Richard Pates

Most Reverend Richard Edmund Pates, STL
Bishop of Des Moines
Bishop Pates' episcopal ordination in 2001
Church	Roman Catholic Church
See	Des Moines
In office	May 29, 2008—present
Predecessor	Joseph Charron, C.Pp.S.
Successor	Incumbent
Orders
Ordination	December 20, 1968
Consecration	March 26, 2001
Personal details
Born	(1943-02-12) February 12, 1943 Saint Paul, Minnesota
Previous post	Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis (2001-2008)

Styles of Richard Pates
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Monsignor

Richard Edmund Pates (born February 12, 1943) is the ninth and current Roman Catholic Bishop of Des Moines.

Biography

Early life, education, and presbyteral ordination

The youngest of three sons, Richard Pates was born to Donald and Lenora Pates in Saint Paul, Minnesota.^[1] He attended Nazareth Hall Seminary and St. Paul Seminary, from where he earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in Philosophy and Latin in 1965.^[2] He completed his graduate studies in Rome, where he resided at the Pontifical North American College and received a Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. On December 20, 1968, Pates was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Francis Reh at St. Peter's Basilica.^[3]

Early Priesthood

Upon his return to the Twin Cities, he served as associate pastor at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul from 1969 to 1970.^[1] From 1970 to 1974, he was the vocation director of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and a weekend associate pastor at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis. He also served as private secretary to Archbishop Leo Byrne and vice-chancellor of the Archdiocese from 1973 to 1975.^[2]

Senior priestly postings

From 1975 to 1981, Pates was secretary of the Apostolic Delegation to the United States in Washington, D.C.. During this time, he assisted at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and was raised to the rank of Chaplain to His Holiness in 1979.^[1] Following his return to the Twin Cities, he served as rector of St. John Vianney Seminary (1981–1987) and chaplain of the Serra Club of Midway (1981–1990) in St. Paul. He became Vicar for Seminaries in 1987, and pastor of the Church of Saint Kevin and the Church of the Resurrection in Minneapolis. In 1991, the two parishes merged to form the Church of Our Lady of Peace, where Pates continued as pastor until 1998.^[2] He was also moderator for Minneapolis Deaneries Council of Catholic Women (1990–1998) and founding pastor of the Church of Saint Ambrose of Woodbury in St. Paul (1998–2001).^[2]

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis

On December 22, 2000, Pates was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Titular Bishop of Suacia by Pope John Paul II.^[3] He received his episcopal consecration on March 26, 2001 from Archbishop Harry Flynn, with Archbishop John Roach and Bishop Frederick Campbell serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of St. Paul.^[3] As an auxiliary bishop, he served as vicar general, Vicar for Clergy, Vicar for Youth and Young Adults, and Vicar for Evangelization.^[2]

Bishop of Des Moines

Pates was later named the ninth Bishop of Des Moines, Iowa, by Pope Benedict XVI on April 10, 2008.^[3] Installed on the following May 29, he is the third consecutive Twin Cities' auxiliary bishop to be named ordinary of the Des Moines Diocese; his two immediate predecessors, Joseph Charron and William Henry Bullock, previously served the St. Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocese.^[1]

On Monday, November 14, 2011, according to a Catholic News Service (CNS) online news brief, Bishop Pates was elected Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace on the first day of the fall 2011 Bishops meeting, on a 122-114 vote over Bishop Frank Joseph Dewane of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Venice in Florida. This particular election was needed because Archbishop Edwin Frederick O'Brien, Archbishop Emeritus of Baltimore and Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese, has been appointed Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order Of The Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, a Rome-based Cardinalatial position (largely ceremonial but still high-ranking) at the Vatican's Roman Curia, meaning as an Italian resident, he can no longer be considered a member of the USCCB even though he is American (Archbishop O'Brien had been elected in November 2010 to chair the committee, to succeed Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York).^[4]

He advocated for the lifting of the embargo and the other restrictions the U.S. has placed on Cuba, and for further dialogue between the two countries, earning some support from Florida-area Catholics.^[5]

References

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines Bishops Austin Dowling Thomas W. Drumm Gerald T. Bergan Edward C. Daly, OP George Biskup Maurice J. Dingman William H. Bullock Joseph L. Charron, CPpS Richard E. Pates Parishes St. Ambrose Cathedral, Des Moines All Saints, Stuart Basilica of St. John, Des Moines St. Boniface, Westphalia St. Patrick's, Cumming St. Patrick Church, Imogene St. Patrick's, Perry St. Peter's, Council Bluffs Schools Dowling Catholic High School, West Des Moines Saint Albert High School, Council Bluffs Catholicism Portal

v t e Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Dubuque Dioceses Archdiocese of Dubuque Diocese of Davenport Diocese of Des Moines Diocese of Sioux City Cathedrals St. Raphael’s Cathedral, Dubuque Sacred Heart Cathedral, Davenport St. Ambrose Cathedral, Des Moines Cathedral of the Epiphany, Sioux City Basilicas Basilica of St. John, Des Moines Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Dyersville Colleges Briar Cliff University Clarke University Loras College Mount Mercy University St. Ambrose University St. Pius X Seminary Catholicism Portal