New arch/bishops for Milwaukee and Fort Wayne-South Bend!

With Vatican rumors, you win some, and you lose some.

I was right that a new bishop would be announced for Fort Wayne-South Bend today, and Rocco was right that a new one would be announced for Milwaukee as well.

I was wrong that Bishop D'Arcy's replacement would be Bishop Thomas Paprocki, an auxiliary bishop in Chicago. The Holy Spirit has other plans for him. 

I was right back in October to "put my money on" Bishop Jerome Listecki of La Crosse, WI to fill the vacancy in Milwaukee left by Archbishop Dolan's appointment to New York City. 

But of course, it's not about me - this is about rejoicing with the Catholics of Milwaukee and Fort Wayne-South Bend that they both now have wonderful and worthy successors of the apostles appointed to serve them.

From the USCCB announcement:

Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Jerome E. Listecki of La Crosse, Wisconsin, 60, as Archbishop of Milwaukee, and Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 51, as Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana.

Archbishop-designate Listecki was born in Chicago, March 12, 1949. He attended Quigley South High School, Loyola University, and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1975, and named an Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago in 2000, and Bishop of La Crosse in 2004. He holds a Doctorate in Canon Law from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University, both in Rome.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has 4,758 square miles. It has a population of 2,303,859 people, with 643,775, or 26 per cent, of them Catholic.

[More information on the Milwaukee and La Crosse arch/diocesan websites.]

Bishop Rhoades was born November 26, 1957, in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. He studied for the priesthood at St. Charles Seminary, Overbrook, Pennsylvania, and the Gregorian University and was ordained to the priesthood in 1983. He became rector of St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland in 1997, and was named Bishop of Harrisburg in 2004. He holds Licentiates in Canon Law and Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University.

The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend has a population of 1,262,788 people, with 157,703, or 12 per cent, of them Catholic. [More information on the diocesan website.]

Whispers also has coverage.

Late-breaking: new bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend soon?

At the risk of crying "bishop!" one too many times, I'm being told this afternoon that Bishop John D'Arcy of the diocese of Fort Wayne - South Bend, Indiana has summoned the priests of his diocese for a "once in a generation" announcement tomorrow.

At a local Mass in the diocese celebrated today, the celebrant mentioned the rising rumors that the new appointment would be announced soon. 

Bishop D'Arcy himself admitted in a statement posted to the diocesan website this Wedesday that his successor "cannot be too far away." He spoke in a way that could suggest he already knows who that individual will be. 

Finally, Vatican-rumor blog Whispers in the Loggia noted a flurry of recent activity undertaken by Bishop D'Arcy, which would also imply that he is wrapping up the last of his unfinished business.

Saturday morning announcements of new bishops are not unheard of. Tomorrow will tell.

For the record, my bet is Bishop Thomas Paprocki, as it was over a month ago.

update: a local newspaper seems to confirm my claims, and Whispers thinks Milwaukee is due too.

New auxiliary bishop appointed to diocese of Joliet, IL

Another day, another bishop appointment.

The Vatican announcement:

Fr. Joseph M. Siegel, pastor of the parish of the Visitation in Elmhurst (USA), as auxiliary bishop of Joliet in Illinois (area 10,920, population 1,842,000, Catholics 667,000, priests 268, religious 718, permanent deacons 199). The bishop-elected was born in Joliet (Illinois, USA) in 1963 and ordained priest in 1988.

Here is the press release from the diocese. Whispers has more.

(For some reason, I'm tempted to make a Blues Brothers joke - any help?)

Today: A new bishop for Milwaukee?

The buzz is growing that archdiocese of Milwaukee will be the next episcopal vacancy filled by Rome - it has been without an archbishop since its former Archbishop Timothy Dolan was moved to New York City.

The local papers have been chattering about it for the last 24 hours, which is normally a sign. They are, however, mostly relying on Vatican rumor blog Whispers in the Loggia. Here are Rocco's picks:

Bishops Gerald Kicanas of Tucson (currently vice-president of the US bishops), Blase Cupich of Rapid City, Jerome Listecki of LaCrosse and Milwaukee's administrator, Aux. Bishop William Callahan OFM Conv.

I would disagree that Aux. Bp. Callahan is likely - that's what I'm hearing, at least. [update - I would also be surprised if it was Kicanas.]

Other names that keep appearing on my shortlist are Bishops Robert Finn, Michael Jackels, Alexander Sample, and David Ricken.

I'd put my money on Bishop Listecki of LaCrosse, but with so many names floating around, I'm still far from confident. We'll just have to see who the Holy Spirit has in mind.

And in the meantime - have you heard anything?

Overview: New bishop appointment possibilities

[The nifty photo to the right is actually a working graphic of the Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States.]

The past seven days have been overactive when it comes to appointing new bishops for the United States.

Last Thursday three new bishops were appointed - a new ordinary of Duluth, MN, a new ordinary in Pueblo, CO, and an auxiliary to Providence, RI.

Yesterday a Monday appointment was announced to the diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming (new bishops are typically announced for the United States on Tuesdays, after all).

(I'm kind of kicking myself over that last one because I actually had a very strong tip that it would happen this week. But, because I figured it would wait until Tuesday, and because I don't like blogging over the weekends (and especially Sunday, of course!) - I decided to wait to talk about it until Monday morning. Well, I didn't get to it on Monday until the appointment had already come across on the wire.)

Well, to get back in front of the prevailing winds of new bishop appointments, let me mention a couple things on deep background. Two dioceses in particular are on my radar:

• In the diocese of Fort Wayne/South Bend, Indiana - currently held by Bishop John D'Arcy, and in which the University of Notre Dame resides - I've been convinced that the new appointment has been picked since early this month. My most current update is that, while the Vatican wants to make the announcement, they are deferring to the request of Bishop D'Arcy that the announcement not be made until the current Bishop's appeal concludes. I'm aware of other instances where Rome has chosen to delay announcing the appointment of a new bishop until the current one has had an opportunity to see to pressing local issues, such as the raising of funds or the settling of diocesan business.


• Across the country in the Archdiocese of Seattle, I'm being reminded that Archbishop Alexander Brunett reached retirement age and submitted his resignation in January. It was accepted and he was asked to remain until a replacement could be chosen and installed. Some recent past practice has been for the Bishop of Helena Montana to be sent as the replacement of Seattle's Archbishop with the Helena Bishop being replaced by Seattle's auxilliary Bishop. Seattle currently has two young auxiliary bishops, and the bishop of Helena (George Thomas) is still under 60.

In the wider picture, there are currently six dioceses with no bishop currently serving, and six more dioceses with bishops serving past the mandatory age of retirement.

So we'll see - today is Tuesday - maybe Rome will go for a solid six appointments in six days!

(Please note that at no time in this post have I created three pairs of six numbers. Catholics are against that sort of thing.)

Monday surprise: New bishop appointed to Cheyenne, Wyoming

Early Monday news from up north:

Pope Benedict XVI named Father Paul D. Etienne, 50, pastor of St. Paul Church in Tell City, Indiana, as Bishop of Cheyenne, Wyoming. 

Paul Etienne was born June 15, 1959, in Tell City. He graduated from Tell City High School and the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business. He attended North American College, Rome, and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in 1992. He holds Bachelor and Licentiate of Theology degrees from the Gregorian University, Rome. 

... The Cheyenne Diocese comprises the state of Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park and includes 97,548 square miles. The total population of the diocese is estimated at 515,000 people, with 52,397, or ten percent, of them Catholic.

Whispers has his virtual hiking boots on for this one.

The folks at Wyoming Catholic College must be happy.

update - this comment from below deserves to be included here. I love these personal stories!

"A story once appeared in our Archdiocesan newspaper about the Etienne family. I had a great chuckle reading the part about Fr. Paul and his brother Fr. Bernie (both Vocations Directors) both trying to persuade their brother Zach (now Fr. Zach) to come and be a Priest in their respective Diocese. Fr. Bernie and the Diocese of Evansville won (for lack of a better word). I guess this is the Holy Spirit's idea of a consolation prize...lol. May God continue to bless Bishop-Elect Etienne and the people of Cheyenne!" - Adam Welp

Bishop Tri-Appointment Thursday!

Three new bishops appointed for the United States today!

Pope Benedict XVI has named Father Paul Sirba of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, as bishop of Duluth, Minnesota; Father Fernando Isern of the Archdiocese of Miami, 51, as Bishop of Pueblo, Colorado; and Msgr. Robert C. Evans, 62, of the [diocese] of Providence, Rhode Island, as Auxiliary Bishop of Providence. The pope also accepted the resignation of Bishop Arthur Tafoya, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Pueblo Diocese.

The Duluth Diocese includes 22,354 square miles. The total population of the diocese is estimated at 439,172 people, with 66,007, or 15 percent, of them Catholic.

The Pueblo Diocese includes 48,155 square miles. The total population of the diocese is estimated at 621,000 people, with 96,904, or 16 percent, of them Catholic

The Providence [diocese] includes 1,085 square miles. The total population of the diocese is estimated at 1,057,832 people, with 624,120, or 59 percent, of them Catholic

Whispers has details.

New Bishop: Msgr. Hebda gets hoisted into Gaylord, MI!

I'm hearing very good things about the Monsignor appointed to be the next bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord today.

From the USSCB website:

Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Bishop Patrick R. Cooney of Gaylord, Michigan, and named as his successor, Msgr. Bernard A. Hebda, 50, a Pittsburgh priest and Under-Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

...  Bernard Hebda was born in Pittsburgh, September 3, 1959. He attended South Hills Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Harvard University, where he was awarded a Master of Arts degree in 1980, and Columbia University, where he was awarded a Juris Doctor degree in 1983.

He attended North American College in Rome and earned a Doctor of Canon Law degree from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in 1990. 

... yet another Canon lawyer appointed to be a new bishop. A canon law degree is almost a litmus test for becoming a bishop these days.

Here is a map of the Gaylord, MI diocese:

"The Gaylord Diocese includes 11,171 square miles. The total population of the diocese is estimated at 510,532 people, with 66,217, or 13 percent, of them Catholic."

The Gaylord diocesan website (which includes a fuller bio of Msgr. Hebda) says a news conference was hosted this morning. It has not yet been announced when his episcopal ordination and installation will be. 

The Msgr. Hebda quote of the day:

"Never in my wildest dreams have I ever imagined that I would one day be the Bishop of Gaylord. I can remember being fascinated by a display of Bishop Baraga’s deerskin chasuble and having the greatest admiration for him."

Ah, dearskin chasubles - it's a different world up there. :)

New bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend rumor

In keeping with my last post, I'm going to lay another set of cards on the "bishop rumors" table.

Bishop John Michael D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend Indiana is over two years past his mandatory age of retirement.

The appointment of his successor is a delicate call to make because the University of Notre Dame is in this diocese. Bishop D'Arcy received national attention earlier this year when President Obama was invited to give Notre Dame's commencement address (more).

Back in early September I heard reports that a new bishop had been chosen for this diocese, and that the announcement would be made in early October.

Well, here we are with the first Tuesday of October around the corner.

