Pontiff names new Archbishop of Detroit
January 06, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI yesterday appointed Bishop Allen Vigneron of Oakland to succeed Cardinal Adam Maida as Archbishop of Detroit. With 1,456,000 Catholics, the archdiocese is currently the United States’ sixth largest-- behind Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia.
As rector of Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, the native son of the archdiocese developed a nationwide reputation for orthodoxy in doctrine and fidelity to liturgical norms. As Bishop of Oakland since 2003, he oversaw the construction of a $190-million cathedral whose architectural style has been a source of controversy.
The city of Detroit-- whose population fell from 1,850,000 in 1950 (the nation’s 4th largest city) to 917,000 in 2007 (the nation’s 11th largest)-- is facing a severe economic crisis with the decline of the auto industry. Michigan “is struggling to find a new way to establish a vibrant economy, so that families have sufficient resources to obtain not only the material goods, but the spiritual as well, that they need in order to flourish,” Bishop Vigneron said yesterday. “I recognize that this challenge for our civic community is-- as all societal problems are-- a pastoral challenge as well.”
Ever since the See of Detroit was raised to the dignity of an archdiocese in 1937, the archbishop has been created a cardinal. Previous archbishops include Cardinal Edward Mooney (1937-58), Cardinal John Francis Dearden (1958-80), Cardinal Edmund Szoka (1980-90, whereupon he was named president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See), and Cardinal Adam Maida (1990-2009).
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Further information:
- Pope Names Bishop Vigneron Archbishop of Detroit, Names New Auxiliary in Orange, Accepts Resignations of Cardinal Maida, Bishop McRaith (USCCB)
- Michigan native to replace Maida as archbishop of Detroit area (Detroit Free Press)
- Native son returns to lead Detroit archdiocese (Detroit News)
- A man of the Church: A new bishop for Oakland (San Francisco Faith, 2003)
- $190-million cathedral dedicated in Oakland (CWN, Sept. 29)
- The Cathedral of Christ the Light (Diocese of Oakland)
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