Robert William Muench (born December 28, 1942) 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 '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 ...

. Muench served as bishop of the

Diocese of Baton Rouge The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge (Latin ''Dioecesis Rubribaculensis''; French ''Diocèse de Bâton-Rouge''; Spanish: ''Diócesis de Baton Rouge'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church spanning Asc ...

in Louisiana from 2002 to 2018. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Covington in Kentucky from 1996 to 2002 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana from 1990 to 1996.

Biography

Early life

Robert Muench was born on December 28, 1942, in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, to William Anthony and Mary Kathryn (née Allgeier) Muench; he has three sisters, Jo Ann, Mary Alice, and Marsha. When he was age three, the family moved to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Muench attended Jefferson Davis and St. Leo the Great primary schools in New Orleans. In 1956, Muench entered Saint Joseph Seminary in

Saint Benedict, Louisiana Saint Benedict (also Cedar Hill) is an unincorporated community in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It i ...

. He graduated from the high school and junior college program in 1962. He graduated from

Notre Dame Seminary Notre Dame Seminary is a Catholic seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. It operates under the auspices of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. It serves the other six Catholic dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of New Orleans, six additional dioces ...

in New Orleans in 1964, earning a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's d ...

degree From 1964 to 1968, Muench studied at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., earning a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

degree and completing his seminary studies. He also attended courses at Loyola University New Orleans and the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

Priesthood

On May 18, 1968, Muench 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 by Archbishop

Philip Hannan Philip Matthew Hannan (May 20, 1913 – September 29, 2011) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington from 1956 to 1965 and as the eleventh archbishop of the Archdi ...

for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. After his ordination, Muench joined the faculty of St. John Vianney Preparatory School in New Orleans He worked there until 1977, serving as religion teacher, liturgy director, guidance counselor, and eventually

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 ...

. Muench also assisted at various parishes in New Orleans. In 1976, he became

associate 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. Matthias Parish in New Orleans, later becoming pastor. In 1977, Muench also became the vicar for Christian formation, but was moved in 1981 to director of vocations. In 1983, he was named director of the Pope John XXIII House for Vocation Discernment and executive assistant to Archbishop Hannan. After being named by the Vatican as an

honorary prelate of his holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.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' ...

(1989) and

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 ...

(1990) for the archdiocese.

Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans

On May 8, 1990,

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 Muench as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of New Orleans and titular bishop of Mactaris''.'' He was consecrated on June 29, 1990, at Saint Louis, Cathedral in New Orleans by Archbishop Francis Schulte, with Hannan and then Bishop

John Favalora John Clement Favalora (born December 5, 1935) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami from 1994 to 2010 and as bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana from 1986 to 1989 and a ...

serving as co-consecrators. Muench selected as his episcopal motto, ''"Jesus Must Increase"''

John 3 John 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It deals with Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, one of the Jewish pharisees, and John the Baptist's continued testimony regarding Jesus. Baptist pre ...

:30.

Bishop of Covington

On January 5, 1996, John Paul II appointed Muench as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Covington. He was installed on March 19, 1995, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky. Muench served as a board member of St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Northern Kentucky, chancellor of Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky, and a member of the Committee on Priestly Formation within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). He also initiated renovations of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

Bishop of Baton Rouge

On December 15, 2001, John Paul II appointed Muench as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge . He was installed at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge on March 14, 2002, with Archbishop Alfred Hughes presiding. Muench also served on the board of trustees of Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans and Saint Joseph Seminary College. On November 12, 2004, the Diocese of Baton Rouge settled a sexual abuse lawsuit brought by a Baton Rouge man. The plaintiff claimed that the late Bishop Joseph Sullivan had abused him when the man was 17 years old in 1975. Muench authorized the settlement, calling the accusations credible. He promised to rename the Bishop Sullivan High School before the next school term. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Muench joined Hughes and Louisiana Governor

Kathleen Blanco Kathleen Marie Blanco (née Babineaux; December 15, 1942 – August 18, 2019) was an American politician who served as the 54th Governor of Louisiana from January 2004 to January 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first and, ...

in a televised appearance declaring a

day of prayer A Day of Prayer is a day allocated to prayer, either by leaders of religions or the general public, for a specific purpose. Such days are usually ecumenical in nature. They usually are treated as commemorative in nature, rather than as actual litu ...

for the state of Louisiana. On June 26, 2018,

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. ...

accepted Muench's letter of resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge after Muench reached the mandatory retirement age of 75.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muench, Robert William 1942 births Living people Brother Martin High School alumni Loyola University New Orleans alumni Notre Dame Seminary alumni Religious leaders from Louisville, Kentucky Catholic Church in Louisiana Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge Roman Catholic bishops of Covington Catholic University of America alumni