The same reports suggested that the successor would be an auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Currently there are six auxiliary bishops in Chicago, and of them, my bet is on Bishop Thomas Paprocki.

It is also interesting to note that the Fort Wayne-South Bend official diocesan website - long overdue for an overhaul - debuted a new, modern design very recently.

Perhaps because it is expecting a bump in traffic soon.

New bishop of Austin rumor

Tuesdays are the traditional day for the Vatican to announce new bishop appointments in the United States, so it might be good to see what people are hearing about future possibilities today.

One interesting thread I'm tracking is the buzz that Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantu of San Antonio (bio in PDF) might take over the diocese of Austin, which has been vacant since Bishop Gregory Aymond was appointed to New Orleans, Louisiana.

Bishop Cantu is a very young bishop (42), and has been in San Antonio for about 15 months.

Have you heard anything about this diocese (or others)?

I'd be perfectly thrilled to see another blogging bishop appointment.

From A-to-Z: Msgr, Luis Zarama named first Aux. Bishop of Atlanta in fifty years

A day late, but (hopefully) not a nickel short. From the Archdiocese of Atlanta, happy tidings that, for the first time in over 50 years, Atlanta will have an auxiliary bishop:

"Pope Benedict XVI has named Monsignor Luis Rafael Zarama, 50, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, to be auxiliary bishop of Atlanta.

.... The Atlanta Archdiocese has a population of 6,773,819 people, with 750,000, or 11 percent, of them Catholic."

The episcopal ordination will take place on Tuesday, Sep. 29th.

Yet another canon lawyer made a bishop. Seminarians - take note - if the bishop says he plans to have you study canon law, well, you best figure out what size miter fits you while you're at it. ;-)

Whispers has encyclopedic info on this story, from (A)tlanta to (Z)arama!

Friday surprise: Bishop Aymond comes home to New Orleans

An active week for (arch)bishop installations and appointments, and today no different:

The Holy Father appointed Bishop Gregory Michael Aymond of Austin, U.S.A., as metropolitan archbishop of New Orleans (area 10,898, population 1,069,428, Catholics 384,994, priests 369, permanent deacons 183, religious 721), U.S.A. The archbishop-elect was born in New Orleans in 1949, he was ordained a priest in 1975 and consecrated a bishop in 1997. (VIS)

I have more to add, but it will have to wait until after lunchtime today.

update: Anyone have speculation as to who will replace Aymond in Austin?

AmP to cover Abp. Carlson's installation Mass in St. Louis next Wednesday!

T-minus 5 days until AmP provides live, on-the-ground coverage of the installation Mass of Archbishop-elect Robert J. Carlson in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis next Wednesday at 2pm!

One of the hallmarks of Rev. Carlson's pastoral style is accessibility. In keeping with that charecteristic I was happy to note that he will be "travelling to several parishes in the Archdiocese in the days following his Mass of Installation to celebrate Holy Mass with members of the faithful. The Masses are open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to come and meet the new Archbishop!" More details on those plans here.

For everyone else not able to make it to St. Louis personally, keep it tuned here and AmP Twitter.

Also, CatholicTV will be covering the events and airing segments about the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Rumor: Dominican to become next bishop of Fort Wayne?

I'm hearing a rumor going around Fort Wayne, IN that Bishop D'Arcy's replacement could be ... wait for it ... Fr. Augustine Di Noia, OP!

That's right, a dominican who is currently serving as undersecretary at the congregation for the doctrine of the faith (basically the #3 in charge of it).

The last time a dominican was elevated to the Amearican episcopate (that I know of) was in the 1980's in Louisville.

It's a fascinating choice for one primary reason - by choosing a priest who has not served as a bishop in the United States, the Vatican avoids the sticky problem of either choosing a bishop who spoke out against Notre Dame's invitation of Barack Obama, or choosing one who was silent.

What have you heard?

As speculated, Bp. George Lucas named new Archbishop of Omaha

On Monday I reported that a new archbishop would be appointed to Omaha soon, and then I updated the post saying "Bishop George Lucas of Springfield, IL is rising to the top of my short-list." Today we find out:

The pope has named Springfield, Ill., Bishop George Lucas to be the new archbishop of Omaha, Neb.

The Vatican on Wednesday said Lucas will replace 76-year-old Archbishop Elden Curtiss, who is retiring.

Lucas turns 60 next week and has been Springfield bishop since 1999.

He's a St. Louis native who studied philosophy at Cardinal Glennon College and theology at Kenrick Seminary before receiving his master's degree in history at St. Louis University.

Lucas was ordained as a priest in 1975. (AP)

Bingo! Once again, you saw it on AmP first.

Installation is already set for July 22, according to the Archdiocesan website.

More on Lucas from Vatican Radio, and Whispers. Statistics on the Archdiocese of Omaha:

The Archdiocese of Omaha originally covered all of Nebraska and Wyoming in the Western United States. Today, its territory includes 23 northeast Nebraska counties and an area of 14,051 square miles. The general population of the 23 counties is approximately 889,000 and the Catholic population is about 220,000 people. There are 149 parishes and missions within the Archdiocese.

And for the record, my second guess of Bp. Aquila for this position was incorrect. Win some, lose some. O:-)

Rumor: New Archbishop for Omaha, NE tomorrow?

Word on the street (in Nebraska) is that a new archbishop will be appointed to the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska soon, even tomorrow (Tuesday is traditionally "new bishop appointment day" for the United States).

The current Archbishop, Elden Francis Curtiss, is turning 77 on June 16th.

Have you heard anything?

update: Bishop George Lucas of Springfield, IL is rising to the top of my short-list. Any thoughts on this name?

update 2: Aquila is also a frequent-mention.

update 3: no announcement today, but if it happens tomorrow, I'm betting on Bishop Aquila.

update 4: should have stuck with my first bet, because it *is* Bp. Lucas....

Msgr. Barres appointed Bishop-elect of Allentown, PA

Good to see a bishop brought up from the ranks of priests. One can only shuffle around bishops so long:

Today the Holy Father appointed Msgr. John Oliver Barres of the clergy of the diocese of Wilmington, U.S.A., diocesan chancellor, as bishop of Allentown (area 7,183, population 1,184,000, Catholics 276,662, priests 279, permanent deacons 105, religious 450) U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Port Chester, U.S.A. in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1989. He succeeds Edward P. Cullen, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

Report: 6 dioceses vacant, 11 overdue for replacement in U.S.

This handy list compiled by my father at www.CanonLaw.info gives us a snapshot of the vacant and overdue-for-replacement dioceses in the United States.

Here are the dioceses who currently do not, or soon will not, have a bishop + their date of vacancy:

1. Cheyenne WY 2008 Jul
2. Duluth MN 2008 Oct
3. Owensboro KY 2009 Jan
4. Milwaukee WI 2009 Feb
5. Saginaw MI 2009 Apr
6. Ogdensburg NY 2009 Apr

And here are the ones whose bishop is overdue to retire + when they were supposed to retire:

1. Omaha NE 2007 Jun
2. Ft Wayne-S. Bend IN 2007 Aug
3. New Orleans LA 2007 Dec
4. Allentown PA 2008 Mar
5. Pueblo CO 2008 Mar
6. Lafayette IN 2008 Aug
7. Seattle WA 2009 Jan
8. Corpus Christi TX 2009 Jan
9. Brownsville TX 2009 Feb
10. Spokane WA 2009 Mar
11. Gaylord MI 2009 Mar

Two more dioceses will be overdue as of this August:

1. Cincinnati OH 2009 Aug
2. Oklahoma City OK 2009 Aug

Have you heard anything about possible appointments to these dioceses? Drop me a line in the comment box or send me an email ("thomas [at] americanpapist.com"). I'm especially interested in Gaylord, MI. Thanks!

Complete Coverage: St. Louis gets its next Archbishop

Called it last night, announced it this morning, and followed-up shortly after with more details.

Action Item: Join Facebook Fans of Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis!
(1pm update - almost 100 members already!)

Outside coverage:

• Archdiocesan newspaper: Bishop Robert J. Carlson appointed Tenth Archbishop of Saint Louis
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Michigan Bishop Robert J. Carlson named new St. Louis Archbishop
• Saginaw News: Carlson leaving

Bp. Cunningham appointed to Syracuse, NY

Not to be lost in the Carlson shuffle ... another Robert got appointed today:

The Holy Father Appointed Bishop Robert J. Cunningham of Ogdensburg, U.S.A., [photo] as bishop of Syracuse (area 14,915, population 1,199,000, Catholics 352,000, priests 310, permanent deacons 85, religious 536), U.S.A. He succeeds Bishop James M. Moynihan, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

I haven't heard much about Syracuse while covering my Catholic news beat (well, except for this unfortunate episode) so it surprised me to find out there are over 350,000 Catholics in the diocese!

Breaking: Robert Carlson is the next Archbishop of St. Louis!

As reported on American Papist last night (and rumored back in March), Bishop Robert Carlson of Saginaw, MI has been named the 10th bishop of St. Louis.

St. Louis Archdiocesan website:

Bishop Robert J. Hermann, Archdiocesan Administrator for St. Louis, called Archbishop-elect Carlson “a very energetic, articulate, warm and gifted pastor and administrator. He thinks and works with the Church he loves, and will continue to build upon the legacy of his predecessors here in St. Louis.”Archbishop–elect Carlson was installed as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw on February 24, 2005 at the direction of Pope John Paul II. A native of Minneapolis, MN, he was ordained to the priesthood on May 23, 1970 for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He was later ordained as an auxiliary bishop for his home archdiocese on January 11, 1984 and went on to serve as Bishop of Sioux Falls, SD, from 1994 to 2005.

Follow the day's events & more info:

• 10:30 am: Watch the press conference online.
• View pictures of the Archbishop-elect, as he visits various locations in the Archdiocese.
• Follow the Archdiocese on Twitter for up-to-the-minute postings.
• Press Release: "Vatican Announces Appointment of Bishop Robert J. Carlson as Archbishop of St. Louis"
• Press Release: "Statement of Bishop Robert Hermann on the Appointment of the Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson as Archbishop of St. Louis"
• Press Release: "Pope Names Saginaw's Bishop Carlson as the ninth Archbishop of Saint Louis"
• Biography and Curriculum Vitae in the Leadership pages of archstl.org

Updates to follow....

Rumor: New Archbishop of St. Louis Tomorrow

***Breaking: Robert Carlson next Archbishop of St. Louis!***

Original post: We've been through this before, but once again - I'll be waking up tomorrow morning at 6AM to see if a new Archbishop has been appointed to St. Louis.

Some of my sources are 99% sure it's tomorrow. Time, as always, will tell.

Here's my guess - Bishop Robert Carlson of Saginaw, MI. (yes this is the name I've referred to.)

update: sed contra - the St. Louis Catholic blog is claiming Bishop Kevin Vann of Fort Worth, TX, to be announced Wednesday.

update 2: I should add, it is rumored that at Abp. Dolan's installation, Vatican papal nuncio Abp. Pietro Sambi said the St. Louis appointment would occur before June, joking that he had vacation time coming up then.

AmP receives press credentials for Archbishop Dolan's NYC Installation Mass!

