Bishop Double Header: Sartain to Joliet IL from Little Rock AR

Not to get lost in today's "Wuerl-wind" of coverage surrounding Washington's new Archbishop-elect, the diocese of Joliet IL also received a new bishop today (replacing Bishop Imesch), Bishop Sartain of Little Rock AR, as I buzzed about yesterday:

VATICAN CITY, MAY 16, 2006 (VIS) "The Holy Father appointed Bishop James Peter Sartain of Little Rock, U.S.A., as bishop of Joliet in Illinois (area 10,920, population 1,768,390, Catholics 636,862, priests 293, permanent deacons 178, religious 779), U.S.A. He succeeds Bishop Joseph L. Imesch, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese, the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit."

More statistics for the diocese of Joliet, Illinois and for Bishop Sartain.

A short biography of Bishop Sartain, from the Couple-to-Couple League 2006 conference, which he is scheduled to attend beginning June 25:

Bishop Sartain was ordained and installed as Bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock in 2000. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1978.

At the Athenaeum San Anselmo, Rome, Italy, S.T.B. he studied Dogmatic Theology, with specialization in Sacramental Theology. He studied Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rose, Italy, S.T.L. He earned a B.A. in English at St. Meinrad College and attended Memphis State University.

Before being appointed Bishop of Little Rock, he was Vicar General of the Diocese of Memphis. Prior to that he held numerous administrative and advisory positions as Diocesan Administrator, Pastor, Associate Pastor, Judge on Marriage Tribunal, Moderator of the Curia, Chancellor, Director of Vocations, Academic Dean, Chaplain, Regional Chairman for USCCB, Chairman of Bishops’ Advisory Committee, and a Member of Bishops’ Catechesis Committee for the USCCB. [source]

St. Blogs commentary:

• Whispers: "A sacramentalist trained at the Benedictine Academy at Sant'Anselmo in Rome, Bishop Sartain, 54, has served as head of Arkansas' lone diocese since 2000."
• Jimmy Akin has a nice photo of him with Sartain and has this personal story to relate: "I was also impressed with Bishop Sartain. He's a Tennessee boy, and before the service I went up to him to make sure I was going to pronounce his name correctly during the service (that's something that's important to me, the way my last name gets mangled). Turns out his is pronounced SAR-tan, though he says he'll answer to other things. While I was waiting to ask him the question, he was telling some folks about a hunting trip he went on with friends down in Mississippi, so that scored him points in my book."
• Dennis of Vita Mea also has a personal story to tell: "At the end of the mass, Bishop Sartain told everyone how happy the Church was that Shaun was answering his vocation, and that the people should continually pray for vocations, and encourage any young men or women who might have a vocation to religious life. Then he asked the seminarians from the Diocese of Little Rock to raise their hands. The congregation applauded. Then he pointed out that about a dozen of Shaun's schoolmates from St. Meinrad had come and asked us to raise our hands. They applauded. Then he said, "One of them is a seminarian from the Diocese of Memphis, Dennis Schenkel, and he was one of my parishioners before I came to Arkansas. He had more hair back then. Then again, so did I." Big laugh from the congregation. Much redness on my face. All the guys from St. Meinrad gave me some teasing mixed with admiration after the mass. Also, I was the first person to receive Shaun's blessing, now that he's a member of the clergy. It was cool."
• Argent by the Tiber posts a short meditation by Bishop Sartain.

Media coverage:

• Catholic News Service: "In addition to various parish assignments, then-Father Sartain served the Memphis Diocese as director of vocations, secretary for priests and deacons, vicar for temporal administration and for clergy personnel, chancellor and moderator of the curia, and vicar general."
• Chicago Tribune: Joliet bishop steps down: "Sartain was installed in Little Rock on March 6, 2000, after Little Rock bishop Andrew J. McDonald retired. He is the sixth bishop in the Little Rock diocese's 163 years, leading Arkansas' 90,000 Catholics.He grew up in Memphis, the son of a pharmacist and a Catholic school secretary. He has four sisters.When Pope John Paul II named Sartain as bishop of Little Rock, he had been a priest in Memphis for 22 years. Sartain has been vicar general of the Diocese of Memphis and pastor of St. Louis Church since 1992. He was ordained a priest in 1978." More...
• Associated Press: Pope names replacement for Joliet bishop: "Sartain appeared at a press conference Tuesday morning in Romeoville, saying he looks forward to learning about the Joliet diocese, which includes 620,000 Catholics in seven counties south and west of Chicago. "My first task is try to be a good bishop," said Sartain, 53." More...

Official Statements, etc.:

• Diocese of Joliet announcement: "During a press conference held at 10:00 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Pastoral Center, Bishop Imesch announced Bishop Sartain’s appointment as Fourth Bishop of Joliet. The ceremony of installation is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 27, 2006."
• Bishop Sartain's column for the Arkansas Catholic
• Bishop Sartain's book, "Of You My Heart Has Spoken", a collection of his most widely-read weekly columns for the Arkansas Catholic, has proven very popular it seems.