John Charles Wester, (born November 5, 1950) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 'pre ...

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 archbishop of the

Archdiocese of Santa Fe The Archdiocese of Santa Fe ( la, Archidioecesis Sanctae Fidei in America Septentrionali, link=no, es, Arquidiócesis de Santa Fe, link=no) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the southwestern region of the United States in ...

in New Mexico since 2015. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City in Utah from 2007 to 2015 and as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco (Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish: ''Archidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the Unite ...

in California from 1998 to 2007.

Early life and education

John Charles Wester was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, on November 5, 1950, the fourth generation of his family born there. Wester attended Our Lady of Mercy Parish School in

Daly City, California Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...

. Wester graduated from St. Joseph's College Seminary,

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376. Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the ...

, in 1972, and then attended St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1976. Wester received a

Master of Applied Science Master of Applied Science (abbreviations include MASc, MAppSc, MApplSc, and MAS) is an academic degree. It is conferred far more widely in the Commonwealth of Nations than in the US. "MASc" degrees are generally conferred in Commonwealth of Nation ...

degree from the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

in 1984, and then a Master of Spiritual Theology degree from

Holy Names College Holy Names University is a private Roman Catholic university in Oakland, California. It was founded by and remains affiliated with the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. It was founded in 1868 and plans to close in 2023. History Th ...

in Oakland, California in 1993.

Early career

Wester was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco on May 15, 1976. After his ordination, Wester was appointed associate pastor at Saint Raphael Parish in San Rafael, California. In 1979, he became a teacher and director of campus ministry at

Marin Catholic High School Marin Catholic High School (familiarly known as MC) is a Roman Catholic college preparatory school located in unincorporated Kentfield in Marin County, California. The school is owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. It was fou ...

. Wester later became president of the high school and eventually assistant superintendent for high schools for the archdiocese. In 1988, he was named as assistant to the archbishop. Wester's first appointment as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

was at Saint Stephen Parish in

in 1993. Wester returned to the Pastoral Center in 1997 to become the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

for clergy, where he was named a

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 San Francisco

On June 30, 1998,

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 ...

appointed Wester as titular bishop of Lamiggiga and as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. He received his episcopal consecration on September 18, 1998. Wester then served as

moderator of the curia Moderator of the curia is a top administrative position held by a Catholic priest in a diocese under the supervision of the bishop. The moderator coordinates the exercise of the administrative duties and oversees the office holders, or curia, in ...

until 2003. While he was

episcopal vicar Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

for clergy, Wester also served 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' ...

of the archdiocese. He also served as apostolic administrator from August 2005 to February 2006. Wester was heavily involved in sexual abuse cases in the archdiocese, meeting with victims and accused clergy.

Bishop of Salt Lake City

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 soverei ...

appointed Wester as bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City on January 8, 2007. He was installed there on March 14, 2007.

Bishop of Santa Fe

On April 27, 2015,

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 Wester as archbishop for the Diocese of Santa Fe. He was installed there on June 4, 2015. Since his consecration, Wester has been involved with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as a member of the Bishops Committee on Vocations, chairman of Northern California

Ch'an Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and S ...

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

-Catholic Dialogue, consultant for the Subcommittee on Interreligious Dialogue, member of the Migration Committee, the Pastoral Practices Committee, World Mission Committee, the Subcommittee on Lay Ministry, and as the USCCB bishop-liaison to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe Official Site

USCCB Bishop Listing

Catholic Professional and Business Club Biography of Wester

Announcement of Wester becoming Auxiliary Bishop

Diocese of Salt Lake City announcement of Wester becoming Bishop

Diocese of Salt Lake City Biography of Wester
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wester, John Charles 1950 births Living people People from San Mateo County, California University of San Francisco alumni Holy Names University alumni People from San Rafael, California Roman Catholic bishops of Salt Lake City 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Roman Catholic archbishops of Santa Fe Catholics from California