[Note: I am currently travelling to celebrate Triduum with friends and family. Posting will be sporadic until April 15th, as I explain here...]

It's official - I'll be inside St. Patrick's Cathedral on April 15th for Archbishop Timothy Dolan's Installation Mass!

My gratitude to the Archdiocese of New York for approving my request. I've been covering Abp. Dolan's ecclesiastical service for some time now, and am thrilled to have this opportunity of being present at his commencement and providing coverage to readers of American Papist.

My contribution: For a start, I'll be twittering my travels - so now's a good time to begin following AmP on Twitter.

And if anyone wants to tell me where the party will be on the evening of April 14th - I'd be much obliged. I'd be interested to hear how many AmP readers will be in town the 14th-15th and what they are planning.

[photo: Myobb]

New Bishop: Pittsburgh Auxiliary Paul Bradley named Kalamazoo, MI bishop

The most "overdue" diocese in Michigan gets its replacement today:

Pope Benedict XVI has named an auxiliary bishop from Pittsburgh to be the new bishop of the 100,000-member Diocese of Kalamazoo.

The diocese said Monday that 63-year-old Paul J. Bradley replaces Bishop James A. Murray, who submitted his mandatory resignation after turning 75.

Bradley was born in Glassport, Pa., and attended high school, college and graduate theology studies at St. Meinrad Seminary in St. Meinrad, Ind. He holds a master's in social work degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

The Diocese of Kalamazoo serves about 100,000 Roman Catholics in Michigan's Allegan, Barry, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties. (AP)

A canon lawyer, and one-time chancellor of the Lansing diocese. More from the USCCB and Whispers.

Bishop Cooney of Gaylord, MI is almost a month past his retirement age, while Bishop Hurley of Grand Rapids, MI still has a few years to serve. The other dioceses in MI are at least 10 years until replacement.

Confirmed: New Archbishop of Westminister Vin Nichols

Ruth Gledhill gets the scoop {update: and it's confirmed.}

"As we report in The Times, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham will tomorrow, Friday, be announced as the new Archbishop of Westminster. There will be a press conference at 11am at Archbishop's House, Ambrosden Avenue when he will be named as successor to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, ending months of speculation.

Read all about 'Vin', as he is known, on the diocesan website. He is a 'safe pair of hands', a man with a big heart and of increasingly conservative beliefs, who will be warmly welcomed in Westminster and beyond."

Damian Thompson (my go-to source for informed, orthodox UK Catholic news) is delighted by the news:

"... all the signs were that the job was going to a less suitable candidate. "Vin", as he is known, may be ambitious – but for a long time now he has been ambitious on behalf of the Catholic Church. He has fought the Catholic corner a good deal harder than many of his fellow bishops, most recently seeing off plans to force Catholic schools to accept a quota of non-Catholic students. He has also given the BBC a hard time for its anti-Catholic stance.

I don't think +Vincent would have been the first choice of many, if any, Catholic traditionalists, who were hoping that the Pope would choose a dynamic conservative outsider. The Archbishop of Birmingham is dynamic, all right, but it would seem ridiculous to describe him as conservative or an outsider.

And yet... Vin Nichols has become more conservative over the years, and more independent-minded."

Sources say the news will be announced this morning at 11AM (UK time).

update: Catholic Herald has a statement congradulating Abp. Nichols, statements from Christian leaders welcoming him, and a full story + video of the nomination (what good coverage!). VIS:

The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham, England, as metropolitan archbishop of Westminster (area 3,634, population 4,664,000, Catholics 472,600, priests 669, permanent deacons 8, religious 1,560), England. He succeeds Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

update 2 - Whipers has video of the press conference and Q&A. I'm too lazy to embed them.

New Archbishop appointment for St. Louis imminent?

I'm hearing independent reports that the next Archbishop of St. Louis could be announced tomorrow, or indeed - very soon. Whispers says the successor is "expected within days."

I'm also seeing a particular name rise to the surface in these various reports - which would be extremely exciting for me and good for the Catholic Church in America if he proves to be the one.

At any rate, if someone at Kenrick-Glennon seminary wants to contact me with an update, I'd be grateful.

St. Louis has had an Archdiocesan Administration (Bishop Robert Hermann) since Archbishop Raymond Burke was transferred to Rome last year.

update: no announcement today, but stay tuned....

Aux. Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Diego appointed to Oakland

Sad news for San Diego, but great news for Oakland (and it doesn't necessarily put the kibosh on my hopes that he eventually gets tapped for Los Angeles):

The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI has named a San Diego clergyman to be bishop of Oakland, California.
A brief statement by the Vatican's press office Monday said that Monsignor Salvatore Joseph Cordileone has been chosen for the Bay Area diocese.
Cordileone, who is 52, has been serving as an auxiliary bishop in San Diego since 2002.
He studied theology for four years at the North American College in Rome and later obtained a doctorate in canon law at Rome's Gregorian Pontifical University. (AP)

Young, orthodox, bilingual - Oaklanders are lucky to have him!

update: CNA adds a wrinkle that may explain why Oakland's vacancy was filled in an expedited fashion:

Bishop Cordileone will be taking over after Archbishop Allen Vigneron was appointed to lead the Archdiocese of Detroit in January of this year.
The speed of the appointment may be connected with the news that the interim administrator of the diocese, Fr. Dan Danielson was accused of blessing homosexual unions.

Whispers adds:

An especially outspoken supporter of California's successful Proposition 8 (the state referendum banning same-sex marriage), the star canonist who came home from Rome as an auxiliary in 2002 has become a national name in church circles both for his unstinting pro-life advocacy and, even more, his support for the Tridentine Mass.

Oakland has over 500,000 Catholics.

New bishop of Biloxi named last week

AmP reader Dan reminds me of what I missed while travelling ... an Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans and a Massachusetts native was named the new bishop of the diocese of Biloxi Mississippi:

• CNA: Diocese of Biloxi ends its wait for a bishop
• AP: Native of Massachusetts named bishop of Biloxi
• Morin named third Bishop of Biloxi (includes video)
• New bishop of Biloxi Diocese to be installed in April

Abp. Dolan - First Take

The most notable bits of Dolan coverage I've read so far ... from my feeds to your screen:


His first words to New York:

In a statement, Archbishop Dolan addressed New Yorkers, saying, "My brother bishops, priests, religious women and men, seminarians, committed Catholics of this wonderful Church, I pledge to you my love, my life, my heart, and I can tell you already that I love you, I need so much your prayers and support, I am so honored, humbled, and happy to serve as your pastor."

His reputation:

"Best known for his contagious, energetic enthusiasm, love for priesthood -- and, of course, media-savvy -- Dolan will be installed as head of the nation's second-largest local church on Easter Wednesday, 15 April, in the nation's best-known house of worship."

Revealing story:

“I was at the vespers when he was installed as [arch]bishop. And there’s a part where the bishop knocks on the door. Most do it timidly. Tap, tap. Not him — ‘Bang! Bang!’ It echoed through the cathedral and let everyone know that Timothy Dolan was there.”

Dolan was informed of the appointment "9, 10 days ago", reports Rocco:

"As opposed to his appointments as an auxiliary of St Louis and archbishop of Milwaukee when he was told that the Pope "would like [him] to" take the post, he added that Archbishop Pietro Sambi "was quite factual" in that the nuncio to Washington told him that "the Pope had appointed me" to New York -- in other words, that he had little choice but to accept."

update: Archbishop Dolan is strongly pro-life:

For the pro-life movement, Dolan has been a strong friend and ally and has been called a "hero" by leading pro-life advocates.
"It bothers me if any politician, Catholic or not, is for abortion," Dolan has said. "Because in my mind, we're talking about a civil right, we're not talking about a matter of Catholic Church discipline. We can't allow the noble pro-life cause to be reduced to a denominational issue."
Last year, Dolan took House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice-President Joe Biden to task for misrepresenting Catholic pro-life teachings.

update 2: Fr. James has posted excerpts of an interview he conducted with Abp. Dolan.

Official: Timothy Dolan to become next NYC Archbishop!

iiiiiiiiiiitttttttttssssssss DOLAN!

The official announcement, we are told by the Associated Press, will be made at 6AM EST, when the Vatican publishes its daily news bulletin.

Whispers sources say Dolan will make his first public NYC appearance at 8AM Mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral, with an 11AM press conference.

I wrote a post last week about these rumors, and refer you back to it for all the interesting Dolan tidbits I've assembled. Good catch-up reading.

I'll make two additions now: I'm currently holding a letter from Archbishop Dolan, and one of my brothers was baptized by him. ;)

update - it's official:

• Official VIS bulletin
• Arch of NY press release
• Reuters
• Associated Press

T-minus 4 hours to NY announcement?

If the new Archbishop of New York is announced today, we should find out at 5AM EST - when the Vatican bulletin is sent around the world and also uploaded to the http://www.vatican.va/ website.

I'll be waking up at a somewhat more human hour, but feel free to populate the comment box with the happy news in the meantime! If not, it's back to the waiting game. Oh, the waiting game.

update: Bulletin released ... and no announcement. Looks like it's a bust for today! But stay tuned.

update 2: "The Church's revenge on journalists?" - David Gibson. I'd hope not.

Picture: The next Archbishop of New York?

I wonder if Archbishop Timothy Dolan will still root for Marquette if he gets transferred to New York?

At this point, I would be surprised if Abp. Dolan doesn't get the nod for New York. Italian newspaper Il Reformista is claiming he's the pick. It's likely the official announcement was delayed because of this SSPX crisis.

A request for a response from him on Friday was answered with the excuse that he is "out of town on vacation and unavailable." Hmm. When asked a few days earlier about these rumors he responded with a pleasant non-denial "denial." Hmmmm.

In the meantime, regardless of whether he is picked, Abp. Dolan will continue to have a prominant presence in the American heirarchy. Whispers takes this opportunity to do an informational post on him.

Some time ago I read Abp. Dolan's Priests for the Third Millennium and found it a very profitable read. He has written a book giving lessons from the life of St. Peter entitled To Whom Shall We Go? (his episcopal motto).

Abp. Dolan also wrote the forward to my father's recently-released book: A Modern Guide to Indulgences: Rediscovering This Often Misinterpreted Teaching.

Whenever the announcement is made, I'll be on it!

update: tomorrow morning?

Rumors about the next archbishop of New York

Cathy Lynn Grossman, a USA Today blogger, does a fair job of surveying the speculation.

update: as Rocco reports, Abp. of Milwaukee Timothy Dolan is getting lots of mentions.

Breaking: New Abp. of New York to be announced soon

A Newsmax exclusive:

Pope Benedict XVI is set to announce a new Archbishop of New York to replace Cardinal Edward Egan, an informed Vatican source tells Newsmax.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source says the decision was made today and an announcement is expected “within the next week to ten days”. He says Cardinal Egan’s successor is from the “conservative and orthodox” wing of the Church.

.... Names often cited as Egan’s possible successor include Archbishop Harry Mansell of Hartford, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, Archbishop John Myers of Newark, Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez Nieves of San Juan.

Best guess among the candidates?

