Austin Anthony Vetter (born September 13, 1967) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana since 2019.

Biography

Early life

Vetter was born on September 13, 1967, in

Linton, North Dakota Linton is a city in and the county seat of Emmons County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,071 at the 2020 census. When compared with the other 356 cities in North Dakota, Linton ranks in the top twelve percent based on the num ...

. After attending North Dakota State University from 1985 to 1989, he studied for the priesthood at

Cardinal Muench Seminary Cardinal Muench Seminary was a Roman Catholic minor seminary located in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. Founded in 1962 as the seminary of the Diocese of Fargo, it reached a peak enrollment of 84 seminarians in 1978. Enrollment declined in ...

in Fargo, North Dakota, from 1986 to 1989. Vetter then attended the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

in Rome, earning a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from the

Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy O ...

in 1992.

Priesthood

On June 29, 1993, Vetter was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Bismarck at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck, North Dakota, by Bishop John Kinney. After his ordination, Vetter's pastoral assignments in North Dakota parishes included: * Parochial vicar at Cathedral of the Holy Spirit * Pastor of St. Martin’s in Center * Pastor of St. Patrick’s in Dickinson * Pastor at St. Leo the Great in

Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Minot Air Force Base, Air Force base approximately north of ...

While completing his pastoral assignments, Vetter also served as a religion instructor at St. Mary's Central High School in Bismarck (1994-1999). He later became an adjunct faculty member at the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. (2004-2007). In 2012, Vetter returned to Rome to serve as director of spiritual formation at the Pontifical North American College, a post he would hold for six years. After returning to Bismarck in 2018, he was named rector of Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

Bishop of Helena

Pope Francis appointed Vetter as the eleventh bishop of the Diocese of Helena on October 8, 2019. Vetter was consecrated by Archbishop Alexander Sample on November 20, 2019.

References

External links