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Pope Francis appoints Father Joseph Williams, pastor of St. Stephen and Holy Rosary in Minneapolis, who is widely known for his service in Latino ministry and with young adults, as the next auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. As the appointment is announced Dec. 10, Bishop-elect Williams, 47, concelebrates a morning Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul with Archbishop Bernard Hebda and holds a morning press conference.
Bishop Andrew Cozzens, an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese for eight years, is appointed bishop of the Diocese of Crookston and installed during a Dec. 6 Mass in Crookston that draws people from both dioceses and around the country. Bishop Cozzens was raised in Denver but was ordained a priest of the archdiocese in 1997.
Encouraged by Archbishop Bernard Hebda to act in mercy for the glory of God, seven men are ordained to the permanent diaconate Dec. 4: Deacons Michael Braun of Presentation of the Virgin Mary, Maplewood; Michael Engel of St. Michael, St. Michael; Adelmo Gracia of Assumption, Richfield; Philip Grisez of Our Lady of Grace, Edina; Michael Lane of Holy Spirit, St. Paul; Jose Luis Rodriguez of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Minneapolis and Victor Susai, Pax Christi, Eden Prairie.
Father Dennis Dempsey, a priest for 41 years of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who grew up in Minneapolis, served in multiple parishes and twice in the archdiocesan mission in Venezuela, is killed Oct. 25 while riding his bicycle in Rosemount. Father Dempsey, 73, had returned from Venezuela in June and was assigned in July as pastor of Risen Savior in Burnsville. The driver of the vehicle that struck him had been convicted 10 times for driving with a revoked license.
Six small-group sessions are held in parishes across the archdiocese between mid-September and mid-November as another step in preparing for the Archdiocesan Synod Assembly in 2022. The sessions drew an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people to at least one session, each of which included video messages, time for reflection and discussion on the Synod’s three focus areas: Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization; forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call; and forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young.
Tom Sr. and Beverly Burnett of the Twin Cities reflect on the 20th anniversary of their son Tom Jr.’s Sept. 11, 2001, death as he helped lead an effort to take back United Flight 93 from its terrorist hijackers. The effort succeeded: the plane-turned-flying-bomb didn’t reach its target, believed to be the White House or U.S. Capitol. It crashed in a Pennsylvania farm field, killing all 44 people on board, including 38-year-old “Tommy.”
Archbishop Bernard Hebda issues a letter to priests Aug. 20 stating that a Catholic has a right to seek an exemption from a vaccine requirement, but that decision shouldn’t depend on a priest’s confirmation. The archbishop said several priests had asked him for guidance on requests for letters in support of a religious exemption from COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
Seven men are ordained priests May 29 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, including five for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Two men were ordained for the religious order Pro Ecclesia Sancta. With Archbishop Bernard Hebda presiding, and four bishops and more than 100 priests from across the archdiocese concelebrating, Father Brian Fischer, Father James Bernard, Father William Duffert, Father Michael Reinhardt and Father Josh Salonek — all between the ages of 47 and 26 — were ordained for the archdiocese. The two priests ordained for the order, Father Joseph Barron, 28, and Father David Hottinger, 34, are Pro Ecclesia Sancta’s first U.S. vocations.
The resignation of Bishop Michael Hoeppner of the Diocese of Crookston is announced April 13 after a Vatican investigation into allegations that he mishandled allegations of clergy sexual abuse. Archbishop Bernard Hebda was authorized to conduct the investigation under “Vos estis lux mondi” (You are the light of the world), a legislative document Pope Francis personally issued in May 2019. The “motu proprio” (meaning “on his (the pope’s) own initiative”) established universal procedural norms for addressing clergy sexual abuse and a means of holding bishops and other Church leaders accountable for their actions in addressing claims of abuse.
Father John Ubel, rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, sells his baseball card collection at an auction March 14 for $51,039 to help fund $1,000 scholarships through the Aim Higher Foundation to low-income students attending Catholic schools in the archdiocese. Most of the cards sold at or above market value, with the top dollar amount of $35,000 for a 1948 Jackie Robinson card, the first year a card was made for the man who broke the color barrier in the major leagues. Years earlier, Father Ubel had almost thrown his mint condition collection into the trash as he was transferred to a different priestly assignment.
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