South Bend, Ind., Nov 15, 2009 / 08:19 am
Pope Benedict XVI appointed on Saturday Bishop of Harrisburg, Penn. Kevin C. Rhoades as the ninth Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, the diocese that includes the University of Notre Dame.
Bishop Rhoades will replace Bishop John D'Arcy, who until Saturday was the oldest bishop governing a diocese in the US. He was prominent early this year for his strong stance against President Obama’s Notre Dame invitation.
Bishop Rhoades was born November 26, 1957, in Mahanoy City, Penn. and graduated from Lebanon Catholic High School in 1975.
He enrolled at Mount Saint Mary’s College (now University) in Emmitsburg, Maryland in the fall of 1975 and studied there for two years. In 1977, he entered Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, Penn., earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy there in 1979. He did his theological studies at the North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University, both in Rome, from 1979-1983. He also studied Spanish at the University of Salamanca in Spain during the summer of 1982.