Alfred Andrew Schlert (born July 24, 1961) is an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who has been serving as the bishop of the

Diocese of Allentown The Diocese of Allentown ( la, Diœcesis Alanpolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church, located in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The Diocese of Allentow ...

in Pennsylvania since 2017.

Biography

Early life and education

Alfred Schlert was born on July 24, 1961, in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

, the son of Alfred and Marylou Schlert. He attended St. Jane Frances de Chantal Elementary School and Notre Dame High School, both in Easton. His ecclesiastical studies were undertaken at

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school ...

in Philadelphia, the

Pontifical Roman Major Seminary , type = Major seminary , established = , founder = Pope Pius IV , parent = Diocese of Rome , religious_affiliation = Catholic Church , rector = Gabriele Fara ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Ponti ...

in Rome.

Priesthood

Schlert was ordained a priest on September 19, 1987, at the

Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena The Cathedral Church of St. Catharine of Siena is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown, Diocese of Allentown. It is located at 1825 Turner Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania. History Saint Catharine of Siena Parish was founded October ...

in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on September 19, 1987, by Bishop

Thomas J. Welsh Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

."Bishop Alfred A. Schlert", Diocese of Allentown
/ref> After his ordination, Schlert served as an assistant pastor at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Allentown, as a professor at Notre Dame High School, and as a chaplain at

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...

in Bethlehem. He then completed graduate studies at the Pontifical Lateran University, where he received a

Licentiate in Canon Law Licentiate may refer to: *Licentiate (degree), a degree below a PhD granted by universities in some countries; may indicate a medical doctor qualification in the UK and other countries. Religion *Licentiate of Canon Law, Roman Catholic Church * L ...

in 1992. In 1997, Schlert was named vice chancellor and secretary to Bishop Welsh. In 1998, Bishop Edward P. Cullen appointed Schlert as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

, overseeing the coordination of all administrative offices of the diocese.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named him chaplain to his holiness with the title of

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

in 1999.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

named Schlert a

prelate of honor A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.Hellertown, Pennsylvania Hellertown is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Its population was 6,132 at the 2020 census. Hellertown is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th most populous metropolitan area ...

Bishop of Allentown

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed Schlert as bishop for the Diocese of Allentown on June 27, 2017. His consecration by Archbishop

Charles Chaput Charles Joseph Chaput ( ; born September 26, 1944) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the ninth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, serving from 2011 until 2020. He previously served as archb ...

took place on August 31, 2017. In a grand jury report released by Pennsylvania Attorney General

Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the Pennsylvania Attorney General since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the governor-elect of Pennsylvania. Raised in Montgomery ...

on August 14, 2018. '' Lehigh Valley Live'' noted: According to the grand jury report, Monsignor William Jones was accused of sexually abusing a boy. Two days after the boy reported the abuse, Schlert and Monsignor John B. McCann confronted Jones who "offered his resignation and was advised he could not exercise any public ministry in the diocese or elsewhere." Also according to the report, in 2007 the diocese heard about a boy who was allegedly given alcohol and inappropriately touched by Father Joseph Galko. Monsignor Gerald Gobitas and Schlert confronted Galko, who admitted the allegation. "The diocese

laicized In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the loss of clerical state (commonly referred to as laicization, dismissal, defrocking, and degradation) is the removal of a bishop, priest, or deacon from the status of being a member of the clergy. The t ...

Galko and he was eventually dismissed from the priesthood,". In August 2018, Schlert issued a public apology "for the past sins and crimes committed by some members of the clergy." Shapiro has strongly criticized Schlert for what he perceives as the Bishop's actions when he was a Monsignor. However, some of the public feel that these attacks are in the least unwarranted and unfair.Behe, Michael J., "Readers React: Bishop Schlert's reputation unfairly damaged", ''Daily News'', October 4, 2018
/ref>

References

External links