Edward William Clark (born November 30, 1946) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

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 served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in th ...

from 2001 to 2022.

Biography

Early life

Edward Clark was born and raised in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. Educated in California, he attended the former

Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary (OLQA) was the Junior or Minor Seminary for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles from its founding in 1953 until its closure in 1995. It was located in Mission Hills, California, adjacent to Mission San F ...

in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, and St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California.

Priesthood

Clark was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood by Archbishop Timothy Manning on May 9, 1972, and then served in

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

assignments in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. From 1985 to 1988, Clark studied at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

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 ...

, where he earned a

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...

degree. He served as coordinator of religious instruction for secondary schools from 1988 to 1990, and was named president of St. John's Seminary College in 1994.

Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles

On January 16, 2001, Clark was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles 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 ...

of Garðar by

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 ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

on March 25, 2001, from Cardinal

Roger Mahony Roger Michael Mahony (born February 27, 1936) is an American cardinal and retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011. Before his appointment, he served as Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno from ...

, with Archbishops

William Levada William Joseph Levada (June 15, 1936September 26, 2019) was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. From May 2005 until June 2012, he served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope Benedict XVI; he was the h ...

and

Justin Rigali Justin Francis Rigali (born April 19, 1935) is an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the eighth Archbishop of Philadelphia, having previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1994 to 2003, and was elevated to the ca ...

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, ...

. As an auxiliary bishop, Clark served as the regional bishop for the

Our Lady of the Angels Pastoral Region The Our Lady of the Angels Pastoral Region is a pastoral region of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in the Roman Catholic Church. It covers downtown and central Los Angeles (USA) west to Malibu and south to Los Angeles Airport. The current regional ...

. Within the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

(USCCB), Clark has served as the Catholic co-chairman of the Anglican–Roman Catholic Theological Consultation and as a member of the Committee on Doctrine, the Committee on African American Catholics, and the Committee on Interfaith Activities. Within the California Conference of Catholic Bishops, Clark served as chair of the Committee on Education, chair of the task force on Native American Historic Concerns, co-chair of the Serra Committee, and member of the Strategic Concerns Committee. Clark was also president of the

Western Catholic Education Association Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA) is an educational accreditation agency for Roman Catholic schools in part of the United States. It is based in Fullerton, California. See also *History of Catholic education in the United States * ...

, responsible for the accreditation of Catholic schools in seven western states.

Retirement

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. ...

accepted Clark's letter of resignation as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on February 15, 2022.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Edward W. 1946 births Living people Clergy from Minneapolis 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles St. John's Seminary (California) alumni