(Photo: Archdiocese of St. Louis)

SPRINGFIELD – Pope Francis has today, June 10, 2020, named Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski as the 10^th archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri, accepting the resignation of Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, who led the archdiocese for 11 years to the day, having been named to his post on June 10, 2009.

On June 30, 2019, Archbishop Carlson turned 75 and, as required by church law, submitted his resignation.

For Bishop Rozanski, the 61-year-old archbishop-elect, this appointment will move him from one of the smaller dioceses in the United States to one of the larger archdioceses with some 505,000 Catholics worshipping in 179 parishes.

Geographically, the archdiocese comprises St. Louis and 10 western Missouri counties, covering an area in excess of 5,900 square miles, roughly twice the size of the Springfield Diocese.

In a letter emailed to diocesan clergy, religious, and staff, Archbishop-elect Rozanski said it was a “privilege to serve” as bishop of Springfield.

“Please know of my great esteem for you, especially evident in our parishes, schools and so many services that reach out to the poor, the underprivileged, and the pre-born and youth, that make the Gospel truly present where it is needed the most,” he wrote in his letter.

Archbishop-elect Rozanski was appointed as the ninth bishop of Springfield on June 19, 2014, coming to western Massachusetts from his home, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, where he was raised and attended Catholic schools. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore on Nov. 24, 1984. He was nominated to serve as auxiliary bishop on July 3, 2004, by Pope St. John Paul II and his episcopal ordination took place on Aug. 24, 2004, at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Baltimore.

Although this appointment takes effect immediately, Archbishop-elect Rozanski will serve as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Springfield until he is formally installed in St. Louis on Aug. 25 in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.