Bruce Alan Lewandowski, CSsR (born June 8, 1967) is an American bishop 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 ...

and a member of the

Redemptorists The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

. He has been serving as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of Mar ...

in Maryland, since 2020. He previously served in New York City,

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Early life

Lewandowski was born in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, on June 8, 1967, to Robert and Frances Lewandowski. He grew up on a family farm in

Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...

, with his four siblings. Lewandowski attended St. Gerard Elementary School in Lima and

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...

at St. Mary’s College in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

. He subsequently attended Saint Alphonsus College in

Suffield, Connecticut Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield, Connecticut, Enfiel ...

, and

Holy Redeemer College Holy Redeemer College is a Roman Catholic institution that provides housing to priests and religious brothers who are pursuing studies in Washington, D.C. Located at 3112 7th Street, NE in the city's Brookland neighborhood, it is run by the Balt ...

in Washington, D.C. Starting in 1988, Lewandowski studied theology at

Washington Theological Union Washington Theological Union (WTU) was a Catholic graduate school of theology and seminary in Washington, D.C. in the United States, founded in 1968. It stopped accepting students in 2011, and suspended operations at the end of June 2015. WTU was ...

in Washington. Lewandowski also learned Spanish in anticipation of being assigned to missions run by the Redemptorists in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

Presbyteral ministry

On May 7, 1994, Lewandowski was ordained by Bishop William Curlin to the priesthood for the Redemptorist order at the

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a large minor Catholic basilica and national shrine in the United States in Washington, D.C., located at 400 Michigan Avenue Northeast, adjacent to Catholic University. ...

in Washington, D.C. Lewandowski's first pastoral assignment was in the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

as parish vicar at St. Cecilia Parish in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Two years later, he was transferred to Immaculate Conception Parish in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

in New York City. He was subsequently assigned as a missionary to

Vieux Fort Vieux Fort is one of 10 districts of the Caribbean island country of Saint Lucia. Vieux Fort is also the name of the main town in the district. It is the home of the second-largest town in Saint Lucia and is the home of Saint Lucia's internatio ...

in 1998, and remained there until 2000. He then returned to the United States to become pastor at St. Boniface Parish in the

Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well a ...

. He then served as pastor of the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in

Kensington, Pennsylvania Kensington, colloquially known locally as “Kenzo,” is a neighborhood in Philadelphia that belongs to or divides Northeast Philadelphia, Lower Northeast and North Philadelphia. As with all neighborhoods in the city, the lack of any official ...

from 2006 to 2011. Lewandowski served as the vicar for cultural ministries in Philadelphia from 2011 until late 2015, when he became pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in

Highlandtown, Baltimore Highlandtown is a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Description and history The area currently known as Highlandtown was established in 1866 when the area known as "Snake Hill" was established as a village outside the Baltimor ...

. He also became a leader in Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), and collaborated with the group in October 2018 to create a parish

identity card An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any documentation, document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID c ...

. This was especially beneficial for parishioners at Sacred Heart who were

undocumented immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

. Lewandowski described planned raids by the

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...

in June 2019, which would target immigrant communities, as "an act of domestic terrorism". He became Archbishop William Lori's interim delegate for Hispanic ministry on August 22, 2019.

Episcopal ministry

Lewandowski was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and titular bishop of Croae on June 10, 2020. He was consecrated by Archbishop Lori on August 18, 2020, at the

Cathedral of Mary Our Queen The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen is a Catholic cathedral located in northern Baltimore, Maryland. The structure, remarkable in size, was completed in 1959. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Baltimore, joining the Basilica of the Nati ...

in Baltimore. Lewandowski was named urban vicar for the archdiocese in September 2021, succeeding

Denis J. Madden Denis James Madden (born March 8, 1940) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland from 2005 to 2015. Biography Early life Denis Madden was born on March 8, 1 ...

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore Official Site

Episcopal succession