"... The Pope has chosen an archbishop who is “dynamic, conservative and orthodox”, he says – traits which Vatican watchers say best match those of Archbishop Dolan. The 59 year old prelate is said to be good with the media, genuine, and intelligent. He also has Irish ancestry, a common characteristic of previous archbishops of New York."I think Dolan would be very good news for New York.

(Odd that Whispers didn't have this story first....)

I'll be watching this story closely and will update you if I hear anything more credible.

V is for Vigneron!

Yesterday, on the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, Bp. Allen Vigneron became the 5th Archbishop of Detroit.

EWTN has his homily text. Catholic blogger Dianne has local coverage, including photos. I thought it interesting to see Cardinal George standing next to Cardinal "under federal investigation" Mahony.

The Detroit Free Press also has a photo gallery of the installation Mass. Here's my favorite photo:

Gimme that ol' time apostolic succession!

Two random notes: Detroit has 1.4 million Catholics. Vigneron is a spry 60.

Local press coverage:

• Detroit Free Press (plenty!): Vigneron installed as new Detroit archbishop, Archbishop-designate Vigneron aims to defend teachings, build harmony, Vigneron to touch on faith, ethics, bonds in ceremony
• Detroit News: Archbishop Vigneron installed, Live God's will, new archbishop tells crowd

update: Diane has a magnificent photopost up, with many "behind-the-scenes" shots.

Msgr. Guglielmone to become bishop of Charleston

A rare Saturday appointment:

VATICAN CITY, 24 JAN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father .... Appointed Msgr. Robert E. Guglielmone of the clergy of the diocese of Rockville Centre, U.S.A., rector of Saint Agnes Cathedral, as bishop of Charleston (area 80,401, population 4,254,000, Catholics 176,372, priests 141, permanent deacons 91, religious 192), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in New York in 1945 and ordained a priest in 1978.

More from Whispers.

Breaking: St. Louis Monsignor named new Bishop of Knoxville

update: whoops! Msgr. Stika is to become a bishop, not an archbishop. Thanks, AmP reader Jean.

Monsignor Richard Stika is to become the third bishop of Knoxville:

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Monsignor Richard Stika of the Church of the Annunziata in Ladue has been tapped by the pope to be bishop-elect of the diocese in Knoxville, Tenn.

He will ordained as bishop there and begin his duties March 19.

... Stika, 51, is a native of St. Louis. He graduated from Bishop DuBourg High School in 1975. Four years later, he graduated with a business degree from St. Louis University.

...Stika takes over for Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz as bishop of the Knoxville diocese. Kurtz was named archbishop of Louisville in August 2007. The Knoxville diocese is home to about 50,000 Catholics and covers about 14,000 square miles.

Rocco adds:

With the move, the number of vacant Stateside dioceses falls to nine, the group now led by South Carolina's statewide church of Charleston, which has been awaiting a new head since August 2007.

So much for "new bishop Tuesdays." Seems like Papa Benny is using the whole week!

Mini bishop news

Overshadowed by Monday's mega-appointment, the Diocese of Orange, CA also got a new one:

"VATICAN CITY, 3 JAN 2009 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father Appointed Fr. Cirilo Flores as auxiliary bishop of Orange in California (area 2,025, population 2,988,072, Catholics 1,165,826, priests 276, permanent deacons 93, religious 449) in the United States. The bishop-elect was born in Corona, California, U.S.A, in 1948 and was ordained a priest in 1991. He was previously pastor of St. Anne parish in Santa Ana, California."

This Bishop-elect Flores is not to be confused with this Bishop-auxiliary Flores.

Native Son Allen Vigneron appointed Archbishop of Detroit

A fitting story to mark the resumption of AmP Catholic news coverage, and an event long-awaited on these pages: Bishop Allen Vigneron (of Oakland) has been nominated as the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Detroit, MI. He will take position quickly, on the 28th of this month.

My email inbox has been humming with local updates, for six years I lived in Michigan, and for two years I attended school at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, so suffice it to say, we've been waiting for this news for a long time, because Cardinal Maida's retirement date was almost two years ago.

Bp. Vigneron is coming home to the archdiocese where he previously served as an auxiliary. He is also the first Michigan-native to hold the office. He is all but guaranteed to be made a Cardinal in the next consistory.

Bp. Vigneron's nomination is an especial boon to Sacred Heart because he served as its rector from 1998-91 and again from 1994-2003. Monday is not a typical day of the week for the Vatican to announce a US appointment, but today was the first day of classes at Sacred Heart, so it is appropriate for at least that reason.

Detroit has 1.5 million Catholics, the sixth largest US diocese. The Vatican made many, many other appointments today (one of which I'll get to in good time), part of a post-Christmas avalanche of international episcopal housekeeping, I imagine.

For the outgoing Cardinal Maida, the Michigan Catholic Conference has published a web page to pay tribute to his service to the Church in Detroit these many years. Bishop-designate Vigneron will take over Cardinal Maida's Chairmanship of the Michigan Conference of Catholic Bishops. Rocco has excellent coverage and you can follow this page for an updating feed of related stories. Fr. Z's comment box is a good place to look for more informed reactions and interesting tidbits. Bp. Vigneron has a particularly solid and vocal record on life issues, which will come in handy as Michigan attempts to continue building up a medical/pharmaceutical industry.

I think Bp. Vigneron is very good news for Detroit. He knows it well, in several capacities, and has proven himself an excellent pastor of souls in each. He seems very pleased about the appointment, even in the face of the significant challenged facing anyone who takes up the office.

More as I hear it....

Barry Knestout appointed aux. bishop of Washington, DC

News on the local front!

Msgr. Barry Knestout, formerly the pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Silver Spring, MD (where I have many friends) has been appointed our newest auxiliary bishop today by Pope Benedict:

"The Holy Father appointed Msgr. Barry C. Knestout of the clergy of the archdiocese of Washington, U.S.A., moderator of the Curia and vicar for administration, as auxiliary of the same archdiocese (area 5,447, population 2,647,492, Catholics 582,488, priests 1,000, permanent deacons 182, religious 1,505). The bishop-elect was born in Cheverly, U.S.A. in 1962 and ordained a priest in 1989."

At 46, a young bishop, one who holds a degree in architecture, was part of the planning for the sanctuary of the papal Mass earlier this year, and has also served as moderator of the curia.

Knestout is the first auxiliary to be appointed to Archbishop Donald Wuerl since he took office, Rocco notes .... and adds that Knestout's ordination Mass has been scheduled for December 29th (rats, I'll be away!).

Detroit auxiliary Quinn named coadjutor of Winona, Minnesota

As the Winona diocesan website says - "click here for all the details":

His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, has named Bishop John Michael Quinn, former Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit, as Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Winona. The announcement was made October 15 by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, papal nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Quinn will serve with and then succeed Bishop Bernard Harrington, who, upon reaching the age of 75 in September, submitted his request for retirement to the Vatican. When Bishop Harrington’s retirement is accepted, Bishop Quinn will relinquish the title of Coadjutor and become Bishop of the Diocese of Winona.

The Archdiocese of Detroit also has an info page prepared. The installation Mass will take place on December 11th.

Once again Detroit has lived up to its reputation as a bishop-making factory. Now that Quinn has moved on, that leaves bishops Reiss and Flores as the only two standing auxiliaries. At 68, Reiss seems an unlikely promotion, but Daniel Flores, at a spry 47? Now he's one to watch. It's really only a matter of time. With Quinn's departure, moreover, Detroit is about due for another auxiliary I'd say - but then again they seem to be having a hard enough time finding a new Ordinary.

I've had the opportunity of meeting Bishop Quinn several times. I was very impressed by those encounters, and have heard many good things about him from seminarians who appreciated the active interest he took in their formation at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

All God's blessings to him and the diocese of Winona as he takes up his new ministry.

Rumor: Abp. Burke's St. Louis replacement

(And before we get started, do note that the current apostolic administrator of St. Louis is not being idle.)

Whispers has the scoop:

Over recent weeks, three independent sources in divergent locales have indicated a surprise front-runner for the vacant archbishopric of St Louis: Bishop Salvatore Matano of Burlington.

A native of Providence ordained to lead Vermont's statewide diocese of 150,000 in 2005, the 62 year-old prelate was a Roman classmate and remains a close friend of the prior head of the 550,000-member Gateway City church, Archbishop Raymond Burke, now the prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Holy See's highest court. A product of the North American College and the Gregorian, he was ordained a priest at the Vatican in 1971.

... While it's of prime importance to remember that, as always, nothing is assured until the file makes its way through the standard trail of the Congregation for Bishops and the papal apartment, the sudden emergence of the New Englander's name atop a wide swath of the trans-continental buzzmill implies two things: first, that the process leading to a St Louis appointment has been fast-tracked and, second, that in keeping with Benedict's precedent for the three other diocesan bishops he's called to lead Curial dicasteries, Burke will likely have, at the very least, a strong say in the selection of his replacement.

[More.]

Running second in the rumor mill? Auxiliary Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Diego.

Although I really hope Bp. Cordileone gets promoted within California. He is needed.

Have you heard anything about Bp. Matano?

Bp. Vigneron to take over Detroit?

Tucked at the bottom of a posting on Oakland's new Cathedral opening, Whispers drops non-too-subtle hints that Bishop Vigneron might be coming back home to take over Detroit after Cardinal Maida retires:

On an in-house note, with Cardinal Adam Maida approaching his 79th birthday early next year, there are those who maintain that today's rites won't just open the doors to Oakland's new mother-church, but the long-delayed appointment of a new archbishop of Detroit... since today's a day to celebrate what is, though, more on the rest later.

Just so you know the latest. I've lost track of the number of times I've heard rumors about Cardinal Maida's appointee being announced. Bp. Vigneron would make sense on several levels however ... we'll see.

Bp. David Ricken of Cheyenne appointed to Green Bay diocese

CNA reports:

On Wednesday Pope Benedict XVI appointed Most Rev. David L. Ricken as the new bishop of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The prelate will become the 12th Bishop of Green Bay on August 28, 2008.

Bishop Ricken will go to the Diocese of Green Bay after having served as the Bishop of Cheyenne, Wyoming. During his years of service there, Bishop Ricken oversaw the establishment of Wyoming Catholic College and the spiritual lives of the 49,000 Catholics in his diocese.

Green Bay, by contrast, has nearly 350,000 Catholics. Rocco has a little more.

The latest local headlines related to this announcement are viewable here through Google news.

Appointments on Monday & Wednesday of this week? Let's see what happens Friday!

Monday surprise: Pope Benedict appoints two bishops

Fresh from the Vatican Information Service.... (on a Monday!)

Today the Holy Father:

-- Appointed Msgr. Herbert A. Bevard of the clergy of the archdiocese of Philadelphia, U.S.A., pastor of St. Athanasius parish, as bishop of Saint Thomas [United States Virgin Islands] (area 352, population 108,612, Catholics 30,000, priests 15, permanent deacons 27, religious 27), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Baltimore, U.S.A. in 1947 and ordained a priest in 1972.

