Archbishop Elect Robert J. Carlson
Pope Benedict XVI announced April 21 the appointment 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' ninth
archbishop (St. Louis had one bishop before becoming a metropolitan
archdiocese).
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."