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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson selected as Archbishop of Saint Louis


From the Saint Louis Review:
Pope Benedict XVI announced April 21 the appoinment of The Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson as Archbishop of St. Louis. Bishop Carlson is currently Bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw Michigan. He will succeed Archbishop Raymond L. Burke as and will become St. Louis' 10th bishop.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis hold a press conference with the Archbishop-elect at 10:30 a.m. (CST) today. More information and a live stream can be found on the Archdiocesan website (www.archstl.org).

Bishop Robert J. Carlson was installed as the fifth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw on February 24, 2005 at the direction of Pope John Paul II. A native of Minneapolis, Minn., 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, S.D., from 1994 to 2005.

Bishop Robert Hermann, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis, said of Bishop Carlson, "Archbishop-elect Carlson is 64 years of age and has celebrated his 25th anniversary of his Episcopal ordination. I have known Archbishop-elect Carlson for a number of years. He is a very energetic, articulate, warm and gifted pastor and administrator."

Praising his many accomplishments, Bishop Hermann continued, "In the past five years in Saginaw, he has raised the number of seminarians from two to eighteen! He has published six pastoral letters, and has created the Saginaw Area Catholic Schools system. He is very dedicated to Life issues. He thinks and works with the Church he loves, and will continue to build upon the legacy of his predecessors here in St. Louis."




Bishop Carlson's Curriculum Vitae:
Personal

Bishop Robert J. Carlson was installed as the fifth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw on February 24, 2005 at the direction of Pope John Paul II. A native of Minneapolis, Minn., 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, S.D., from 1994 to 2005.
Education

Earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from St. Paul Seminary in 1966; earned a master's degree in divinity from St. Paul Seminary in 1976; and earned a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Catholic University of America in 1979.
Other Current Appointments

Member, Canon Law Society of America
Board Member, The International Dominican Foundation
Board Member, Sacred Heart Seminary, Detroit, Mich,
Co-Chair, Mission Advisory Committee, Institute for Priestly Formation, Omaha, Neb.
Board Member, Los Cabos Children’s Foundation
Member, National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors Advisory Board
Founder, The Messengers of Peace Religious Community, Colombia, South America
Previous Appointments

Past Chair, National Foundation for Catholic Youth Ministry
Past Chair, USCCB Committee on Vocations
Past Chair, USCCB Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry
Past Chair, USCCB Ad Hoc Committee on Youth
Past Chair, USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
Former Member, USCCB Committee on Laity
Former Member, USCCB Committee on Pastoral Practice
Former Episcopal Moderator, USCCB Committee on Scouting
Former Episcopal Moderator, Serra International - USA/Canada Council
Past President, National Evangelization Team (NET)

5 comments:

  1. Do Bishops cause/create/recruit/inspire Seminarians? From 2 to 20 in that short period!I think a reality check may be in order before we heap any unearned praise on him.

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  2. A bishop can encourage seminarians by accepting vocations.

    It is now well-documented that many bishops did not want vocations to the priesthood. The trend among many leading progressive theologians was the idea of a lay-run church, where the role of the ordained priesthood was greatly diminished. This has been implemented in recent years by parish clusters, lay boards, a multiplication of liturgies outside of the Mass, etc. The "priest shortage" was largely manufactured.

    Very many men have been called to generously serve Christ's Church through the priesthood, and it is the job of the bishops to heed this call. Vocations do not come from the bishop: he must respond to them.

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  3. Never visited Fr. Z.'s blog before. What a headache of a visual display. The design could really use some help.

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  4. I LOVE the following from one of several articles in today's Post Dispatch. How can he fail with this attitude?

    Carlson said sometime in the two weeks he has known about his move to St. Louis, an acquaintance asked how he was feeling.

    "I said to him, 'You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to pray every day that I love the people of this new archdiocese,'" Carlson said, tearing up. Then he addressed his new flock.

    "I hope that's the kind of archbishop you want," he said, "because that's the kind of archbishop I am."

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