Joseph Robert Jacobson (born 1940), known as Robert Jacobson, is a former

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

bishop who became a

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

upon his conversion from Lutheranism. He was formerly the Bishop of the Alberta Synod of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC; french: Église évangélique luthérienne au Canada) is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 95,000 baptized members in 519 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–C ...

Early life and Lutheran ministry

Jacobson was born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in 1940, the son of a

minister. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from

Saint Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

and his Bachelor of Divinity degree from the

Strasbourg University The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, before graduating from

Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary Luther Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions. It is accredited ...

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 ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, in 1965. After serving four Lutheran parishes in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and homeschooling in the early 1980s, in 1985 he was elected the first bishop of the Alberta Synod of the

. Jacobson served in missions all over Canada, serving in that position for 10 years. During his term as Lutheran bishop, Jacobson ordained many women as ministers but he said that doesn't mean he endorses it for 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 ...

Conversion to Roman Catholicism and ordination to the priesthood

In 1998, almost five years after he took "early retirement" as Lutheran bishop, Archbishop Joseph MacNeil invited Jacobson to consider becoming a priest. Jacobson and his wife Carolyne, who live on a farm near

Bashaw Bashaw may refer to: Places ;Canada *Bashaw, Alberta ** Bashaw Airport ;United States *Bashaw, Wisconsin, a town *Bashaw, Burnett County, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community *Bashaw Township, Brown County, Minnesota Others *Mose Bashaw (1889–1 ...

, began the

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), or ''Ordo Initiationis Christianae Adultorum'', is a process developed by the Catholic Church for its catechumenate for prospective converts to the Catholic faith above the age of infant bapt ...

at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Bashaw in 1999 and became Roman Catholics at the

Easter Vigil Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a liturgy held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this liturgy that people are ba ...

of 2000. Jacobson's conversion is also due to him to have served as co-chairman of the Lutheran–Catholic theological dialogue for Canada for almost eight years together with

Adam Exner Adam Joseph Exner (born December 24, 1928, Killaly, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian Catholic prelate and former archbishop of the Archdiocese of Vancouver from 1991 to 2004. Training and early religious life Adam Exner holds Master's degrees in ...

, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver. Forty years after he was ordained a Lutheran minister, Jacobson converted to Roman Catholicism and was ordained to the priesthood on February 2, 2007, in the Archdiocese of Grouard–McLennan in Canada.

Personal life

Jacobson also pursues interests in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and animal life as well as in music and poetry. A prolific writer, he has written several books, the latest being ''All Nature Sings'', a book of poems that speaks about creation and new creation through the eyes of the Scriptures. In addition to English, Jacobson is fluent in German, French and Spanish.

References

External links

* http://www.wcr.ab.ca/This-Week/Stories/entryid/5288 * http://www.catholicregister.org/features/archives/call-to-service/item/17945-protestantism%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98fatal-flaw%E2%80%99-draws-lutheran-to-catholic-church {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Robert 1940 births 21st-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism Living people Religious leaders from Milwaukee St. Olaf College alumni University of Strasbourg alumni