Paul II appointed Friend as an auxiliary bishop of Alexandria-Shreveport and titular bishop of Pomaria. He was consecrated by Archbishop Thomas Joseph Toolen on October 30, 1979 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. <ref name=":0" />
On November 17, 1982, John Paul II appointed him as bishop of the same diocese.<ref name=":0" />
=== Bishop of Shreveport === John Paul II erected the Diocese of Shreveport on June 16, 1986, and appointed Friend as its first bishop. He was installed as bishop on July 30, 1986.<ref name=":0" />
=== Retirement and legacy === On October 22, 2006, Friend sent the mandatory letter to Pope Benedict XVI resigning the diocese as he had reached the age of 75. His resignation was accepted on December 20, 2006. Friend ran the diocese as apostolic administrator until the pope named a new bishop.<ref name=":0" />
On April 1, 2008, Benedict XVI named Reverend Michael Duca as the new bishop of the diocese, ending Friend's duties as apostolic administrator. On April 2, 2015, William Friend died at his home in Coral Springs, Florida.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dioshpt.org/death-of-bishop-emeritus-william-b-friend/ |title=Death of Bishop Emeritus William B. Friend |access-date=April 4, 2015 |archive-date=December 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181213131722/http://www.dioshpt.org/death-of-bishop-emeritus-william-b-friend/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Notes == {{reflist}}
== Episcopal succession == {{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{succession box|title=Bishop of Shreveport|before=First Bishop|after=Michael Duca|years=1986–2006}} {{succession box|title=Bishop of Alexandria-Shreveport|before=Lawrence Preston Joseph Graves|after=John Clement Favalora|years=1982–1986}} {{s-end}} {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Shreveport}} {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friend, William Benedict}} Category:1931 births Category:2015 deaths Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Alexandria in Louisiana Category:People from Miami Category:People from Shreveport, Louisiana Category:20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Category:21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Category:Religious leaders from Florida Category:Catholics from Florida Category:People from Coral Springs, Florida