May 8, 2008
Pope Names Bishops for Little Rock, Des Moines
By Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI appointed Auxiliary Bishop Richard E. Pates of St. Paul and Minneapolis to head the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, and Father Anthony B. Taylor, a priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, as bishop of Little Rock, Ark.
He also named Father Oscar Cantu, pastor of Holy Name Parish in Houston, as auxiliary bishop of San Antonio; Msgr. James D. Conley, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Wichita, Kan., as auxiliary bishop of Denver; and Father William J. Justice, San Francisco archdiocesan vicar for clergy, as auxiliary bishop of San Francisco.
The appointments were announced in Washington by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Bishop-designate Taylor, 53, was born in Fort Worth, Texas, April 24, 1954. He earned a bachelor's degree in history at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana, and in 1976 began studies at the North American College. He earned a bachelor's degree in theology from the Gregorian University and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City in 1980.
In between parish assignments — including Spanish-language ministries — he studied at Jesuit-run Fordham University in New York from 1984 to 1989, earning a doctorate in biblical theology. He returned to Oklahoma City and was named vicar for ministries, which included responsibilities for all ministries, continuing education for priests and the permanent diaconate.
The Little Rock Diocese has been without a bishop since Bishop J. Peter Sartain was named bishop of Joliet, Ill., in May 2006.
Bishop Pates, 65, succeeds Bishop Joseph L. Charron, whose resignation for health reasons was accepted exactly one year earlier. Then age 67, Bishop Charron had headed the diocese for 13 years.
"It is a welcome privilege to be called to serve such a vibrant spirit community in America's heartland," he said in a statement. He called his predecessor "a good friend and a conscientious shepherd and effective leader."
Bishop Pates was born in St. Paul, Feb. 12, 1943. He was named an auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 2000. His installation Mass is scheduled for May 29 in Des Moines
Bishop-designate Cantu, 41, will be the 25th active U.S. Hispanic bishop upon his episcopal ordination and also will be the youngest U.S. bishop. He succeeds Auxiliary Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of New Orleans for the designation as youngest. Bishop Fabre was 43 at the time of his episcopal ordination in March 2007.
Bishop-designate Cantu, who was born Dec. 5, 1966, received his bachelor's degree in English from the University of Dallas and his master of arts and master of divinity degrees from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. He was ordained a priest in 1994. He did graduate studies in theology at the North American College from 1998 to 2002.
His prior pastoral experience includes parochial vicar assignments at St. Christopher Parish, St. Cecilia Parish and St. Frances Cabrini Parish, all in Houston. His episcopal ordination will be June 2.
Bishop-designate Conley spent 1992-2006 on assignment to the Vatican Congregation for Bishops. Prior to that, his priestly assignments included director of the Wichita diocesan respect life office, director of respect life activities, chaplain of St. Paul's Newman Center in Wichita, and associate pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Wichita.
Bishop-designate Justice, 65, has been vicar for clergy for the San Francisco Archdiocese since 2006. Before that he was pastor of St. Peter Parish and Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco.
Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco will ordain Bishop-designate Justice to the episcopate at a May 28 Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco.