Archdiocese of St. Louis video screengrab / YouTube
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Mark S. Rivituso, currently serving as auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis, Missouri, as the new archbishop of Mobile, Alabama.
The announcement came from Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the US, and was made public in Washington, D.C., July 1, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Holy Father also accepted the resignation of Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi, who reached the customary retirement age of 75 last year.
Archbishop Rodi was ordained a priest in 1978. He served the Archdiocese of New Orleans in numerous leadership roles, including tribunal judge, professor of canon law, chancellor, and later vicar general. He was appointed bishop of Biloxi in 2001 and became archbishop of Mobile in 2008, where he served for more than 17 years.
“I am most grateful to the Holy Father for sending us this outstanding bishop,” Archbishop Rodi said in a July 1 press release from the archdiocese. “I give thanks to God that the Spirit has guided this selection of our new archbishop. I ask that we all keep Archbishop-Designate Rivituso in our prayers as he prepares to serve as our next archbishop.”
Archbishop-designate Rivituso, 63, is a native of St. Louis and was ordained to the priesthood in 1988. He holds a licentiate in canon and civil law from St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada, and has served the Archdiocese of St. Louis in a wide range of roles, including pastor, canon lawyer, judicial vicar, and, since 2011, as vicar general. Pope Benedict XVI named him a monsignor in 2005, and Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop in 2017.
“I am blessed being with you today and blessed with this appointment from Pope Leo to serve as Archbishop of Mobile,” Archbishop-designate Rivituso said at a July 1 press conference. “It’s good to be coming here to serve — what a great blessing it is.”