-- Appointed Bishop William Francis Malooly, auxiliary of Baltimore, U.S.A., as bishop of Wilmington (area 13,916, population 1,270,734, Catholics 230,000, priests 214, permanent deacons 94, religious 380), U.S.A. He succeeds Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

More on the Wilmington appointment in the Baltimore Sun today. CNA has a tidbit and more.

See also: Rocco's day of and night before reporting.

Once again, episcopal news follows in the wake, or in close anticipation of my visit to a city. ;-)

4/10/08: Appointmentgeddon? (of new bishops, that is)

Rocco says to expect the "biggest blitz of [bishop] appointments" the Catholic Church has seen "in years."

... tomorrow.

What dioceses are up for grabs?

These dioceses currently have no bishop (with date left vacant):

• Little Rock AR - 2006 May
• Virgin Islands (US) - 2007 Jan
• Des Moines IA - 2007 Apr
• New Ulm MN - 2007 Apr
• Knoxville TN - 2007 Jun
• Green Bay - 2007 Jul
• Charleston SC - 2007 Aug
• Juneau AK - 2007 Nov
• Biloxi MS - 2008 Apr

These dioceses currently have a bishop serving past his mandatory age of retirement (75):

• Detroit MI - 2005 Mar (Abp. Adam Maida)
• New York NY - 2007 Apr (Abp. Edward Egan)
• Omaha NE - 2007 Jun
• Syracuse NY - 2007 Jul
• Kalamazoo MI - 2007 Jul
• Fort Wayne-South Bend IN - 2007 Aug
• New Orleans LA - 2007 Dec
• Wilmington DE - 2008 Jan
• Allentown PA - 2008 Mar
• Pueblo CO -2008 Mar

Of the 19 dioceses listed, Detroit and Ft. Wayne-S. Bend are the most likely to see appointments, I'd say.

So, in these final hours before the Vatican bollettino goes out - any predictions or advanced rumblings?

Can anyone remember the most number of U.S. bishops appointed on a single day in recent history?

He might.

update: Michael Dubruiel predicts four new bishops, and singles out Charleston SC.

Hmm, I wonder about the fourth....?

update 2: Rocco is now reporting bishops appointed to Little Rock & Des Moines (1st & 3rd longest vacant, respectively) and auxiliaries to Denver, San Antonio and San Francisco.

Which, as he says, makes for five appointments - but only two immediate diocese fillings.

But there might be more... stay tuned. Tomorrow morning by 7:30AM I should have an update.

update 3: yep, it happened:

• Bishop Richard Pates, 65, heretofore auxiliary of St Paul and Minneapolis, as bishop of Des Moines;
  
• Fr Anthony Taylor, 53, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish and vicar for Ministries in the archdiocese of Oklahoma City, as bishop of Little Rock;
  
• Msgr James D. Conley, 53, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Wichita (and former official of the Congregation for Bishops) as auxiliary to Archbishop Charles Chaput OFM Cap. of Denver;
  
• Fr William Justice, 65, vicar for Clergy of the archdiocese of San Francisco, as auxiliary to San Fran Archbishop George Niederauer;
  
• Fr Oscar Cantu, 41, pastor of Holy Name Parish in Houston, as auxiliary to Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio

More links to follow, but here are the names for now.

update 4: I've linked the names to their C-H pages. Whispers has coverage-o-rama.

Rumor: New Archbishop for Detroit to be announced by April 15th?

Adam Cardinal Maida is the oldest active Archbishop in America at just over 78.

Today, tucked into his coverage of a new bishop being named for Mobile AL, Rocco tells us:

In what's been described as the "surest sign" that, after countless rounds of false alarms, a Detroit transition is finally close at hand, earlier this week Maida announced that his longtime right-hand in the administration of the 1.5 million-member archdiocese, Msgr John Zenz, would take a pastorate effective 1 June. In a letter to his central staff dated Monday, the cardinal said that Auxiliary Bishop Francis Reiss would assume the duties of vicar-general and moderator of the curia on a "pro-tem" basis "for the next few months," ostensibly pending the arrival of a new archbishop.

Wouldn't you know it, I went to school in Detroit for two years and never once came across Bp. Reiss [pic].

From a personal source, I can add to the above rumors the one that Cardinal Maida is no longer scheduling official appointments and appearances past April 15th.

So, if you're looking for an announcement, it will probably happen by April 15th. Gee, that date rings a bell .... and Pope Benedict has been known to personally announce appointments when he is visiting countries.

Bishop Thomas John Rodi of Biloxi goes Mobile (Alabama, that is.)

Bishop Thomas John Rodi of the diocese of Biloxi has been named the Archbishop of the archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama. From the Vatican's bollettino:

"[Today the Holy Father] Appointed Bishop Thomas John Rodi of Biloxi, U.S.A., as metropolitan archbishop of Mobile (area 59,467, population 1,680,384, Catholics 67,351, priests 127, permanent deacons 62, religious 179), U.S.A. The archbishop-elect was born in New Orleans, U.S.A. in 1949, he was ordained a priest in 1978 and consecrated a bishop in 2001. He succeeds Archbishop Oscar Hugh Lipscomb, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit."

Archbishop designate Rodi is a graduate of Georgetown, and has a degree in law from Tulane. He received his licentiate in canon law at Catholic University of America and taught canon law at Notre Dame seminary. Once again an extensively-educated and canonically-trained prelate gets the nod.

More coverage here from Whispers.

The Mobile Archdiocesan website has a nice welcome graphic on their homepage as well as these links:

• Press Release
• Biography
• Archbishop Lipscomb's Letter
• Archbishop Designate Rodi's Letter
• What Next?: "Archbishop Designate Rodi's installation ceremony will be held Friday, June 6th at 3:00 in the afternoon at the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception."

A couple cool little details:

Archbishop-Emeritus Lipscomb and Archbishop-Designate Rodi will celebrate today’s 12:10 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

Archbishop [Designate] Rodi’s first name, Thomas, is now included in the prayer of the Eucharistic Canon at Masses celebrated within this diocese.

Major props to the Archdiocese of Mobile for a prompt, informative web presentation of the announcement.

Just as an aside, perhaps someone can help me out: why exactly is a diocese with less than 70k Catholics an archdiocese? No offense to the fine people of Mobile, but I just wonder how that works.

Secondly, it's very interesting to note that Abp-d. Rodi will continue to administer his old diocese of Biloxi by "decision of the Holy Father". The priest shortage has caused many dioceses to have a single priest ministering to multiple parishes, but I wonder here if we are seeing the first instance of a bishop administering multiple dioceses. Or this could just be a temporary, one-time thing. Either way, I'd like to see this decision discussed a bit.

Breaking: Msgr. Michael Duca of Dallas appointed to Shreveport, LA

Local Dallas outlet WFAA:

Monsignor Michael Duca of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas has been appointed bishop of Shreveport by Pope Benedict XVI.

[Fr.] Duca, a Dallas native, has served as rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas since 1996.

“I am humbled and honored by the Pope’s decision to appoint me as bishop of the Diocese of Shreveport," [Fr.] Duca said. "It is an incredible blessing that I look forward to, but not without some mixed emotions.

The Vatican bulletino announcement:

The Holy Father appointed Msgr. Michael Gerard Duca of the clergy of the diocese of Dallas, U.S.A., rector of the Holy Trinity Seminary at Irving, as bishop of Shreveport (area 28,837, population 824,000, Catholics 40,500, priests 51, permanent deacons 22, religious 70), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Dallas in 1952 and ordained a priest in 1978.

Rocco has more:

A former diocesan vocations director, chaplain at Dallas' Southern Methodist University and Angelicum-trained canonist, the bishop-elect, 55, succeeds Bishop William Friend, who retired as head of the 40,000-member diocese in December 2006.

Seminarians go on to be priests, Seminarian formators go on to be bishops.

Here is the announcement from the diocesan website.

Anyone have personal contact with the monsignor?

Rocco: Shreveport, LA to get new bishop tomorrow morning, Mobile next?

update: Michael Duca of Dallas appointed to Shreveport, LA

The next best thing to the Vatican's bulletino:

This week's first US vacancy to fall comes tomorrow with the appointment of a new bishop for Louisana's diocese of Shreveport. The traditional warning shots have been firing off for some days now, with the latest sending word of the standard 10am press conference in the border diocese. (Whispers in the Loggia)

Shreveport has been without a bishop since December 2006, the second longest diocesan vacancy in the U.S. behind Little Rock, AR (May 2006). After this post has been filled, there will still be eight dioceses in the U.S. without a bishop, and eleven more dioceses whose bishop is serving past the mandatory retirement age of 75. (Source: CanonLaw.info).

Rocco says that more bishop apointments will come down the stretch in these next couple weeks:

.... as soon as [this] week, the Pope is expected to appoint a new archbishop of Mobile to succeed the venerable native son Oscar Lipscomb, the nation's longest-serving metropolitan, who reached the retirement age of 75 in September 2006. Multiple sources report that the nod will fall to the senior suffragan of the province, Bishop Thomas Rodi of Biloxi.

[More from the Sun Herald, citing Rocco]

New bishops as presents from the boss before he visits? Check.

Speaking of check, check back here tomorrow morning once we get the official announcement.

Official: Aux. Bp. Earl Boyea takes over Lansing Diocese

From the Italian Vatican bulletino, Earl Boyea will be the fifth bishop of Lansing:

"Il Papa ha nominato Vescovo di Lansing (U.S.A.) S.E. Mons. Earl A. Boyea, finora Vescovo titolare di Siccenna ed Ausiliare dell’arcidiocesi di Detroit.

S.E. Mons. Earl A. Boyea."

The Lansing diocese website has been updated.

Mlive.com reports that Boyea, 56, will be installed as bishop at 2pm, April 29th in Lansing.

Local ABC 12 has a frontpage graphic and a good accompanying biography:

Bishop Boyea was born April 10, 1951. His home parish was Our Lady of the Lakes in Waterford where he attended the parish school. After eighth grade, he entered Sacred Heart Seminary High School and then attended its college, where he earned a B.A. in history. From there, he went to the North American College in Rome and studied at the Gregorian University, where he received an S.T.B in 1976 and an S.T.L. in biblical theology in 1980.

He was ordained a priest on May 20, 1978. After ordination, he served as associate pastor at St. Michael Parish, Monroe, and then at St. Timothy Parish, Trenton. After a brief stint as the temporary administrator at St. Christine Parish, Detroit, he returned to Sacred Heart Seminary as professor of church history and scripture. In addition to assisting with Masses on weekends, Father Boyea earned an M.A. in American history from Wayne State University in 1984. In 1987, he received his Ph.D. in church history from the Catholic University of America. From 1990 through 2000, he served as dean of studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and in 2000, was named a prelate of honor.

In February 2000, Msgr. Boyea became rector/president of the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. He served there until he was named auxiliary bishop of Detroit and titular bishop of Siccenna. He was ordained a bishop Sept. 13, 2002. His motto, in manus tuas (into your hands), is taken from the final words of Jesus on the cross, according to the Gospel of Luke.

