BISHOP DAVID A. ZUBIK NAMED TWELFTH BISHOP OF PITTSBURGH

PITTSBURGH – Pope Benedict XVI has named former Pittsburgh Auxiliary Bishop and Bishop of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Most Reverend David A. Zubik, as the twelfth Bishop of Pittsburgh.

The appointment was announced today in Washington by Msgr. Martin Krebs, charge d’affaires of the Vatican nunciature.

Bishop Zubik will be installed as Bishop of Pittsburgh at Saint Paul Cathedral, Oakland, on September 28, 2007.

Bishop Zubik succeeds Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl who was installed as archbishop of Washington in June 2006. Bishop Paul J. Bradley, auxiliary bishop, has served as Administrator of the Diocese of Pittsburgh since Archbishop Wuerl’s installation.

Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl today issued the following statement regarding the appointment of his successor as Bishop of Pittsburgh, Most Reverend David A. Zubik:

“Personally, I rejoice with the news of this appointment. I am very pleased for what it will mean to the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Bishop Zubik knows, loves and has served the Church of Pittsburgh, and has walked with it through all of its many moments of challenge and development for the past 20 years. My prayer is that God will bless him and his ministry and of course the Church of Pittsburgh.”

David A. Zubik was born on September 4, 1949 in Sewickley. His father, Stanley, lives with him in Green Bay. His mother, Susan (Raskosky), died in 2006. The family lived for many years in Ambridge and belonged to Good Samaritan Parish.

He attended St. Stanislaus Elementary School and St. Veronica High School, both in Ambridge, before entering St. Paul Seminary in Pittsburgh. He received an undergraduate degree at Duquesne University in 1971 and continued his studies at St. Mary Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he earned a degree in theology.

After his ordination as a priest by Bishop Vincent M. Leonard on May 3, 1975, he served as Parochial Vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in Shadyside until July 24, 1980. He was then named Vice-Principal of Quigley Catholic High School in Baden as well as Chaplain at the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse, and Chaplain to the students at Mount Gallitzin Academy. At the same time, he began graduate studies in the School of Education at Duquesne University where he earned a masters degree in education administration in 1982.

In 1987, he was appointed Administrative Secretary to then-Bishop Anthony Bevilacqua, who is the retired Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia. In 1988, he was named Administrative Secretary and Master of Ceremonies to then-Bishop Donald W. Wuerl, who has since been named Archbishop of Washington, DC.

In 1991, Bishop Zubik became the Diocesan Director of Clergy Personnel.

Bishop Zubik was named Associate General Secretary and Chancellor of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1995 and then Vicar General and General Secretary in 1996, a position in which he was responsible for the administration of diocesan central offices. He also was the Chaplain to the Sisters of the Holy Spirit at their Motherhouse in Ross Township.

On April 6, 1997, he was ordained an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Pittsburgh and titular bishop of Jamestown, North Dakota.

Bishop Zubik has served the Church on many boards and committees at the diocesan, local and national levels, including St. Paul and St. Vincent Seminaries, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference of Bishops, the Duquesne University Board of Directors, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Priestly Formation.

On October 10, 2003, Pope John Paul II named Bishop Zubik as the eleventh Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay. Bishop Zubik was installed on December 12, 2003.

In May 2004 he accepted a three-year term to the Board of Advisors of University of St. Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary in Chicago, and in November 2004 he was elected chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Laity Committee, a three-year term that began in November 2005.

Bishop Zubik currently serves on three committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops committees – the Administrative Committee, the Laity Committee, the Audit Sub-Committee – in addition to the National Advisory Council.

Bishop Zubik is the fifth native son to lead the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Bishop J. F. Regis Canevin (1904-1921), Bishop Hugh C. Boyle (1921-1950), Bishop Vincent M. Leonard (1969-1983), and Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl (1988-2006) were the others.

“I was truly honored to serve the wonderful people of Green Bay. Green Bay became my new home. Now Pittsburgh is my home again. I love the Church of Pittsburgh. I love being a part of the presbyterate of Pittsburgh once again. I love the people of Pittsburgh. It is a wonderful church – very much alive in Christ,” Bishop Zubik said.

About the Diocese of Pittsburgh

With a history dating back to 1754, the Diocese of Pittsburgh was established on August 8, 1843. Today, the diocese remains one of the largest in the country, with 214 parishes serving 764,438 Catholics or 39.31 percent of the population in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Lawrence and Washington Counties. With deep faith and programs of uncompromising quality, the Diocese of Pittsburgh is an institutional partner in southwestern Pennsylvania that enriches the lives of everyone it touches.

Education. With the fourth largest school system in Pennsylvania, the Diocese of Pittsburgh educates approximately 26,000 students in 102 elementary and 12 high schools. Students in all grades score far above the national average in achievement tests and nearly 100 percent of high school graduates go on to college. The Extra Mile Education Foundation helps some 900 predominantly non-Catholic and African American students in four parochial elementary schools in low-income urban areas, receive a quality, values-based education to prepare them for success later in life.

The diocese has also fostered several innovative efforts to meet the educational and spiritual needs of children with disabilities. Through sites in Catholic schools across the diocese, Saint Anthony School Programs shares its vision of inclusion by providing moral and spiritual formation, academic programs and vocational training for students with developmental disabilities ages 5 to 21. The DePaul Institute is a private, state-approved educational institution dedicated to the emotional, educational and personal growth of children and youth with hearing, speech and language impairments. An innovator in the education of children and young adults with disabilities, McGuire Memorial has earned a reputation for quality, compassionate care for developmentally disabled children and adults with fragile medical conditions since its founding in 1963.

Social services. Every day, thousands of children and adults of all faiths receive assistance from parish-based programs and Catholic social service organizations. Throughout the diocese, Catholic parishes are doing great work to improve the lives of people in need through soup kitchens, food pantries, parish nurse programs and countless other services.

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Inc., is the diocese’s largest social service agency, serving over 80,000 persons annually through programs for the working poor, families, refugees and senior citizens, regardless of faith. Roselia Center, a program of Catholic Charities, offers confidential, comprehensive services in a residential setting for young single mothers before and after the birth of their children, including an on-site high school program, nursery care for infants, parenting classes and other assistance.

The diocese is home to several other programs as well. Founded in 1937 by Msgr. Charles Owen Rice, the Saint Joseph House of Hospitality provides permanent housing and supportive services to low-income men 50 years of age and older who are capable of independent living. The Saint Vincent de Paul Society provides a variety of services for the area’s poor through parish-based conferences and several other programs, from food pantries and resale stores to transitional housing units. Mom’s House offers childcare, parenting classes, tutoring and other assistance to low income single parents who are full-time students, Michael’s Place supplies transitional housing for men upon their release from prison, and the Ladies of Charity provides people over the age of 55 with emergency financial assistance through the Emergency Trust Fund.

Children are always an important part of Catholic social ministry in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Auberle touches more than 2,000 at-risk children and families each year by empowering them to create and preserve a healthy, self-sufficient and productive family life. Holy Family Institute serves 2,000 children and 600 families every year through a variety of counseling, education, addiction and social service programs.