The Saint Paul Seminary is thrilled to welcome Bishop Robert Barron to Minnesota. Barron was officially installed as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester on Friday, July 29, on the Feast of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus.
“It is with great enthusiasm that we welcome Bishop Barron to the vibrant Catholic community here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes,” Rector Fr. Joseph Taphorn said. “The Church has been blessed by his work in seminary formation, diocesan leadership, and ministry via Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. Similarly, our community has been blessed by the presence of our seminarians from the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. We look forward to partnering with Bishop Barron in his mission to cultivate healthy vocations in his new diocese.”
Barron replaces retiring Bishop John M. Quinn. He grew up in Detroit and later Chicago before becoming a priest in 1986.
In 2000, he founded Word on Fire, which hosts daily blog posts, weekly articles and video commentaries and has an overall online audience of over 4.1 million followers. Barron has spent the past seven years as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
“My heart is overwhelmed with joy and with gratitude to everybody today,” Barron said at his installation Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Rochester, Minnesota. “There are three bishops here who I taught in the seminary. Do you want to know the definition of feeling old? That’s it.”
During his homily, Barron asked all seminarians in attendance to stand; the congregation met them with a round of applause.
“The Eucharist comes from priests; hence no priests, no Church,” Barron said. “So if we want a Church that vibrantly worships God, we need priests.”