Originally Published on OMIWORLD.ORG

The very first Oblate of Mary Immaculate was a bishop in the Catholic Church. St. Eugene de Mazenod, our Founder, was ordained Titular Bishop of Icosium on 14 October 1832. He became the Bishop of Marseille in 1837. Already during the lifetime of the Founder, his own young Congregation would be called upon to provide bishops for the Church. The Dictionary of Oblate Values states, under the rubric “Bishops”: “Indeed, the Church soon came calling to request that the Congregation provide a number of bishops. For the Founder the Holy See’s choice was flattering, but in some ways he felt it was a loss for the Congregation still too few in number. He was being asked to give up some of his best subjects, talented and wise men, good administrators, whose loyalty to the society was beyond reproach.”

Some of those named to this office were reluctant. “The bishops who had been named protested that above all they wanted to remain Oblates. The Founder’s reply was unanswerable. To Bishop Taché he wrote: ‘No one is more a bishop than I am, and rest assured that no one is more an Oblate than I am. Am I ignorant, then, of the spirit that I wanted to instill in my Congregation? You will be a bishop; I will it. Do not force me to write to the Pope about this, and you will even be more an Oblate because of it […]’” (Oblate Values)

Including the Founder, 106 Oblate bishops have entered eternal life. Today, there are 48 living Oblate bishops, including two Cardinals, 9 archbishops, and 37 bishops.

Cardinals

GEORGE Francis Eugene (78), Cardinal-Priest of S. Bartolomeo all’Isola, Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Chicago (USA)

QUEVEDO Orlando Beltran (75), Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria «Regina Mundi» a Torre Spaccata, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cotabato (Philippines)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archbishops

EXNER Adam Joseph (86), Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Vancouver (Canada)

LAVOIE Sylvain (67), Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Keewatin–Le Pas (Canada)

LEROTHOLI Gerard Tlali (60), Metropolitan Archbishop of Maseru (Lesotho), President of Lesotho Catholic Bishops’ Conference

MOHLALISI Bernard (81), Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Maseru (Lesotho)

NASHENDA Liborius Ndumbukuti (55), Metropolitan Archbishop of Windhoek (Namibia), President of Namibian Catholic Bishop’s Conference

NXUMALO Jabulani Adatus (70), Metropolitan Archbishop of Bloemfontein (South Africa)

SCHWIETZ Roger Lawrence (74), Metropolitan Archbishop of Anchorage (USA)

SUTTON Peter Alfred (80), Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Keewatin–Le Pas (Canada)

TLHAGALE Buti Joseph Tlhagale, O.M.I. (67), Metropolitan Archbishop of Johannesburg (South Africa)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Bishops

ALFERT Lucio (73), Vicar Apostolic of Pilcomayo (Paraguay), Titular Bishop of Tubyza

ANDRADI Norbert Marshall (65), Bishop of Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka)

BANE Augustinus Tumaole, Bishop of Leribe (Lesotho)

BOUCHARD Jean-Claude (74), Bishop of Pala (Chad), President of Episcopal Conference of Chad

CADIEUX Vincent (74), Bishop of Hearst (Canada), Bishop of Moosonee (Canada)

CAZABON Gilles (81), Bishop emeritus of Saint-Jérôme (Canada)

CHAMPAGNE Claude (67), Bishop of Edmundston (Canada)

CHINYEMBA Evans Chinyama (47), Bishop of Mongu (Zambia)

CROSBY David Douglas (66), Bishop of Hamilton (Canada), Vice-President of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

CROTEAU Denis (82), Bishop emeritus of MacKenzie–Fort Smith (Canada)

D’CRUZE Bejoy Nicephorus (58), Bishop of Sylhet (Bangladesh)

DÍAZ SÁNCHEZ Ramiro (80), Titular Bishop of Lari Castellum, Vicar Apostolic emeritus of Machiques (Venezuela)

DUPONT Georges-Hilaire (95), Bishop emeritus of Pala (Chad)

EDWARDS Mark Stuart (56), Titular Bishop of Garba, Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne (Australia)

GNANAPRAGASAM Victor (74), Vicar Apostolic of Quetta (Pakistan), Titular Bishop of Thimida

HECHT Erwin (81), Bishop emeritus of Kimberley (South Africa)

JURETZKO Eugeniusz (75), Bishop of Yokadouma (Cameroon)

KHOARAI Sebastian Koto (85), Bishop emeritus of Mohale’s Hoek (Lesotho)

KOT Jan (52), Bishop of Zé Doca (Brazil)

KRÓTKI Wieslaw (50), Bishop of Churchill–Baie d’Hudson (Canada)

LAMPON Angelito R. (64), Vicar Apostolic of Jolo (Philippines), Titular Bishop of Valliposita

MBWÔL-MPASI Louis (83), Bishop emeritus of Idiofa (Congo-Kinshasa)

PAULO Pierre-Antoine (70), Bishop of Port-de-Paix (Haiti), Vice-President of Episcopal Conference of Haiti

PFEIFER Michael David (77), Bishop emeritus of San Angelo (USA)

PÖLLITZER Phillip (75), Bishop of Keetmanshoop (Namibia)

PYL Jacek (52), Titular Bishop of Nova Sinna, Auxiliary Bishop of Odessa–Simferopol (Ukraine)

RISI Edward Gabriel (66), Bishop of Keimoes–Upington (South Africa)

ROULEAU Reynald (79), Bishop emeritus of Churchill–Baie d’Hudson (Canada)

SEPHAMOLA Joseph Mopeli (54), Bishop of Qacha’s Nek (Lesotho)

SHIKONGO Joseph Shipandeni (66), Vicar Apostolic of Rundu (Namibia), Titular Bishop of Capra

STACCIOLI Alessandro (83), Titular Bishop of Tauriano, Vicar Apostolic emeritus of Luang Prabang (Laos), Auxiliary Bishop emeritus of Siena–Colle di Val d’Elsa–Montalcino (Italy)

STECKLING Heinz Wilhelm (67), Bishop of Ciudad del Este (Paraguay)

VERSTRAETE Daniel Alphonse Omer (90), Bishop emeritus of Klerksdorp (South Africa)

VITHAVONG Jean Khamsé (72), Vicar Apostolic of Vientiane (Laos), Titular Bishop of Moglæna

WIESNER Gerald William (77), Bishop emeritus of Prince George (Canada)

WOOD Barry Alexander (72), Titular Bishop of Babra, Auxiliary Bishop of Durban (South Africa)

ZMITROWICZ Radoslaw (52), Titular Bishop of Gypsaria, Auxiliary Bishop of Kamyanets-Podilsky (Ukraine)

Other prelates

LEÓN DORADO Fr. Mario (40), Prefect Apostolic of Western Sahara (Western Sahara)

MADEJ Fr. Andrzej (63), Ecclesiastical Superior of Turkmenistan (Turkmenistan)

TE DORSHORST Fr. Antonius, Apostolic Administrator of Paramaribo (Suriname)