1. Richard Edmund Pates was born on February 12,1943 and is an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Des Moines from 2008 to 2019 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis from 2000 to 2008.
20 Facts About Richard Pates
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The youngest of three sons, Richard Pates was born on February 12,1943, to Donald and Lenora Pates in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
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Richard Pates attended Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary in Saint Paul and St Paul Seminary, where he earned Bachelor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Latin degrees in 1965.
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Richard Pates completed his graduate studies in Rome, where he resided at the Pontifical North American College.
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Richard Pates received a Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
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On December 20,1968, Richard Pates was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis by Bishop Francis Reh at St Peter's Basilica in Rome.
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Richard Pates served as a weekend associate pastor at Annunciation Parish in Minneapolis.
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In 1975, Richard Pates was appointed as secretary of the apostolic delegation to the United States in Washington, DC.
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In 1981, Richard Pates returned to Saint Paul to become rector of Saint John Vianney College Seminary, a position he would hold until 1987.
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Richard Pates was appointed chaplain of the Serra Club of Midway, Minnesota.
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In 1987, Richard Pates was appointed vicar for seminaries and pastor of Saint Kevin Parish and the Resurrection Parish, both in Minneapolis.
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In 1991, the two parishes merged to form Our Lady of Peace Parish, where Richard Pates continued as pastor until 1998.
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Richard Pates served as moderator for the archdiocese deaneries, the Council of Catholic Women and was the founding pastor of Saint Ambrose of Woodbury Parish in St Paul.
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Richard Pates was consecrated on March 26,2001, by Archbishop Harry Flynn, with Archbishop John Roach and Bishop Frederick Campbell serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of St Paul.
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Richard Pates was the third consecutive Twin Cities' auxiliary bishop to be named bishop Des Moines; his two immediate predecessors, Bishop Joseph Charron and Bishop William Bullock, previously served the St Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocese.
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On November 14,2011, Richard Pates was elected chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace at the 2011 meeting.
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Richard Pates advocated lifting the Cuban embargo and other restrictions the US Government had placed on Cuba.
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Richard Pates called for further dialogue between the two countries, earning some support from Catholics in South Florida.
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On February 16,2018, Richard Pates submitted his letter of resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines to Pope Francis having reached the canonical retirement age of 75.
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Richard Pates continued in that role when Conlon retired on May 4,2020.