Jeremy Priest, a Detroit local, called it, and has this to say about Boyea:

I'm betting on Detroit Auxiliary, Bishop Earl Boyea, but it's anyone's guess. I've found Boyea to be one of the more articulate voices among those who speak regularly at the Bishop's Conference meetings, so that would be nice. I'm also of the opinion that Boyea might have the gumption to intervene with Governor Granholm and her scandelous promotion of abortion.

Bishop Boyea was my rector when I was a seminarian at the Pontifical College Josephinum. He was also the academic dean at Sacred Heart Major Seminary and has a more-than-adequate academic background to oversee a diocese with two of the state's most significant universities.

re: the Granholm situation. At this point, I'm not holding my breath.

Dr. Philip Blosser notes that "His Excellency, Bishop Earl A. Boyea has also served as celebrant in the Sunday morning Tridentine Mass," rearranging his schedule to do so often.

I've been very impressed with what I've seen of Bishop Boyea. I think he will do a great job in Lansing.

more: backstory here.

update: Rocco provides his excellent coverage, and a bonus:

According to the timetable's latest version, Detroit's new archbishop can be expected "after Easter, but before the pallium [29 June]."

Hmm. I've lost count of the number of missed deadlines/predictions/rumors on that one.

Associated Press has brief coverage, and the Lansing State Journal does little better.

Local Lansing Catholics are welcoming their new bishop across St. Blogs:

• Unam Sanctam Catholicam: "Let's hope all goes well with our new shepherd!"
• The Fox's Den:"I am curious to see what our new bishop shall bring."
• The Great Commandment: "Bishop Boyea ... was my teacher and spiritual director for two years. [He] is a man of deep prayer and great learning."
• Well: (a former classmate of mine notes my reference to another former classmate of mine).
• Our Life in Austria (but a Lansing native) notes the appointment. (also a former classmate of mine).

If you are a Catholic blogging in the Lansing diocese or in Michigan feel free to drop a link in the combox.

update 2: video of the announcement from the LSJ. (ph/t: "G8S".)

Breaking: Lansing, Michigan diocese to get new bishop tomorrow

This notification is circulating the diocese today, sent by the Lansing Director of Communications:

"Bishop Carl F. Mengeling, fourth Bishop of Lansing, cordially invites you to attend a media conference at 10:30am, Wednesday, February 27 at St. Mary Cathedral Parish Hall, 219 Seymour Avenue, Lansing, where you will be introduced to the fifth Bishop of Lansing."

As a former (six year) resident of the diocese, I'm paying especially close attention.

Rocco (who had the drop on me by 47 minutes) adds "Early word says they're keeping it in the province." If they stay within the diocese, my top pick would be the chancellor, Msgr. Steven Raica (2nd from the right).

If they stay within the province, Bishop John M Quinn, an auxiliary of Detroit since 2003, is the prelate I've heard mentioned most frequently. His bio is available here (PDF), and coat of arms description here (PDF).

Updates as soon as I hear them....

update: "chancery grunt" in the combox below may have picked up on something I missed:

"I suspect that Rocco's posting, as always, has a hidden clue. Particularly the way he writes that "Earl-y word says they're keeping it in the province."

That would seem to indicate Bishop Earl Boyea, auxiliary of Detroit and titular bishop of Siccenna."

Bp. Boyea would be an excellent pick, from what I've seen and heard of him. His bio and Coat of Arms (PDFs).

related: "The future of the Michigan episcopate"

update 2: Lansing Journal adds some context (excerpts):

After waiting more than two years for the Vatican to accept his resignation, the Rev. Carl Mengeling is stepping down as Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing.

The new bishop with be the fifth to serve in the 10-county Diocese of Lansing, which includes more than 200,000 Catholics.

Mengeling, who came to Lansing from Indiana, was ordained as bishop in January 1996.

Mengeling, now 77, had surgery for bladder cancer last spring. The surgery removed all the cancer and he did not need chemotherapy or radiation. He returned to work after recovering from the surgery.

Report: CUA President O'Connell to become bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend?

The Tower, the "Independent student weekly of The Catholic University of America" is reporting as a front-page exclusive today that CUA President David M. O'Connell "has been mentioned as a replacement for bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend ... John M. D'Arcy" (who is six months past retirement).

Their sources for the rumor include a CUA student who works at the USCCB, several students who have heard CUA department members discussing it, and even one student who "said she had overheard O'Connell directly discussing his upcoming departure." O'Connell has served as the CUA president for almost ten years, "the second longest tenure of a president in CUA history."

To balance the issue, it should be noted that The Tower has a reputation of being a thorn in almost everyone's side who isn't a writer for The Tower. But despite the paper's reputation for being contrary (it is, after all, the student paper), the pieces they've assembled do seem to fit together in this case. And this despite the fact that their sources for the story are, essentially, a bunch of work-study kids. Frankly, it shouldn't be a surprise that they've got the drop on this one.

Rumors of O'Connell's departure have been circulating on the CUA campus for several months at this point, and the destination diocese would make use of his experience in administration and Catholic education. There is, after all, a certain "bastion" of Catholic higher-level education within the diocesan territory.

Final thoughts. It is next to impossible that O'Connell would step down before having welcomed Pope Benedict to the campus in mid-April. After that, however, it's anyone's guess. Pope Benedict might even take the opportunity of his visit to officially announce the appointment, though I doubt he would allow such an announcement distract from the more important purposes of his wider itinerary.

Still, you never know, the pope might want to see the look on O'Connell's face.

Also, in a related vein, I've got several posts relating to Pope Benedict's April visit in the works.

[photo credit: Chase McAlpine]

Local Event: Abp. Timothy Broglio installed to U.S. Military Archdiocese

The notification from the U.S. Military Archdiocese website:

The Most Rev Timothy Paul Broglio (biography in Word document) is appointed the new Military Ordinary by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.

Mass of InstallationFriday, 25 January 2008

Basilica of the National Shrineof the Immaculate Conception

DCTel: 202.526.8300

Public Mass begins at 2:00 PM. Please arrive no later than 1:00 PM.

The Mass will be broadcast live on EWTN (streaming).

More information from Whispers.

James Vann Johnstone to Diocese of Springfield - Cape Girardeau

The Diocese of Springfield - Cape Girardeau, which serves Catholics in Southern Missouri, had a new priest appointed to serve as its bishop today, as the Vatican bulletino announces:

The Holy Father appointed Msgr. James Vann Johnston of the clergy of Knoxville, U.S.A., chancellor and moderator of the diocesan curia, as bishop of Springfield - Cape Girardeau (area 66,586, population 1,248,000, Catholics 64,900, priests 128, permanent deacons 13, religious 222), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Knoxville in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1990. He succeeds Bishop John J. Leibrecht, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

Msgr. James Vann Johnston was born in Knoxville, TN, is 48 years of age, has been a priest for 17 years, and was ordained by Bp. Anthony O'Connell of Palm Beach, FL [source: C-H]. Local coverage from the News-Leader.

CNA reports that he is a Canon Lawyer, which is not surprising considering he was in charge of the diocesan curia (maybe having your JCL is even a necessary prerequisite to the post?).

{edit: thanks to Seth for finding us a nice picture of the Bishop-elect.}

Excerpts from a short interview with Fr. Johnston from 2005:

Q: What are you most thankful for?

A: How God has revealed how good and extraordinarily generous he is to me personally and really to everyone.

Q: How will you celebrate your anniversary [to ordination to the priesthood]?

A: I’ll probably offer a Mass of thanksgiving and have dinner with my family.

Q: Who inspired you to become a priest?

A: One would be my mother, in part because of her faith, her generosity, her service, and her love for God and for the church. The other person, significantly, was Pope John Paul II. . . . His whole way of presenting the priesthood was an inspiration to me.

Q: What did your parents think when you first broached the subject of the priesthood?

A: My mother was pleasantly surprised. My dad was surprised, but he had reservations because I had graduated as an engineer and had a very good job with a company in Texas.

He sounds like a fine choice to me. His ordination is scheduled for March 31.

David Cheney of C-H says in the combox that Archbishop Burke is a likely (but not confirmed) consecrator.

In other episcopal news, Rocco reports that Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB, of Indianapolis has been diagnosed with cancer (Hodgkin’s). You can send the Archbishop a prayer intention here. I did.

update: Rocco provides more info on Msgr. Johnstone (and also found a better picture of him). Notable:

A veteran hiker and nature buff, the bishop-elect made the news in 2005 when, on an expedition, he and two friends helped rescue a family who came perilously close to being taken down a steep waterfall at Montana's Glacier National Park. For their courage, the three -- all clerics -- received the Department of the Interior's Citizen Award for Bravery at a DC ceremony.

Much more data available here on the Diocese of Knoxville website press release.

Debate topic: The future of the Michigan episcopate

This is a busy week for me, so posting will be less frequent. On the upside, however, I'll be trying to focus on topics and questions that provoke debate and welcome contributions, like this one, concerning the future of the Michigan episcopate.

Rocco reports today that, after a month of near-silence, several rumors broke out that Pope Benedict was about to nominate a new Archbishop for Detroit. Those rumors just as quickly went bust. But Rocco concludes, "That's not to say an appointment isn't closer than it had been... just don't expect anything immediately." Yeah, I've been hearing those kinds of things for years.

Rocco lists these bishops as having been mentioned as possible successors to Maida at one point or another:

• Archbishop John Myers of Newark
• Bp. Robert Carlson of Saginaw
• Bp. Terry Steib of Memphis
• Bp. Thomas Wenski of Orlando
• Bp. John Nienstedt of New Ulm
• Msgr. Robert Sable of Detroit

The current favorite in Rocco's opinion? Bp. Allen Vigneron of Oakland, "himself a former Detroit auxiliary and rector of its Sacred Heart Major Seminary." Vigneron is well-regarded by Cardinals Maida and Szoka.

Here's the roundup for Michigan dioceses, and the bishops who are currently serving them:

• Archdiocese of Detroit, under Cdl. Maida, is 2.73 years past the retirement age limit.
• In second place, the Diocese of Lansing, Bp. Mengeling is 2.13 years past retirement.
• In third place, the Diocese of Kalamazoo, where Bp. Murray is 0.43 years past 75 (since July).
• Bp. Cooney, of the Diocese of Gaylord, will reach retirement in 1.75 years.
• Bp. Hurley, of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, will reach retirement in 4.47 years.
• Bp. Carlson of the Diocese of Saginaw, meanwhile, is almost 11.55 years away.
• And finally, Bp. Sample, the second-youngest bishop in the U.S., has 27.81 years to go.

In other words, in the next five years, Michigan could see 5 out of its 7 dioceses change hands.

Back in 1995, my father Ed Peters published an article in Homiletic & Pastoral Review entitled "The Coming Bishop Crunch", available online here. In it, he says:

"The question I want to consider now is simple: during just the three years from 2005 to 2007, where will we find 45 men "outstanding for their solid faith, good morals, piety, zeal for souls, wisdom, prudence and other virtues and talents, possessing advanced degrees or true expertise in scripture, theology, canon law..." (1983 CIC 378) to fill those episcopal slots? If only for mathematical reasons, we can't count on the present pool of bishops to cover the bases." [Read on.]

