Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron Selected as New Bishop for Diocese of Winona-Rochester

(KNSI) — His Holiness, Pope Francis has named Los Angeles area Auxiliary Bishop Robert E. Baron to lead a Minnesota Diocese.

The Diocese of Winona-Rochester, led by 76-year-old Bishop John Quinn, will welcome Bishop Baron later this year with an official installation mass on July 29th. Bishop Quinn was selected to lead the Diocese in 2008 and recently offered his resignation.

Bishop Baron issued a statement saying he is humbled and overjoyed to be appointed the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. Read his full statement here.

According to the L.A. Catholics website, the Most Reverend Robert E. Barron is the Episcopal Vicar of the Santa Barbara Pastoral Region, one of the five Pastoral Regions in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He was appointed Titular Bishop of Macriana of Mauritania and Auxiliary Bishop in 2015.

Bishop Barron received an M.A. in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in 1982 and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Institut Catholique de Paris in 1992.

Bishop Baron is also the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, hosts the “Catholocism” documentary, and has published several books.

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