Edward Matthew Rice (born July 28, 1960) 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 ...

. He has been serving as bishop of the

Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

since 2016. Rice previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of St. Louis The Archdiocese of St. Louis ( la, Archidiœcesis Sancti Ludovici) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the City of St. Louis and the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perr ...

in Missouri from 2010 to 2016.

Biography

Early life and education

Rice was born July 28, 1960, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, one of the ten children of John and Helen (

nee Nee or NEE may refer to: Names * Née (lit. "born"), a woman's family name at birth before the adoption of another surname usually after marriage **The male equivalent "né" is used to indicate what a man was originally known as before the adopt ...

Madden) Rice. He graduated from St. Mary's High School in St. Louis. He received his

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

degree from Kenrick School of Theology in 1987.Rice was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

on May 3, 1986, by Bishop J. Terry Steib.

Priestly Ordination and ministry

Rice was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of St. Louis on January 3, 1987, by Archbishop

John L. May John Lawrence May (March 31, 1922 – March 24, 1994) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Mobile (1969–1980) and Archbishop of St. Louis (1980–1992). Early life and education John May was born in E ...

. Rice started teaching at St. Mary's High School in 1991. In 1995, he became assistant director of Cardinal Glennon College, the minor seminary of the archdiocese. Rice was named director of Cardinal Glennon in 1996, holding that position until 2000. In 2000, Rice was appointed pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in St. Louis. In 2008, he left St. John to become director of the Office of

Vocation A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious co ...

s for the archdiocese. On July 2, 2008, Rice was appointed as a

chaplain of his holiness A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and vestments.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 ...

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis

On December 1, 2010,

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 ...

appointed Rice as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Sufes Sufes was a town in the late Roman province of Byzacena, which became a Christian bishopric that is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees. The town The ruins of Roman Sufes are found near Sbiba a village in Tunisia's province of ...

. Rice's episcopal consecration took place on January 13, 2011, at the

Cathedral Basilica of Saint 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 ...

in St. Louis. Archbishop Robert Carlson was the principal consecrator. Bishops John R. Gaydos and Richard F. Stika were the principal co-consecrators. Cardinal Raymond Burke and Bishop Robert Hermann were also in attendance.

Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau

On April 26, 2016, Pope Francis appointed Rice as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau. His installation took place June 1, 2016, at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau Official Site

USCCB Bishops Directory

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Edward Matthew Living people 1960 births 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Kenrick–Glennon Seminary alumni Pontifical North American College alumni Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis Religious leaders from Missouri American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent