With a Catholic population of about 1.5 million, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is nearly three times the size of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, with its Catholic population of 550,000. There are 279 parishes in Philadelphia, while there are 216 in St. Louis.
Archbishop Rigali is expected to be installed as Archbishop of Philadelphia in early October in the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. Until then, he will continue to lead the Archdiocese of St. Louis, having all the faculties of the Archbishop. The date for the announcement of a new Archbishop of St. Louis is not known. In accord with Church norms, following the Archbishop’s installation, the Board of Consultors of the Archdiocese will elect an Administrator to serve in the interim.
The Archbishop is in Philadelphia for the announcement there and a news conference later in the day. He will also visit a number of sites significant in the life of the Catholic Church in Philadelphia and the United States. The Archbishop is expected to return to St. Louis on Tuesday evening.
Archbishop Rigali, 68, was appointed eighth Bishop, seventh Archbishop of St. Louis on January 25, 1994, and was installed on March 15 of that year in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, with Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, then Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, presiding. He succeeded Archbishop John L. May, who resigned for reasons of health on December 9, 1992.
A native of Los Angeles, California, Archbishop Rigali was ordained there on April 26, 1961. Shortly thereafter, he went to Rome for advanced studies culminating in thirty years of service to the Holy See in various capacities. He was present in Rome for and assisted at the sessions of the Second Vatican Council. Archbishop Rigali collaborated closely with Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul I, and Pope John Paul II. The 1999 Pastoral Visit to the Archdiocese of St. Louis by Pope John Paul II is the only such visit of the Holy Father to a single diocese in the United States during his pontificate. Archbishop Rigali is a member of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and serves on a number of committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic University of America.
Cardinal Bevilacqua, a native of Brooklyn, New York, was ordained in 1949. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn in 1980 and was subsequently named Bishop of Pittsburgh in 1983. In 1987 he was appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia and in 1991 was named to the College of Cardinals.
Official Press Release of the Archdiocese of St.Louis
