Peter Forsyth Christensen (born December 24, 1952) 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 ...

who has been serving 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 Boise in Idaho since 2014. He previously served as bishop of the

Diocese of Superior The Diocese of Superior ( la, Dioecesis Superiorensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that encompasses the city of Superior and the counties of Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, L ...

in Wisconsin from 2007 to 2014. Christensen was ordained into the priesthood on May 25, 1985, by Archbishop John Roach. On November 4, 2014,

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. ...

named Christensen as the eighth bishop in the Diocese of Boise. He was installed as bishop by Archbishop Harry Flynn in Boise on December 17, 2014, at St. John's Cathedral.

Biography

Early life and education

Peter Christensen was born on December 24, 1952, in

Altadena Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He was the fourth of eight children; his parents were Robert and Ann (née Forsyth) Christensen. The family later moved to Palos Verdes, California. Christensen attended

Palos Verdes High School Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) is one of three public high schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, Southern California, USA (the others being Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (formerly Rolling Hills High School) and Rancho ...

, with interests in becoming a potter. Christensen briefly attended the

College of the Redwoods College of the Redwoods (CR) is a public community college with its main campus in Eureka, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and serves three counties and has two branch campuses, as well as three additional sit ...

in Eureka, California, but dropped out in 1975 to move with his mother and siblings to Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. Christensen enrolled at the

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

in that area, obtaining a Bachelor of Art degree in history degree. After graduation, Christensen worked as a

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

. After deciding to become a priest, Christensen in 1981 entered

Saint Paul Seminary The Saint Paul Seminary (SPS) is a Roman Catholic major seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. A part of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, SPS prepares men to enter the priesthood and permanent diaconate, and educates lay men and women o ...

in St. Paul, Minnesota. During his seminary education, he studied in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

for a semester. He graduated with a

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 Saint Paul Seminary.

Ordination and ministry

Christensen 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 for the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul by Archbishop John Roach on May 25, 1985. After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Christensen as assistant

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 ...

of St. Olaf Parish in

Minneapolis 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 ...

. He left St. Olaf in 1989 to become spiritual director of St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul. After receiving a Master of Applied Spirituality degree, Christensen became rector of St. John Vianney. During his tenure, St. John Vianney became the largest Catholic college seminary in the United States. In June 1999, Christensen was appointed pastor of Nativity of Our Lord Parish in

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, where he continued traditional practices, such as perpetual Eucharistic adoration. He also reconstructed the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

and

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

Bishop of Superior

On June 28, 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 ...

named Christensen as bishop of Superior. After receiving a telephone call from Archbishop

Pietro Sambi Pietro Sambi (27 June 1938 – 27 July 2011) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1969 until his death in 2011. He had the rank of archbishop and the title of nuncio from 1985, fulfilling ...

bringing news of his appointment, he "sobbed for about 15 minutes as he had not sought the episcopal office." During a

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

, Christensen promised to be a "good listener" in his new role as bishop.''Catholic Herald''
Christensen named Fliss' successor
/ref> He was consecrated at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in St. Paul on September 14, 2007, by Archbishop Harry Flynn, with Bishops Raphael Fliss, and William Bullock serving as co-consecrators.

Bishop of Boise

On November 4, 2014,

named Christensen as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Boise. He was installed on December 17, 2014, in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Boise, Idaho. On February 2, 2017, police arrested Reverend Thomas Faucher, a retired priest, for possessing and distributing

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

. Surprised by the announcement, Christensen immediately suspended Faucher from priestly ministry. He later pleaded guilty to charges and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from Heresy in Christianity, heresy and is ...

at the Vatican defrocked Faucher in December 2019. Christensen made this statement: “There are no excuses for such behavior by any one of our clergy." In April 2020, Christensen issued a memo containing orders for diocese priests, including an order banning them from celebrating mass ''

ad orientem ''Ad orientem'', meaning "to the east" in Ecclesiastical Latin, is a phrase used to describe the eastward orientation of Christian prayer and Christian worship, comprising the preposition ''ad'' (toward) and ''oriens'' (rising, sunrise, east), p ...

'' (facing the altar).

Viewpoints

Euthanasia

Christensen in 2012 joined the other Wisconsin bishops in warning against the use of Physician (or Provider) Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST). The bishops wrote to “encourage all Catholics to avoid using all such documents, programs and materials.”

Education

In January 2014, Christensen announced that the Diocese of Boise would not allow the use of the

Common Core The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conc ...

curriculum in its schools.

References

External links

Diocese of BoiseDiocese of Superior
* ttps://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/9748/pope-benedict-names-new-bishop-for-diocese-of-superior Catholic News Agency: "Pope Benedict names new bishop for Diocese of Superior" {{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Peter F. 1952 births Living people Clergy from Pasadena, California 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Wisconsin Roman Catholic bishops of Superior Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Roman Catholic bishops of Boise People from Palos Verdes, California Catholics from California