Father Patrick Neary (59) has been appointed as bishop-elect of Minnesota’s Diocese of St. Cloud by Pope Francis. Father Neary will serve as the Diocese’s 10th bishop. He has been the pastor of Oregon’s Holy Redeemer Catholic Church since 2018. His ordination took place in 1991 and he previously served as residence hall rector and campus minister at the University of Notre Dame, as well as the director of Nairobi’s (Kenya) McCauley House of Formation, and also district superior for the Congregation of Holy Cross (East Africa). Bishop-elect Neary will be installed as St. Cloud’s bishop on February 14, 2023. His appointment as bishop comes after the resignation of Bishop Donald Kettler.
National Catholic Register reports:
Pope Francis has appointed Father Patrick Neary as bishop-elect of the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota, according to an announcement today by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Father Neary, 59, has served as the pastor of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Portland, Oregon, since 2018. A priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Neary was ordained in 1991, and his previous assignments include campus minister and residence hall rector at the University of Notre Dame; director of the McCauley House of Formation in Nairobi, Kenya; and district superior of East Africa for the Congregation of Holy Cross.
He attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana (1985), and he earned a master of divinity degree in theology from Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California (1990).
Bishop-elect Neary’s appointment as the 10th bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud comes after the pope’s acceptance of Bishop Donald Kettler’s resignation. Bishop Kettler, 78, has served as bishop of St. Cloud since 2013. He submitted a letter of resignation to Pope Francis in 2021 in accordance with canon law, which requires bishops to do so when they reach age 75.
“Father Neary is tremendously qualified with his experiences as a pastor, seminary rector, formation director, and missioner,” Kettler said following the announcement. “I am very appreciative that he said yes to the call to serve the people of this diocese as their bishop, and I welcome him warmly to Central Minnesota.”
Bishop-elect Neary is set to be installed as the bishop of St. Cloud on Feb. 14, 2023.
Read the full article here.
About Post Author
