Archbishop Bernard Hebda is the 12th bishop or archbishop to lead the 166-year-old Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, with its 825,000 Catholics and 187 parishes. He succeeds a list of bishops and archbishops with varied backgrounds and impressive legacies.
Only the very first bishop — Joseph Cretin — and the very first archbishop — John Ireland — were not native-born Americans. Bishop Cretin hailed from France, and Archbishop Ireland was from Ireland.
Bishop Thomas Grace, who succeeded Bishop Cretin but preceded Archbishop Ireland, was the first South Carolina native to be ordained a priest and, as a Dominican, the only bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis to belong to a religious order, with the exception of two auxiliary bishops.
Archbishop Ireland was ordained bishop of St. Paul in 1884. Four years later, he became an archbishop when the Diocese of St. Paul was elevated to an archdiocese.
The three archbishops who followed Archbishop Ireland were originally East Coast priests: Archbishop Austin Dowling from New York City; Archbishop John Gregory Murray from Waterbury, Connecticut; and Archbishop William Brady from Fall River, Massachusetts.
Archbishop Leo Byrne served as the archdiocese’s coadjutor archbishop for nine years but died before he was able to succeed Archbishop Leo Binz. It was under Archbishop Binz’s tenure that the Archdiocese of St. Paul became the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1966.
Only Archbishop Ireland and Archbishop John Roach grew up in and were ordained priests for the archdiocese.
Auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese
For nearly a century, auxiliary bishops have assisted the archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Of the 18 auxiliary bishops who have served here, 11 have been appointed to lead dioceses elsewhere. Only Archbishop John Roach was tapped to continue serving the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis as archbishop.
The following lists the bishops’ dates served and notes if they were named to lead a diocese.
Bishop John J. Lawler
1910-1916
Appointed bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota
Bishop James J. Byrne
1947-1956
Appointed archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa
Bishop Leonard P. Cowley
1957-1973
Bishop Gerald F. O’Keefe
1961-1967
Appointed bishop of Davenport, Iowa
Bishop James P. Shannon
1965-1969
Bishop Raymond A. Lucker
1971-1976
Appointed bishop of New Ulm
Bishop John R. Roach
1971-1975
Appointed archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Bishop John F. Kinney
1977-1982
Appointed bishop of St. Cloud
Bishop Paul V. Dudley
1977-1978
Appointed bishop of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Bishop J. Richard Ham, MM
1980-1990
Bishop William H. Bullock
1980-1987
Appointed bishop of Madison, Wisconsin
Bishop Robert J. Carlson
1984-1994
Appointed archbishop of St. Louis
Bishop Joseph E. Charron, C.PP.S.
1990-1993
Appointed bishop of Des Moines, Iowa
Bishop Lawrence H. Welsh
1991-1999
Bishop Frederick F. Campbell
1999-2004
Appointed bishop of Columbus, Ohio
Bishop Richard E. Pates
2001-2008
Appointed bishop of Des Moines, Iowa
Bishop Lee A. Piché
2009-2015
Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens
2013 – present