Looking to the particular situation in Michigan, many folks expect (with some good reason) that one of the four currently-serving Detroit auxiliaries will be tapped to take over a Michigan diocese eventually:

• Earl Alfred Boyea, Jr - 56, native of Pontiac, MI. He would be a good candidate, I think.
• Daniel Ernest Flores - The youngest U.S. Bishop (I believe) at 46. Ordained a priest for Corpus Christi, TX. Gauranteed, in my humble opinion, his own diocese eventually, but I doubt it will be in Michigan.
• John Michael Quinn - Almost 62, born in Detroit. I've heard him proposed for Lansing.
• Francis Ronald Reiss - 67, also born in Detroit. I've never heard much about him.

Of the above, I'd say Bp. Quinn taking over the Diocese of Lansing from Bp. Mengeling has the highest probability of happening. Second to that would be Boyea taking over either Lansing or *maybe* Kalamazoo. Flores is performing a critical service among the spanish-speaking communitees in Detroit, and I don't think there is anywhere (in Michigan) he could be more fruitfully employed. I'd be surprised to see Reiss go anywhere.

Allright, that's my $0.02, the comments are open.... have at it.

update: Publius brings up a line of speculation that slipped my mind:

"Boyea has been rumored to take over Fort Wayne-South Bend when the over-75 Bishop D'Arcy retires...Of course thats just a rumor. It does make some sense though, FW-SB has a history of recieving auxiliary Bishop's from elsewhere and Boyea has an academic background which would help him deal with Notre Dame. Regardless, Fort Wayne-South Bend is a see not to be overlooked namely because of Notre Dame."

To which I would add that Boyea served as the academic dean of Sacred Heart Major Seminary (where most Michigan seminarians receive formation ) and he still maintains a presence there.

update 2: An on-the-ground source adds that Boyea also served as rector of the Josiphinum in Columbus (thanks to J.D. Aquila in the combox as well), and used to write the Q. & A. for the Michigan Catholic.

Fresh from Alaska: Bp. Warfel to Montana

From today's Vatican bulletino:

VATICAN CITY, NOV 20, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Michael W. Warfel of Juneau, U.S.A., as bishop of Great Falls-Billings (area 241,276, population 391,360, Catholics 51,629, priests 74, permanent deacons 6, religious 81), USA.

Rocco had it first.

Great Falls-Billings has been without a bishop for 16 months.

Other vacant dioceses (and date made vacant):

• Little Rock AR - 2006 May
• Shreveport LA - 2006 Dec
• Virgin Islands (US) - 2007 Jan
• Des Moines IA - 2007 Apr
• New Ulm MN - 2007 Apr
• Knoxville TN - 2007 Jun
• Green Bay - 2007 Jul
• Charleston SC - 2007 Aug

More:

• Article: "A culture based on lies weakens its structures and cannot endure" - Bp. Warfel
• Book: Fathers, Sons and Brothers: Catholic Men Transforming the World - Bp. Warfel

Breaking: Timothy Broglio to become Archbishop for U.S. Military Services

Rocco rumored it last Friday, and comes through with the goods today:

The 55 year-old Cleveland native, heretofore apostolic nuncio in the Dominican Republic and delegate to Puerto Rico [related: Catholic Heirarchy page], will greet the officials and staff of his new charge later this morning at the archdiocese's Washington headquarters. His installation will take place at the capital's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception; its date remains to be announced. For only the fourth time in history, a US bishop ordained for Vatican service has returned to lead a Stateside diocese.

(On the horizon for tomorrow? Bishop Michael Warfel of Juneau to Great Falls-Billings, Montana, which has been vacant since July 2006, second-longest only to Little Rock, AR.)

Archbishop Broglio has a JCD in Canon Law from the Gregorian in Rome, and is also a graduate of Boston College where he majored in Classics and Georgetown. [Related: Click here to hear an address of his given in Cleveland].

Abp. Broglio was also chief of staff for secretary of state Cardinal Sodano for some time. The U.S. Military Services serves about 1.5 million Catholics, including all military and their families.

More briefly from Associated Press and a 2001 article about him in the Boston Chronicle.

Rocco observes:

The rapid pace of the succession process would seem to signal the import with which the Holy See holds the pastoral care of the nation's armed services spread across the globe, but would also match the DC-based post with a prelate keenly aware of the Vatican's oft-critical views of American policy, both at home and abroad.

Staff at the Archdiocesan Military Services here in Brookland, DC have been told to prepare for a special guest scheduled to arrive at 10am this morning.

... now if I didn't have a class to attend right now, I could run over there and maybe catch a peak!

Update: Vatican bulletino confirms & CNA relates.

[photo source: John Carroll University]

Dolan gets his Aux., and the O.F.M. Conv.'s get their first Bp.

Update: Look at that happy (arch)bishop with his new bishop(-elect). More from Rocco.

(apologies for the great number of abbrevs.)

Anyway, Tuesday is "new bishop appointment day in the United States" and today we have a first:

[From Today's VIS: Pope Benedict...] Appointed Fr. William Patrick Callahan O.F.M. Conv., spiritual director of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Milwaukee ... U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Chicago, U.S.A. in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1977.

Rocco:

... a favorite of Archbishop Timothy Dolan has been recalled from Rome to assist the Milwaukee prelate.

Conventual Franciscan Friar Fr William Callahan, 57, [is the new] auxiliary bishop for the Wisconsin flock of 675,000. Known as "Black" Franciscans due to the color of their habit, Callahan is the first Conventual Friar to ever be raised to the episcopacy in the United States.

Another bishop-elect with significant experience in the formation of seminarians, bishop-elect Callahan currently serves as Spiritual Director at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Fr. Callahan was also responsible for the restoration of the Basilica of St. Josaphat during his tenure there as Rector-Paster. A revealing little story from the Basilica's website:

New light fixtures, replicating the originals, were fabricated by Steve Kaniewski of Milwaukee Brass Lighting Gallery. This would never have happened had it not been for the fact that Fr. William [Callahan] (who had been stationed at the Basilica as a newly ordained priest in 1977), hid one of the original light fixtures from the old Post Office in the Basilica attic for fear it would be thrown away (an action typical of "modernizing"). Fr. William [Callahan] produced the original piece at a planning meeting when new light fixtures were being considered for the Basilica.

It was quite a job. As you can see. As you can see again. Slideshow here.

More on today's appointment at CNA, Associated Press & the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Jaime Soto for Sacramento as new coadjutor bishop

While Tuesday is normally "new bishop day" in the U.S., this morning's VIS provided a Thursday surprise:

The Holy Father appointed Bishop Jaime Soto, auxiliary of the diocese of Orange in California, U.S.A., as coadjutor of Sacramento (area 110,284, population 3,381,449, Catholics 541,321, priests 260, permanent deacons 127, religious 284), U.S.A.

Rocco has more details.

I'm glad Bp. Soto is escaping out from under Bp. Tod Brown.

Update: the Sacramento Bee has coverage.

A Baker for Birmingham

Birmingham (home diocese of EWTN) has a new bishop ... Robert Baker of Charleston.

• CWNews has the story
• Rocco reports
• Amy Welborn knows him
• And so does her husband, Michael
• The Birmingham News has a short story and bio

I'd love to blog more, but I only have a few precious minutes during this, my lunch break....

Zubik Zooms to Pittsburgh

Okay, I just wanted to use "Zooms" in a blog title.

.... anyway, today's VIS announces:

[The Holy Father] Appointed Bishop David A. Zubik of Green Bay, U.S.A., as bishop of Pittsburgh (area 9,722, population 1,956,597, Catholics 781,811, priests 531, permanent deacons 37, religious 1,455), U.S.A.

Rocco has much coverage.

Post-Gazette (1) (2) has local coverage as does Tribune-Review.

The Local 4 here, Associated Press here & CNA here.

From what I've heard, Zubik's a fine choice. God Bless him!

Pittsburgh the next to fall?

Update: Things appear to be in overdrive, and now the timeframe could be as early as ... tomorrow?!

Rocco is setting off speculation that Pittsburgh will have a new bishop appointed in a matter of "weeks":

In other terna news, the Pope is said to finally have the dossier for the bishopric of Pittsburgh on his desk. The final shortlist, received in Rome last month, was reportedly brought up at the last pre-summer meeting of the Congregation for Bishops in late June. An announcement ending the year-plus-long vacancy, created by the promotion of Donald Wuerl to Washington, is expected within "weeks."

The Pittsburgh post-gazette interviewed Rocco and adds details of its own:

No names of potential appointees were attached to these reports. But some have been circulating since then-Bishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh was appointed archbishop of Washington, D.C,, in May 2006. Most prominent are Bishop Blase Cupich, 58, of Rapid City, S.D., Bishop Dennis Schnurr, 59, of Duluth, Minn., and Bishop David Zubik, 57, of Green Bay, Wis., a popular former auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh.

The P-G adds an interesting detail about how such rumors are started (or news is gained, depending on your perspective):

The Rev. Louis Vallone, pastor of St. John of God, McKees Rocks, is currently teaching a canon law course in Rome, where he has been seeking news of the Pittsburgh post.

"I heard that the [list] definitely came from the apostolic delegate [in the United States] to the Congregation for Bishops. We have also heard that it was possible that the congregation had vetted it and sent it to the pope," he said.

If the list cleared that quickly, he said, it probably means that all three men are already bishops of their own dioceses. If they were auxiliary bishops, without a record of leadership, the congregation would have taken longer to vet their qualifications, he said.

One might look askance at this sort of information-culling. However, talk to most any priest in Rome and they normally have their ears to the keyhole. It's the Roman version of water cooler drama.

Since Pope Benedict seems to favor giving auxiliaries their own "bishopric," let's focus on those rumors:

Auxiliary bishops mentioned for the post include auxiliary Bishop Paul Bradley of Pittsburgh, who has been running the diocese as its administrator since June 2006, and earning high praise from priests. The others are auxiliary Bishops Thomas Paprocki, 54, of Chicago, and Joseph McFadden, 60, of Philadelphia.

Next, a little context for this appointment:

Of 10 vacant dioceses in the United States, Pittsburgh's is the second-longest unfilled, behind Birmingham, Ala., which has been open since May 2005. Ten more dioceses have bishops past retirement age, three since 2005.

And now, the absolutely obligatory quotation from Thomas Reese, SJ:

The fact that the Vatican offices shut for August means there may be a push to clear the backlog, said the Rev. Thomas Reese, senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Institute at Georgetown University, who studies the Catholic hierarchy.

"There is a certain pressure to clear the decks before they all go on vacation," he said.

Father Vallone pointed out that delays can occur if the chosen man turns it down.
"I still think it could be September, or even later," he said.

The article ends with the tidbit that bishop appointments are made known to diocesan staff sometimes in a "matter of hours, not days." I wonder if that explains why the official diocesan websites are often so slow on the uptake when appointments are announced.

At any rate, we should keep the bishop-nominees and Catholics of Pittsburgh in our prayers.

