Roger Lawrence Schwietz

This article is about the prelate. For the executioner, see Lorenz Schwietz.

The Most Reverend Roger Lawrence Schwietz O.M.I.
Archbishop of Anchorage
Photograph of Roger Schwietz in March 2013 Roger Schwietz, photographed at the Alaska State Capitol in March 2013.
Church	Roman Catholic
Archdiocese	Anchorage
Installed	3 March 2001
Predecessor	Francis Thomas Hurley
Orders
Ordination	20 December 1967
Consecration	2 February 1990 by John Roach
Rank	Metropolitan Archbishop
Personal details
Born	(1940-07-03) July 3, 1940 Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Nationality	American
Motto	Jesus Christ is Lord
Coat of arms

Styles of Roger Lawrence Schwietz
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Archbishop

Roger Lawrence Schwietz, OMI (born July 3, 1940) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who serves as Archbishop of Anchorage.

Biography

Early life, education and ordination

Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Roger Schwietz was baptized on July 21, 1940, and made his profession as a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate on August 15, 1961. He studied at the University of Ottawa, from where he obtained an M.A. in 1964; and Loyola University, receiving an M.A. in Counselling Psychology in 1972.

Ordained to the priesthood in Rome on December 20, 1967, Schwietz earned his Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1968. He served as associate pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in International Falls from 1975 to 1978, when he was named Director of the College Seminary program for his religious institute at Creighton University. In 1984, he became pastor of Holy Family parish in Duluth.

Bishop of Duluth, Minnesota

On December 12, 1989, Schwietz was appointed the seventh Bishop of Duluth by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on February 2, 1990 from Archbishop John Roach, with Bishops Robert Brom and Michael Pfeifer, OMI, serving as co-consecrators, in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary. Schwietz was awarded an honorary doctorate in humanities from Lewis University in 1998.

Coadjutor Archbishop of Anchorage, Alaska

Schwietz was later named Coadjutor Archbishop of Anchorage, Alaska, on January 18, 2000. He succeeded Francis Thomas Hurley as Archbishop of Anchorage upon the latter's resignation on March 3, 2001.

In August 2005, he attracted the attention of Traditionalist Catholics when he refused to permit Fr. Andrew Szymakowski, FSSP, to celebrate the Tridentine Mass at the latter's parish assignment within the archdiocese.

Schwietz serves as Episcopal Moderator for Teens Encounter Christ movement, having held this position since 1991. On October 2, 2006, Guzman Carriquiry, Undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, met with the Archbishop, who presented Teens Encounter Christ to the Curial dicastery. He also served as Episcopal Liaison to Region I of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains.

Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, he served as a consultant to the Liturgy Committee (1991–1994), member (1992–2004) and chairman (elected 1998) of the Vocation Committee, and member of the Committee on the Laity (1995–1998) and chairman of its Subcommittee on Youth (1993–1998). He has also sat on the Catholic Relief Services' Board of Directions (1997–2003) and the NCCB Administrative Board (1994–1997, 1998–2002). In 2002, he became Regional Representative on the Board for the American College in Leuven, Belgium.

See also

• Catholic Church hierarchy
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• List of Catholic bishops of the United States
• Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

External links

• Official site of the Holy See

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Francis Thomas Hurley	Archbishop of Anchorage 2000—present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Robert Henry Brom	Bishop of Duluth 1989—2000	Succeeded by Dennis Marion Schnurr