His Excellency, The Most Reverend Robert Joseph Baker |
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Bishop of Birmingham | |
Bishop Robert Baker with Friars
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Church | Catholic Church |
Archdiocese | Mobile |
Diocese | Birmingham |
Appointed | August 14, 2007 |
Installed | October 2, 2007 |
Predecessor | David Edward Foley |
Orders | |
Ordination | March 21, 1970 by Paul Francis Tanner |
Consecration | September 29, 1999 by John Francis Donoghue, Gabriel Montalvo Higuera, and John J. Snyder |
Personal details | |
Born |
Willard, Ohio |
June 4, 1944
Previous post | Bishop of Charleston |
Motto | REJOICING IN HOPE |
Styles of Robert Joseph Baker |
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Reference style | |
Spoken style | Your Excellency |
Religious style | Bishop |
Robert J. Baker (b. June 4, 1944 Willard, Ohio) is an American Roman Catholic prelate who serves as the Bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. He was appointed to this post by Pope Benedict XVI on August 14, 2007 and installed on October 2, 2007. He has written several books.
Baker was ordained for the diocese of St Augustine in 1970 and sent to Rome for doctoral studies in dogmatic theology shortly thereafter. He has served in turns as a parish priest, campus minister, and seminary formator.
In 1999, Baker was appointed Bishop of Charleston. As bishop of Charleston, Baker presided over rapid growth, thanks to a combination of adult conversion and Hispanic immigration (the state's population of Roman Catholics boomed by almost 40% to over 175,000 during his tenure). Bishop Baker dedicated new or expanded churches, schools, and parish facilities.
He was transferred to Alabama to become Bishop of Birmingham. The Diocese of Charleston bishopric was filled Jan. 24, 2009 by Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone, formerly rector of St. Agnes Cathedral of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York.
"When Did We See You, Lord?" Baker, Robert J. and Groeschel, C.F.R., Benedict J. Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc, 2005.