O'Brien to replace Keeler as Abp. of Baltimore

Rocco had the drop at 6:05 this morning:

This morning, Pope Benedict accepted the age-induced resignation of Cardinal William Keeler as archbishop of Baltimore, naming Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of the Military Services USA as the fourteenth successor to John Carroll, the nation’s founding bishop.

Today's Vatican Information Service bulletin confirms:

The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Edwin Frederick O’Brien, military ordinary for the U.S.A., as metropolitan archbishop of Baltimore (area 12,430, population 3,055,477, Catholics 517,679, priests 545, permanent deacons 178, religious 1,380), U.S.A. He succeeds Cardinal William Henry Keeler, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

Reports from Catholic news outlets:

• CWNews: "The appointment in Baltimore gives Archbishop O'Brien a high-profile position as the Church there prepares to celebrate the 200th anniversary of its establishment as a metropolitan archdiocese-- which occurred simultaneously with the establishment of new American dioceses in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Bardstown, Kentucky."
• CNA: "Archbishop O’Brien was previously the head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services which has 1.5 million Catholics, two auxiliary bishops and 300 priests in uniform."
• CNS: "[Keeler] has been a bishop since 1979 and had headed the Baltimore Archdiocese for more than 18 years."

Onge again, a bishop chosen with significant seminary/formation experience: "Prior to his ordination as bishop, Archbishop O’Brien served as Rector at two seminaries, St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, NY and the Pontifical North American College in Rome." [source.]

It should also be remembered that O'Brien coordinated the recent U.S. seminary visitations conducted by the Holy See. [more.]

Rocco has more analysis with his post.

Some excerpts from MSM reporting:

• Baltimore Sun: "Caine warned against reading anything into the appointment of a 68-year-old to replace Keeler. He will have to submit his resignation at 75. "At the very least, he'll be here seven years," Caine said, adding that with the exception of Keeler and two or three of his predecessors, many others named to lead the Baltimore archdiocese served relatively short terms."
• Associated Press: "Newly appointed Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien will focus on recruiting priests to the diocese's two seminaries, drawing on his personal motto, "I will give you shepherds of my own heart," he said Thursday."
• Washington Post: "At a press conference in Baltimore this morning, O'Brien said the news of his appointment hit him like "a thunderbolt" when he received a call from Rome on July 3, the Associated Press reported. He said he is leaving his current post with "mixed emotions. I just loved the military," O'Brien said. "The service has taught me so much."

Keeler plans to remain in Baltimore as head of the Basilica Historic Trust. O'Brien will be installed as Archbishop on October 1st.

More as I read it.

Superior gets an upgrade: Peter Christensen

From CNA:

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has accepted the resignation offered by Bishop Raphael M. Fliss due to his reaching the canonical age of retirement and named a new bishop for the Diocese of Superior. Bishop-elect Peter F. Christensen will take the helm of the northern-Wisconsin diocese after serving for 22 years as a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis.

Bishop-elect Christensen has an interesting background. He was born in Pasadena, CA, and moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1975. He worked for several years as a commercial artist (graphic designer, claims Rocco) before entering seminary.

Most notably, he was behind the dynamite growth of St. John Vianney Seminary (as rector and spiritual director), where I have several friends now studying. As Rocco notes, "Keeping with a distinct trend of this pontificate, another US cleric with an extensive background in priestly formation has been elevated to the episcopate."

The previous bishop of Superior, Raphael Fliss, had been serving 20 months past his canonical age of retirement (75) prior to this appointment.

The Diocese of Superior website has been updated and says to check the Catholic Herald website for more updates. Bishop-elect Christensen's parish website has a short biography of him.

As Rocco points out, Kalamazoo MI, within a week's time, will also be ready for a new appointment, making it the third diocese in Michigan due for a change (along with Lansing and Detroit). Whadya say, how about a triple play?

Bishop Joseph Kurtz comes in first for Louisville

As Rocco rumored on Saturday, Bp. Joseph Kurtz has been appointed to succeed Thomas Kelly as the ninth Archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky today.

Rocco adds: "After praying with the priest-consultors of his new charge – a moment reportedly arranged at his own request – the fourth archbishop of Louisville will meet the press in a 10.30am news conference at his pastoral center. He’ll likely receive his winner’s saddle – the metropolitan’s pallium – from the hands of B16 in just over two weeks’ time."

Amy chimes in: "Bishop Kurtz was the second bishop of Knoxville (the diocese was created from the Diocese of Nashville in 1988), having served for almost ten years now. I had never met Bishop Kurtz, but never heard anything but wonderful things about him ... The Diocese of Knoxville seems to have done well under Bishop Kurtz and it will be interesting to see what happens in Louisville under his pastoral care."

The Associated Press gives some statistics:

Kurtz, 60, has served as bishop of the 50,000-member diocese of Knoxville, Tenn., since 1999. Before that, he was a priest for 27 years in the Diocese of Allentown in Pennsylvania.

... The Louisville archdiocese spans 24 counties with more than 200,000 Catholics.

More on Archbishop-elect Kurtz from his biography:

"[Kurtz] attends all meetings of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and serves on four of the council’s committees: Pro-Life, Marriage and Family, Budget and Finance, and Administrative. He is a board member of Catholic Relief Services, the official international relief and development agency of the U.S. Catholic community. Bishop Kurtz was elected chair of the Committee on Marriage and Family for a three-year term that began in 2005. He is a member of the board of governors for the Pontifical North American College in Rome and he serves as episcopal advisor for the Catholic Social Workers National Association."

The Archdiocese of Louisville website has been updated:

• Statement from Most Rev. Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D.
• Statement from Most Rev. Thomas C. Kelly, O.P.
• Curriculum Vita of Most Rev. Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D.
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Backgrounder
• Archdiocesan Fact Sheet

Archbishop-elect Kurtz will be installed on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15th of this year.

From all accounts this is an excellent appointment and Bishop Kurtz has a fine record of service.

Looking at the U.S. diocesan landscape, the appointment of a new Louisville Archbishop came nine months after Thomas Kelly reached the mandatory age for retirement.

There are now 10 dioceses in the U.S. with bishops serving past their retirement age (Detroit & Lansing among them ... Kalamazoo will be added to that list in July). There are 8 dioceses with no bishop currently serving. Knoxville is also now in need of a new bishop appointment.

New Co-Adjutor of Minneapolis has ties to Detroit

Update Day 2: Amy links to the Northland Catholic blog, and Rocco has his coverage up now (including a beautiful picture of Neidstedt).

Update: Via Jeff, a very informative post by Thomas A. Szyszkiewicz @ Epiphany.

Also, the Associated Press has come out with its coverage, with some nice quotes from Bp. Nienstedt.

Original post:

Archbishop Harry Flynn is one year from retirement, and today Pope Benedict provided a successor for him in Minneapolis. From today's Vatican Information Service:

"[The Holy Father appointed:] Bishop John Clayton Nienstedt of New Ulm, U.S.A., as coadjutor archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (area 17,225, population 3,027,000, Catholics 837,000, priests 514, permanent deacons 221, religious 1,206), U.S.A. The archbishop-elect was born in Detroit, U.S.A., in 1947, he was ordained a priest in 1974, and consecrated a bishop in 1996."
Bishop Nienstedt was ordained a priest of Detroit, and made an auxiliary there in 1996 (consecrated by Maida, Szoka & Hickey). He has been the bishop of New Ulm since 2001.

Of course, in providing for Minneapolis' upcoming vacancy with a Bishop who already has charge of a diocese, that means New Ulm must now be provided for eventually. That makes eight U.S. diocese that are vacant, not to mention the eleven bishops that are serving past their 75th birthday (the mandatory age for submitting their resignation), as Dom reminds us.

Included among the bishops serving beyond their retirement age is my own, Carl Mengling of Lansing (76 & 1/2) and also our local Archbishop, Cardinal Maida (Over 77).

Fr. Brian Stanley has an informative post on Amy's comment page:

The Church of St. Paul-Minneapolis is very blessed to receive such a fine bishop. Bishop Nienstedt was the "founding" rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, when Cardinal Szoka charged him with the responsibility for taking over the college seminary and adding a graduate program for theology. Bishop Nienstedt has a doctorate in moral theology, and I recall that his thesis was on in vitro fertilization.

No doubt there are more than a few Detroiters who are pleased with this appointment, but for diverse reasons. Bp. Nienstedt's orthodox friends are pleased to see his administrative skills put to use in a significant see; others, less concerned about orthodoxy or orthopraxis, are pleased because it takes him out of the running to succeed Cardinal Maida in Detroit. Someone else will be charged with that task, a mission right up there with cleaning the Augean stables.

As always, there's a fun mix of rumors, experiences, hopes and gripes in Amy's combox.

More Links:

• The Diocese of Ulm website has a very good page for Neidstedt, far better than what you'll typically find on the websites of most larger diocese for their Ordinary
• There's no word of this appointment on the Archdiocese of Minneapolis website yet.

Two new bishops for Tuesday

"Safe!"

A quick break from thesis work to serve up a few links for New Bishop Tuesday:

• Vatican Information Service release
• Associated Press: New Dallas Catholic bishop debuts
• Off the Record: Better Late than Never Dept.
• Dallas News: New bishop's top priority: Get familiar with diocese
• Whispers: D-Day = May Day
• Happy Catholic: Let the Joyful News Be Spread ...
• Closed Cafeteria coverage

... and let's not forget Lake Charles got a new bishop as well!

Appointed Msgr. Glenn John Provost of the clergy of the diocese of Lafayette, U.S.A., pastor of the parish of Our Lady of Fatima, as bishop of Lake Charles (area 13,755, population 284,000, Catholics 84,000, priests 74, permanent deacons 32, religious 41), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Lafayette in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1975.

... ending the longest bishop vacancy in the United States (since March of 2005). If Papa Benedict is filling vacancies in order of time left vacant, perhaps Birmingham, AL is next...

The Diocese of Lake Charles, Louisiana website, with a very informative announcement.

Update: A photo of Msgr. Provost from the AP newswire.

[photo: AP Photo/Ron Heflin]

New Bishop for Dallas to be announced tomorrow?

Rocco's all a-buzzin' about it, and has been since early last November.

And when Rocco's a-buzzin', the secular prints begin churnin' (especially when there's already an ambient buzz to get things going).

Finally, Tuesday is new bishop day in America, and tomorrow is a Tuesday....

So, all you "Dallasites", (which include several of my good friends studying at the University of Dallas), prepare yourselves to possibly welcome Kevin Farrell, who has been serving as an auxiliary in Washington. And in the next 12 hours or so, maybe consider placing a few friendly wagers. :-)

More about Bp. Farrell:

Dublin-born and a former member of the Legionaries of Christ -- for which he was ordained in 1978 -- both the administrative and demographic situations on-the-ground play to Farrell's strengths, making him the clear front-runner for Dallas since speculation began at Grahmann's 75th birthday last summer.

... Since 2001, he has served as DC's moderator of the curia and chief vicar-general after 12 years as the capital see's top financial overseer. He's the brother of Bishop Brian Farrell LC, the Stato veteran currently serving as secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. [more from Rocco.]

Well, at the very least, Bp. Farrell might now have a good excuse to be in Dallas for St. Patrick's Day....