DIOCESAN NEWS
03/06/09
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New Orleans auxiliary named to Biloxi
     WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI has named Auxiliary Bishop Roger Morin of New Orleans to head the Diocese of Biloxi, Miss.
     The appointment was announced in Washington March 2 by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Bishop Morin’s predecessor in Biloxi now is the head of the Archdiocese of Mobile, Ala.,           Archbishop Thomas Rodi. He has been apostolic administrator of the Mississippi diocese since his April 2008 appointment to Mobile.
     Bishop Morin, who turns 68 March 7, has been a New Orleans auxiliary since 2003. He will be installed as the third bishop of Biloxi April 27 at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Biloxi.
     In a statement he said he greeted his appointment with “open arms” and asked for the prayers of clergy, religious and laity, all of whom “will be my co-workers in this vineyard of the Lord.”
     He said he will go to Biloxi as a neighbor, as one who has weathered “the fearsome storms of years gone by” and, like the people of Biloxi, as a survivor of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
     “Like so many of you, I have come to know the frustrations and aggravations entailed in the process of recovery and rebuilding that stands, for us, on the firm foundations of faith and hope as bases for an optimistic belief in a better future for our church and our communities,” he said.
     He added “the trials and tribulations” of storms have only strengthened his faith and losses have not deprived him of hope but instead have deepened it, because of the blessings of those who have offered assistance “in a loving and caring manner.”
     Archbishop Rodi said in a statement he was confident that, “with God’s help,” Bishop Morin “will powerfully proclaim the word of God, join the people of Mississippi in praising God and lead in making the love of God visible to the poor throughout the charitable efforts of the church.”
     He praised the bishop for his efforts to rebuild parishes, schools and charitable ministries in the New Orleans Archdiocese after Hurricane Katrina.
     Despite the “challenges and difficulties involved in hurricane recovery,” Archbishop Rodi said, “he has fostered the revival of the church and the community with faith and perseverance.”
     Upon hearing news about the appointment, Bishop Joseph Latino of Jackson said, “On behalf of the people of the Diocese of Jackson, I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Bishop Roger Morin upon his appointment as the Third Bishop of Biloxi. We rejoice with the Diocese of Biloxi as they prepare to welcome their new shepherd.
     “Having known Bishop Morin for many years, I know him to be a man of deep commitment to the gospel message of Jesus Christ, prayer and the church. His many talents, gifts and leadership skills along with his great love for the church will make him a fine bishop for the Diocese of Biloxi as they continue to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina.
     “I look forward to collaborating with him on building up the church in Mississippi and on making Mississippi a better place for all of its inhabitants,” Bishop Latino said.
     “During this time of transition, I will keep Bishop Morin and the people of the Diocese of Biloxi in my prayers and I ask the people of the Diocese of Jackson to keep them in prayer as well,” he daid.
     Born in Lowell, Mass., March 7, 1941, Roger Morin attended elementary and secondary schools in Dracut, Mass., Lowell and Boston. He was in seminary studies at Boston’s Cardinal O’Connell and St. John’s seminaries, 1962-68. He received a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from St. John’s in 1966, and then pursued graduate studies in theology there.
     He first went to New Orleans in 1967 to work in the church’s new witness program, run by the archdiocese’s Social Apostolate.
     A year later he was invited by Archbishop Philip Hannan, then head of the New Orleans archdiocese, to return and help with an inner-city summer program for the poor.
     He continued his studies at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, earning a master of divinity degree in 1970. In 1971, during a Mass at his home parish of St. Therese in Dracut, he was ordained a priest of the New Orleans Archdiocese by Archbishop Hannan.
     Then-Father Morin’s first parish assignment was at St. Henry in New Orleans. In 1973 he was appointed associate director of the Social Apostolate. In 1975 he became director, overseeing nine year-round social service centers sponsored by the archdiocese.
     In 1974 he earned a master of science degree in urban affairs from Tulane University in New Orleans.
     From 1978 to 1981, at the request of the mayor of New Orleans and with the permission of his archbishop, he served as a volunteer special assistant in the office of the mayor dealing with federal programs.
     In 1981 he was named archdiocesan vicar for community affairs, with responsibility over Catholic Charities, the Social Apostolate, the Apostleship of the Sea, disaster relief and five other agencies.
     He was named a monsignor by the pope in 1985. In 2001, he was named vicar general and moderator of the archdiocesan curia. He was pastor of Incarnate Word Parish in New Orleans from 1988 to 2002.
     He has said one of the highlights of his priesthood came in 1987 when he directed preparations for Pope John Paul II’s visit to New Orleans. He also coordinated events for the archdiocese’s bicentennial in 2003.
       The 9,600-square-mile Biloxi diocese covers 17 counties of southern Mississippi. It has a population of 761,418 people, with 58,202, or 8 percent, of them Catholic.

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