Bishop Baker to head Birmingham Diocese |
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Written by Angela Kessler
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Friday, 07 September 2007 00:00 |
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WASHINGTON (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Robert J. Baker of Charleston, S.C., as the bishop of Birmingham, Ala. He succeeds Bishop David E. Foley, who retired May 10, 2005. The appointment was announced in Washington Aug. 14 by Msgr. Martin Krebs, charge d'affaires of the Vatican nunciature. A native of Fostoria, Bishop Baker, 63, has headed the Charleston Diocese since 1999. He will be installed in Birmingham Oct. 2. While bishop of Charleston, he initiated annual observances focused on tenets of the Catholic faith, including years focused on prayer, the rosary, stewardship, the Eucharist and the family. In other efforts, he encouraged people to observe the traditional 12 days of Christmas, focusing on acts of kindness and prayer, and to keep Sunday as a day of rest. He joined bishops from Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., in a 2004 letter saying Catholic politicians or candidates who support keeping abortion legal were barred from receiving Communion in any Catholic church in their dioceses. The Birmingham Diocese has been vacant since Bishop Foley retired in 2005. He stepped down at 75, the age at which canon law requires all bishops to submit their resignation to the pope. In April 2005 the Vatican announced that Bishop Foley's resignation was one of the last to be approved by Pope John Paul II before his death. But the announcement was not published by the Holy See, so the bishop remained in his post until May 10, 2005, when it was announced that Pope John Paul's successor, Pope Benedict XVI, had accepted the resignation. Bishop Foley had headed the diocese for 11 years. He has continued to serve as administrator of the diocese. Bishop Baker is currently chairman of the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Stewardship. He has published several books, among them Historic Catholic Sites of St. Augustine, which he co-edited, and Cacique: A Novel of Florida's Heroic Mission History, co-written with Tony Sands. Bishop Foley has been a regular participant in some of the programs broadcast by Eternal Word Television Network, based in Birmingham. In 2000, he issued a set of norms for Masses televised from the diocese. The norms meant EWTN had to do away with its practice of broadcasting some Masses in which the priest faced the altar, not the congregation, and limit its use of Latin at some points in its internationally televised Masses. At the Birmingham press conference announcing his appointment Aug. 14, Bishop Baker commended EWTN's evangelizing efforts, noting that its radio component in particular has benefited greatly the people of South Carolina in my time there as bishop. Bishop Baker also told the priests, deacons, seminarians, religious and laity of his new diocese that he was counting on them to help him in his new role. The Diocese of Birmingham, with 86,000 Catholics, covers 39 counties in the north and central parts of Alabama. The Diocese of Charleston, with 176,000 Catholics, encompasses the entire state of South Carolina. This summer Bishop Baker ordained six men to the priesthood for the Diocese of Charleston; it was the greatest number of ordinations in South Carolina since 1956. Bishop Baker told The Catholic Miscellany, Charleston's diocesan newspaper, that he hopes to be remembered in South Carolina for his emphasis on Mary. When the Blessed Mother is remembered, many blessings can come to the diocese, he said. Bishop Baker also said he was sad to be leaving the diocese and the people I love and will always cherish. Born in Willard, Ohio, he attended Fostoria St. Wendelin through the eighth grade and was ordained in 1970 for the Diocese of St. Augustine, Fla., after completing studies in philosophy and divinity at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus. After his ordination, he worked at a parish and a Catholic high school in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., before continuing his studies, earning a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1977. He also holds a licentiate in theology from The Catholic University of America in Washington. Then-Father Baker was spiritual director of the Josephinum, 1975-1976. He then returned to Florida, serving as administrator of St. Augustine Parish in Gainesville from 1976 to 1981 and as a professor of theology at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, 1981-1984. During his assignment as rector of St. Augustine Cathedral in St. Augustine from 1984 to 1987, he closely followed an archaeological dig at the historic cathedral site. Bishop Foley welcomed his successor at the Birmingham press conference, saying, We have waited a long time for a bishop. I tell you the wait has been well worth the time. We are blessed to have a bishop who is known for his pastoral ministry and faithfulness to his mission as successor of the apostles, he said. Mobile Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb, who heads the ecclesiastical province that includes Birmingham, said in a statement that all of the family of faith in Alabama rejoice at the appointment. Much-loved in South Carolina, he brings outstanding qualities of faith, competence and commitment to the church of Birmingham. Archbishop Lipscomb offered his gratitude and prayerful support to Bishop Foley, who has led our sister diocese in the north of our state with a care, love and perseverance that has truly reflected Christ. Contributing to this story were Deirdre C. Mays in Charleston and Sally Crockett in Birmingham.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 April 2008 08:38 |
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