Photo credit: Dallas News
Robert Coerver ’72 Ordained as Bishop of Lubbock As initially reported by Vatican Radio, and later announced by the papal nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Pope Francis named Monsignor Robert Milner Coerver as Bishop of the Lubbock Catholic Diocese on Sept. 27, 2016. Coerver, who is the first Jesuit Dallas graduate to ever be appointed bishop, had been serving as pastor of Saint Rita Parish in Dallas.
within the Roman Curia declared, “How wonderful that, once again, our Holy Father Pope Francis has chosen a priest of the Diocese of Dallas to serve the Church as a bishop. I am so happy I have the opportunity before I leave for Rome to congratulate Bishop-elect Bob Coerver on this honor and I applaud the decision of our Holy Father to appoint him to lead the Catholic Church in Lubbock.”
Coerver officially received his new title at an ordination and installation Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King on Nov. 21. As the third-ever Bishop of the Diocese of Lubbock, Coerver will provide oversight to a diocese that serves nearly 140,000 Catholics in 63 parishes and 25 counties in an area of 25,000 square miles.
Following graduation from Jesuit Dallas, Coerver studied philosophy at Holy Trinity Seminary and the University of Dallas before being sent to the Pontifical North American College in Rome. On June 27, 1980, he joined a long list of Jesuit Dallas graduates when he was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Dallas.
His Eminence Kevin Farrell, who served as Bishop of Dallas before being named Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life
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