Bishop Emeritus Richard Pates, a native of the Twin Cities who served as an auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis from 2001 to 2008, has been appointed apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Dubuque as Archbishop Michael Jackels resigns because of health reasons.
Bishop Pates was appointed bishop of Des Moines, Iowa, in 2008, retired in September 2019 and returned to Minnesota. However, in December of that year he was appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, as Bishop Daniel Conlon took a medical leave of absence and then retired in May 2020.
In April 2021, Bishop Pates was appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Crookston, until Bishop Andrew Cozzens’ installation in that diocese in December of that year.
Archbishop Jackels’ resignation and Bishop Pates’ appointment in Dubuque were publicized in Washington April 4 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
“For health reasons, I asked our Holy Father Francis — may God preserve him — to accept my resignation as Archbishop of Dubuque. Jesus called me to this ministry, and I wouldn’t take my hands from this plow unless Jesus, through his Vicar on earth, called me away. And so it is, effective 4 April 2023,” Archbishop Jackels told the faithful of the archdiocese in a letter posted on the archdiocesan website.
The archbishop gave no details about his health in the letter. At 68, he is seven years younger than the age at which canon law requires bishops to turn in their resignation to the pope. He turns 69 April 13.
“I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, praying with you, sharing meals together, joining you as a partner in ministry. Your responses on our Synod Survey confirmed our ministry: sharing with the Church and the poor; learning/teaching the Gospel; devotion to and worship of the Eucharist,” Archbishop Jackels wrote. “These are ministries that you rightly appreciate, are presently committed to, and want to see enhanced. Keep up the good work. You’re great. God bless you. I’ll miss you,” he added. “Let us pray for each other, and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.”
The Archdiocese of Dubuque is comprised of 17,403 square miles in the state of Iowa and has a total population of 1,017,175, of which 185,260 are Catholic.
— OSV News contributed to this report
