The Church of Joliet Receives New Bishop

The Most Reverend J. Peter Sartain, 54, was installed yesterday afternoon as the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Joliet, succeeding the Most Reverend Joseph L. Imesch who was the Bishop of Joliet for nearly twenty-seven years.

Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America, announced BXVI's decision to appoint Bishop Sartain to the Church of Joliet on 16 May 2006, a transfer that seems then rather swift.

The former Bishop of Little Rock has indicated his desire to make vocations a central focus of his episcopal ministry, saying, "You'll hear me very often casting the net." If every bishop would follow his example, just think of the great harvest of vocations Holy Mother Church would reap!

Bishop Sartain was ordained in 1978 and holds a Licentiate from San Anselmo in Rome.

As he has now taken his chair, let us pray for Bishop Sartain and the Diocese of Joliet, a Diocese through which I travel often.