Richard Pates

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Bishop Pates

Richard E. Pates (born February 12, 1943) is a Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Bishop Richard Pates was selected to serve as Bishop of the Des Moines Diocese by Pope Benedict XVI on April 10th, 2008. Pates becomes the ninth bishop for the Des Moines diocese. Bishop Pates will be installed during a ceremony on May 29. He previously served as the Titular Bishop of Suacia, serving as an auxiliary bishop and episcopal vicar of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Bishop Pates is a native of Saint Paul, Minnesota. He attended Nazareth Hall Seminary and Saint Paul Seminary, both of which were located in St. Paul. In 1965 he earned Bachelor's degrees in Latin and Philosophy from St. Paul's Seminary. He then continued his education at North American College in Rome, Italy, and earned a License in Sacred Theology from Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood at Saint Peter's Basilica on December 20, 1968 by Bishop Francis E. Reh.

Styles of Richard Pates


Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Monsignor
Posthumous style	none

After being ordained, Father Pates returned to the Twin Cities area where he held a number of positions. In 1975 he moved to the Washington, DC area to work as a secretary for the Apostolic Delegation. Bishop Pates was named a Monsignor in 1979 after being appointed a Chaplain of Pope John Paul II. In 1981 he returned to the Twin Cities area and worked in a variety of positions. One notable achievement from this time was his role in the merger in 1991 of the parishes of Resurrection and St. Kevin's into a single parish: Our Lady of Peace. Pates also played a central role in the founding of The Church Of St. Ambrose in Woodbury.

On December 22, 2000 Msgr. Pates was assigned by Pope John Paul II as an auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese. He was formally ordained by Archbishop Harry Flynn on March 26, 2001.

On April 10, 2008 Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Pates as the ninth Bishop for the Diocese of Des Moines, to be installed on May 29, 2008.