(WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com) — Pope Francis has named Erie’s Monsignor Edward Lohse to lead the Diocese of Kalamazoo in Michigan.
During a Tuesday morning press conference, Monsignor Lohse was announced as the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Kalamazoo.
Bishop-elect Lohse is currently the Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Erie. The Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo reports the resignation of Bishop Paul Bradley, 77, and the appointment of Monsignor Lohse were announced Tuesday by the Holy See in Rome .
Ordination of the new Bishop has been scheduled for 2 pm on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at St. Augustine Cathedral in Kalamazoo.
Bishop Bradley submitted his resignation to the Holy Father when he turned 75, as required by Church law, and will continue as Apostolic Administrator until Bishop-elect Lohse’s ordination.
Bishop-elect Lohse is the sixth of seven children from McKean, Pa.
He graduated from Cathedral Preparatory School and continued his education at Gannon University, Erie, Pa., where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History.
He continued his seminary studies at St. Vincent Seminary, Latrobe, Pa., graduating with a Master of Divinity in 1987 and completing his requirements for ordination in 1988.
More recently, Bishop-elect Lohse furthered his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University earning both a License (2002) and Doctorate in Canon Law (2016).
He was ordained a priest by the late Bishop Michael J. Murphy on April 21, 1989, at St. Peter Cathedral, Erie, Pa.
His first pastoral appointment was as a Parochial Vicar for St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Corry, Pa. He was recognized by Pope Francis in 2015 as a Chaplain to his Holiness with the title Monsignor.
Throughout his thirty-four years as a priest, Bishop-elect Lohse served in a number of pastoral, educational and diocesan assignments both for the Diocese of Erie as well as the Vatican.
“I am both humbled and honored to be asked by the Holy Father to become the fifth Bishop of Kalamazoo, and I am grateful to Bishop Bradley for his support,” said Bishop-elect Lohse. none of us walks the path of faith alone. I know that I will need to count on the prayers of Bishop Bradley, the priests, religious and laity of the diocese, and I pledge my prayers for them in return. Together, we will go forward to proclaim Christ, and to meet him in the hearts of all God’s people in the Diocese of Kalamazoo.”
Around 80,000 Catholics reside in the nine counties of Southwest Michigan that make up the Diocese of Kalamazoo: Allegan, Barry, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch.
