Msgr. Stika was born in St. Louis in 1957 and was ordained a priest in 1985. In his years as a priest, he held positions in St. Louis as secretary to Cardinal Justin Rigali (1994-1997), the coordinator of Pope John Paul II’s visit to St. Louis in 1999, the director of the Archdiocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection and most recently as pastor of the Church of the Annunziata in Ladue.
Msgr. Stika will be ordained the third bishop of Knoxville on March 19, 2009 at the Knoxville Convention Center. The consecrating bishop will be Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, who will be assisted by Archbishop Joseph Kurtz and Bishop Robert Shaheen, Bishop of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon.
In a statement, Bishop Robert J. Hermann, administrator of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, noted that the archdiocese is “deeply honored” to have one of its priests appointed “by our Holy Father for the office of Bishop.”