Alexander King Sample (born November 7, 1960) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon since 2013. Sample previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Marquette in Michigan from 2005 to 2013.

Early life and education

Alexander King Sample was born in Kalispell, Montana, to Alexander and Joyce (née Dory) Sample. His father was of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

heritage and his mother Polish. The younger Alexander Sample graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1978. He attended

Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

(MTU) in Houghton, Michigan, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1982 and a Master of Science degree in metallurgical engineering in 1984. Interested in becoming a priest since the fourth grade, Sample decided to study for the priesthood after graduating from MTU, saying, "I knew I would never know peace until I explored the vocation to be a priest." He graduated in 1986 from the

College of St. Thomas A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a University system, constituent part of one. A college may be a academic degree, degree-awarding Tertiary education, tertiary educational institution, a part of a coll ...

in St. Paul, Minnesota, and then entered the

Pontifical College Josephinum The Pontifical College Josephinum is a private Roman Catholic seminary and university in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded by Joseph Jessing in 1888 and was granted the status of a Pontifical College in 1892 by Pope Leo XIII, making it the only pont ...

in Columbus, Ohio.

Priesthood

Sample was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Marquette by Bishop

Mark Schmitt Mark Schmitt is an American political scientist and author, and is Director of Studies and of the Political Reform Program at the New America Foundation. Biography Schmitt has written extensively on budget and tax policy, and on the history a ...

on June 1, 1990. After his ordination, Sample had the following pastoral assignments in Michigan parishes: * Parochial vicar of St. Peter Cathedral from 1990 to 1993 * Pastor of St. George Parish in Bark River * St. Michael Parish in Perronville * Sacred Heart Parish in

Schaffer Schaefer is an alternative spelling and cognate for the German word ''schäfer'', meaning 'shepherd', which itself descends from the Old High German '' scāphare''. Variants "Shaefer", "Schäfer" (a standardized spelling in many German-speaking ...

In 1994, Sample entered the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), earning a Licentiate of Canon Law in 1996. After returning to Marquette in 1996, Sample was named

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the diocese and pastor of St. Christopher Parish in Marquette. He also served as a member of the college of consultors, as director of ministry personnel services and of ongoing formation of priests, and diocesan

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the Knights of Columbus. Within the marriage tribunal, Sample served as judge, adjutant

judicial vicar In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official ( la, links=no, officialis) is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court. Although the diocesan bishop can reserv ...

, defender of the bond, and promoter of justice. He was also director of the Bishop Baraga Association and vice-

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Obse ...

of the cause of beatification for Bishop Frederic Baraga, a 19th century missionary to Native Americans in the Upper Midwest.

Bishop of Marquette

On December 13, 2005, Sample was appointed the twelfth bishop of the Diocese of Marquette by Pope Benedict XVI. He received his episcopal consecration on January 25, 2006, from Cardinal Adam Maida, with Bishops James Garland and Mark Schmitt serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. At the time of his consecration, Sample was the youngest Catholic bishop in the United States and the first to be born in the 1960's. He selected as his episcopal motto: ''"Vultum Christi contemplari"'', meaning "To contemplate the face of Christ". On October 7, 2007, at the invitation of Archbishop Raymond Burke, Sample attended the Red Mass at the

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, also known as the Saint Louis Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Completed in 1914, it is the mother church of the Arch ...

, delivering the homily. In July 2012, Sample ordained five seminarians to the diaconate, and ten new subdeacons. These new subdeacons include five from the United States for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.

Archbishop of Portland

On January 29, 2013, Sample was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Portland, succeeding the retiring Archbishop John Vlazny. He was installed on April 2, 2013 at the Chiles Center Arena on the campus of the University of Portland. In August 2018, Sample acknowledged the history of sexual abuse crimes committed by clergy in the archdiocese, which he described as an "institutional and spiritual" failure, and issued an apology. In May 2018, Sample directed that Catholics attending Mass in the archdiocese must kneel after chanting the

Lamb of God Lamb of God ( el, Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Amnòs toû Theoû; la, Agnus Dei, ) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God wh ...

until they receive communion.

Viewpoints

Abortion

In April 2009, Sample expressed his "disappointment and dismay" over the University of Notre Dame's decision to invite President Barack Obama to deliver its commencement speech and receive an honorary degree, given Obama's support of abortion. He added,

It saddens me beyond words that the great university named after Our Lady would bestow distinction and honor on a politician who would seek to expand threats to such innocent human life.

Immigration

In December 2016, at a mass celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadeloupe, Sample condemned racist and bigoted language used against minorities in the 2016 US Presidential Election Campaign. He stated:

It does not matter to me from where you have come, when you came, or whether you have the proper documents or not. You are loved! You are loved by God and precious in his eyes. You are loved by Our Lady of Guadalupe. You are her special children, her little ones, and she will not abandon you.

LGBT rights

In 2017, Sample decreed that Catholics in the archdiocese who are sexually-active LGBT, divorced or remarried in a civil ceremony should not receive the

eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

. These individuals must first "sacramentally confess all serious sins with a firm purpose to change" before they can take communion.

Sexual abuse scandal

In August 2018, Sample expressed his shock and disappointment over the Pennsylvanian grand jury report on sexual abuse of minors by clergy. He stated:

These horrific revelations are particularly painful in light of what victims in our own archdiocese have suffered and the impact that sexual abuse has had on the church here in western Oregon. I am sorry beyond words for the harm that has been done.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sample, Alexander 1960 births Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Roman Catholic archbishops of Portland in Oregon Roman Catholic bishops of Marquette Michigan Technological University alumni University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni Pontifical College Josephinum alumni People from Kalispell, Montana Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni American people of Scottish descent American people of Polish descent Bishop Gorman High School alumni Catholics from Montana Catholics from Nevada