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."