Joseph Léo Charron C.PP.S. 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 ...

. Charron served as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines in Iowa from 1994 to 2007 and as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis 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 ...

in Minnesota from 1990 to 1994.

Biography

Early life

Joseph Charron was born in

Redfield, South Dakota Redfield is a city in and the county seat of Spink County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The city was named for J. B. Redfield, a railroad official. Geography Redfield is located at . According to th ...

, on December 30, 1939. He is one of eight children. Charron made his religious profession as a member of the

Missionaries of the Precious Blood The Missionaries of the Precious Blood ( la, Congregatio Missionariorum Pretiosissimi Sanguinis) is a Catholic community of priests and brothers. The society was founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815. The Missionaries of the Precious Blo ...

on August 15, 1961. Charron received his

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a three- to five-year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. ...

degree in 1963 and his Master of Theology degree in 1966 from the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

. He earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology at

Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Ponti ...

in Rome in 1968, and a doctorate at the Academia Alfonsiana in Rome in 1970.

Priesthood

On June 3, 1967, Charron was ordained to the priesthood for the Missionaries of the Sacred Blood by Bishop

Edward A. McCarthy Edward Anthony McCarthy (April 10, 1918 – June 7, 2005) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami in Florida from 1977 to 1994. He previously served as bishop of the Dio ...

in Carthagena, Ohio. In 1970, Charron served as an assistant professor of theology at St. John's University in St. Joseph, Minnesota. In 1976, he became assistant general secretary and associate general secretary of the

United States Catholic Conference 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 ...

and the

National 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 ...

. In 1979, Charron was appointed provincial director of the Kansas City Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Charron returned to St. John's University in 1987, becoming an adjunct professor of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

On November 12, 1989,

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 Charron as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and titular bishop of Bencenna. He was consecrated on January 25, 1990, by Archbishop John Roach.

Bishop of Des Moines

On January 21, 1994, John Paul II appointed Charron as

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

of the Diocese of Des Moines. On September 19, 2003, Charron permanently suspended three diocese priest from ministry due to

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

allegations: Albert Wilwerding, John Ryan, and Richard Wagner. Charron was following the recommendations of an internal committee that had recommended their dismissal and ultimate

laicization Laicization may refer to: * Loss of clerical state (Catholic Church) * Not to be confused with defrocking Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained mini ...

. On April 10, 2007,

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 ...

accepted Charron's resignation due to poor health as bishop of Des Moines. Charron cited a chronic form of an

inflammatory disease Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecu ...

References