1. Richard Frank Stika was born on July 4,1957 and is an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Knoxville from 2009 to 2023.
23 Facts About Richard Stika
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Richard Stika was born on July 4,1957, in St Louis, Missouri, to Frank and Helen Stika; his father was of Czech heritage and his mother Polish.
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The third of four children, Richard Stika has two brothers, Lawrence and Robert, and Joseph was later adopted.
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Richard Stika was baptized at St Francis de Sales Church on July 21,1957, and attended Epiphany of Our Lord School in South St Louis.
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Richard Stika transferred to Bishop DuBourg High School in St Louis, graduating in 1975.
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Richard Stika then studied at St Louis University, obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in business in 1979.
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Richard Stika then entered Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Shrewsbury, Missouri, where he earned a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1981 and a Master of Divinity degree in 1985.
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Richard Stika was named in 1991 as an associate pastor at St Paul Parish in Fenton, Missouri.
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From 1994 to 2004, Richard Stika served as chancellor of the archdiocese.
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Richard Stika coordinated Pope John Paul II's visit to St Louis in 1999.
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On January 12,2009, Richard Stika was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville by Pope Benedict XVI.
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Richard Stika was ordained on March 19,2009, by Rigali, with Archbishop Joseph Kurtz and Bishop Robert Shaheen serving as co-consecrators, at the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville.
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Richard Stika was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
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Richard Stika is a fan of the St Louis Cardinals baseball team.
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Richard Stika is a close friend of Cardinal Rigali and considered the latter's protege.
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In September 2014, Richard Stika initiated fundraising to construct a new Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, He dedicated it on March 3,2018.
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Some diocesan priests and employees alleged that Richard Stika took funds from diocesan education and employee benefit funds, including loan money from the US Paycheck Protection Program, to pay the $36 million cost for the cathedral.
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Our experience of our appointed bishop varies among us, but the undersigned do share a common awareness that the past twelve years of service under Bishop Richard Stika have been, on the whole, detrimental to priestly fraternity and even to our personal well-being.
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Richard Stika recommended the two men keep in contact using Snapchat, a social media app in which messages disappear after being sent.
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In December 2019, Richard Stika arranged for Sobczuk to miss more than a week of classes to accompany Richard Stika on his ad limina visit to the Vatican.
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Between mid-2018 and 2020, Richard Stika earmarked $4,000 of diocesan funds as cash gifts for Sobczuk The diocese paid his phone bill and reimbursed him nearly $30,000 in expenses for travel, car repairs, and other personal expenditures.
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Richard Stika then dismissed the investigator for "asking all these questions".
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Richard Stika appointed a replacement investigator who only interviewed Sobczuk before closing his investigation.