Mitchell T. Rozanski

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His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Mitchell Thomas Rozanski
Archbishop of St. Louis
Coat of arms of Mitchell Thomas Rozanski (St. Louis).svg
ArchdioceseSt. Louis
AppointedJune 10, 2020
InstalledAugust 25, 2020
PredecessorRobert James Carlson
Orders
OrdinationNovember 24, 1984
by William Donald Borders
ConsecrationAugust 24, 2004
by William Henry Keeler, William Clifford Newman, and William Francis Malooly
Personal details
Born (1958-08-06) August 6, 1958 (age 63)
Baltimore, Maryland
NationalityAmerican
DenominationRoman Catholic
Previous post(s)
  • Bishop of Springfield (2014-2020)
  • Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore (2004–2014)
  • Titular Bishop of Walla Walla (2004–2014)
MottoSERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS
Styles of
Mitchell Thomas Rozanski
Coat of arms of Mitchell Thomas Rozanski (St. Louis).svg
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Mitchell Thomas Rozanski (born August 6, 1958) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been the Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri since 2020.

Biography[]

Early life and education[]

Mitchell Rozanski was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He is of Polish descent and his surname means in Polish rose.[1] He attended Sacred Heart of Mary School in Dundalk, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel High School in Essex, and the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., before entering the Theological College at the Catholic University, where he received seminary training.[2]

Ordination and ministry[]

He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop William Borders on November 24, 1984.[3]

His parish assignments included appointments at St. Michael Church in Overlea in 1984 and the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in 1985.[2] He was appointed Associate Pastor at St. Anthony Church in Baltimore in 1985 and at St. Isaac Jogues Church in the same city in 1990. He was named administrator of Holy Cross Church and of St. Mary Star of the Sea Church in Baltimore in March 1993, before being appointed pastor there in the following October.[2] In January 2000, he was appointed temporary administrator of Immaculate Conception Church in Towson and in June of that year he assumed the same duties for St. John the Evangelist Church in Severna Park, where he was named pastor on November 28, 2000.[2]

Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore, Maryland[]

On July 3, 2004, Rozanski was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore and Titular Bishop of Walla Walla by Pope John Paul II.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 24 from William Cardinal Keeler, with Bishops William Newman and W. Francis Malooly serving as co-consecrators.[3] He selected as his episcopal motto: "Serve The Lord With Gladness."[4]

As an auxiliary bishop, Rozanski also served as Vicar for Hispanic Ministries and as Seton Vicar, in which position he ministered to the parishes in Anne Arundel, Howard, Carroll, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced on April 18, 2011, that he would succeed Edward U. Kmiec, the Bishop of Buffalo, New York, as Roman Catholic Co-Chairman of the Polish National Catholic-Roman Catholic dialogue, due to Bishop Kmiec's impending retirement. He was named to the post by Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, Georgia, and Chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. On November 12, 2013, he was elected to chair the USCCB Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs beginning in 2014.[5]

Bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts[]

Coat of Arms as Bishop of Springfield

On June 19, 2014, Pope Francis named Rozanski the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Springfield (Massachusetts).[6] He was installed as such on August 12, 2014.

In December 2019, Rozanski banned the Pioneer Valley Gay Men's Chorus from singing in a caroling concert at St. Theresa's of Lisieux Parish in South Hadley during the Christmas season, though invited by parishioners.[7][8]

In June 2020 Robert M. Hoatson who is the co-founder of Road to Recover Inc. for survivors of clerical sexual abuse publicly called on Rozanski to resign. Hoatson described Rozanski's handling of abuse allegations in the past years of a Chicopee individual against former Springfield bishop Christopher Joseph Weldon to be “woefully deficient.”[9] In that same month an investigation by retired Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis found the claim against Weldon "to be unequivocally credible."[10] Hoatson also called on Pope Francis to rescind the appointment of Rozanski as archbishop for St. Louis.[9]

Archbishop of St. Louis[]

On June 10, 2020, Pope Francis appointed him Archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, following the resignation of Robert James Carlson.[11] He was installed on August 25, 2020 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.[12]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "The Coat of Arms of His Excellency, the Most Reverend Mitchell Thomas Rozanski, D.D." archbalt.org.
  2. ^ a b c d "Most Rev. Mitchell T. Rozanski". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore.
  3. ^ a b c "Bishop Mitchell Thomas Rozanski". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  4. ^ "Coat of Arms". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore.
  5. ^ "Archbishop Kurtz Elected President of U.S. Bishops, Cardinal DiNardo Elected Vice President". www.usccb.org. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  6. ^ "Pope names new Springfield, Massachusetts bishop". The Washington Post. Associated Press. June 19, 2014. Archived from the original on June 19, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  7. ^ Voghel, Jazquelyn (January 7, 2020). "Pioneer Valley Gay Men's Chorus says diocese barred them from concert". The Daily Hampshire Gazette. Northampton, Massachusetts. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Then, about two weeks before the concert, the group was informed that Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of the Springfield diocese would not allow them to perform...
  8. ^ Bourne, Alden (January 3, 2020). "Gay Singing Group Says Springfield Bishop Prevented It From Taking Part In Concert". New England Public Radio. Springfield, Mass. The Pioneer Valley Gay Men's Chorus is crying foul after it says it was told it couldn't sing at a church holiday concert on orders from the Catholic bishop in Springfield, Massachusetts.
  9. ^ a b Merzbach, Scott (June 27, 2020). "Clerical sex abuse survivor calls on Bishop Rozanski to resign over report". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  10. ^ Drake, Rebecca (June 26, 2020). "Abuse allegations against late Springfield, Mass., bishop found credible". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  11. ^ "Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis; Names Bishop Mitchell Rozanski of Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts as Successor". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski". Retrieved June 10, 2020.

External links[]

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Archbishop of Saint Louis
2020–Present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts
2014–2020 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
-
 Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore
2004–2014 		Succeeded by
-
Retrieved from ""