Robert John Rose (February 28, 1930 – March 2, 2022) was 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 '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 ...

. Rose served as bishop of the

Diocese of Gaylord The Diocese of Gaylord ( la, Diœcesis Gaylordensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Northern Michigan region of the United States. It comprises the twenty-one most northern counties of the lo ...

in Michigan from 1981 to 1989 and as bishop of the

Diocese of Grand Rapids The Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids ( la, Dioecesis Grandcataractensis) is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in western Michigan, in the United States. It comprises 80 parishes in 11 counties in West Michigan. It is a suffragan see to ...

in Michigan from 1989 to 2003.

Biography

Early life

Robert Rose was born in Grand Rapids,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, on February 28, 1930, to Urban Henry and Maida Ann (née Glerum) Rose. Rose attended St. Francis Xavier School in Grand Rapids and in 1944 entered St. Joseph's Seminary in the same city. In 1950, Rose completed his final two years of college at the Grand Seminary of Montreal. In 1952, Rose entered the Pontifical Urban College in Rome, where he earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1956.

Priesthood

On December 21, 1955, Rose 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 ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Grand Rapids at the Pontifical Urban College by Cardinal

Clemente Micara Clemente Micara (24 December 1879 – 11 March 1965) was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1909 to 1950 and was Vicar General of Rome from 1951 until his death. Pope Pius ...

.Following his return to Grand Rapids, Rose became a professor at St. Joseph's Seminary in August 1956. Working there for 13 years, he taught religion,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, Greek, French and music (chant). Rose earned a Master of Arts degree from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1962. In July 1966, Rose became

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the college department at St. Joseph's Seminary, and served as director of the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

program from 1969 to 1971. In June 1971, he was appointed

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

St. John's Provincial Seminary St. John's Provincial Seminary was a Catholic major seminary in the Archdiocese of Detroit that operated between 1949 and 1988 in Plymouth, Michigan. Catholic Seminary St. John's was founded in 1949 for the Province of the Archdiocese of Detroi ...

in Plymouth, Michigan. In August 1977, Rose was named

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 Sacred Heart Parish in

Muskegon Heights, Michigan Muskegon Heights is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,856 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The city is surrounded o ...

Bishop of Gaylord

On October 13, 1981,

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 Rose as the second bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord. He was installed and consecrated on December 6, 1981, by Archbishop

Edmund Szoka Edmund Casimir Szoka (September 14, 1927 – August 20, 2014) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Until 2006, he was President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City ...

, with Bishops Joseph M. Breitenbeck and Joseph McKinney serving as co-consecrators, at St. Mary's Cathedral in Gaylord. Rose chose as his episcopal motto the Biblical phrase "in the Name of the Lord!",.

Bishop of Grand Rapids

On June 24, 1989, John Paul II appointed Rose as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids. He was installed on August 30, 1989. Rose created lay leadership programs, revamped the Hispanic ministry and presented forums and events focused on

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

in the diocese. He established the Catholic Foundation of West Michigan among other institutions. In 2002, the Diocese of Grand Rapids acknowledged that it had paid a $500,000 settlement in 1994 to three women who were

sexually abused 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 assau ...

as minors by John Thomas Sullivan, a diocesan priest, during the late 1950's. The women did not report the crimes to the diocese until 1993. Records showed that Bishop Allen Babcock, a previous bishop, had accepted Sullivan into the diocese even though Sullivan had previously fathered a child in the Diocese of Manchester in New Hampshire. Rose said that it should have never happened.

Personal life

On October 13, 2003, John Paul II accepted Rose's retirement as bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids. He moved to St. Camillus Woods, a residence for retired priests, in

Byron Township, Michigan Byron Township is a civil township of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,317 at the 2010 census, an increase from 17,553 at the 2000 census. Byron Township is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is loca ...

.Robert Rose died on March 2, 2022, at the age of 92.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Robert John 1930 births 2022 deaths University of Michigan alumni 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Gaylord Roman Catholic bishops of Grand Rapids 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Grand Séminaire de Montréal alumni Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide alumni