Roger Paul Morin (March 7, 1941 – October 31, 2019) 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 ...

. He was the third Bishop of Biloxi. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on December 16, 2016.

Early life and education

Roger Morin was born in Lowell,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, to Germain and Lillian Morin; he has two brothers, James and Paul, and three sisters, Lillian, Elaine, and Susan. He was a native of Dracut and was a communicant of Ste-Thérèse Parish. He attended St. John's Seminary in Brighton, from where he obtained a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1966, and then pursued his

graduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

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 ...

there for two years. In 1968, he became director of The Center in

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 ...

, a

social service Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administ ...

organization run by the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans ( la, Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae, french: Archidiocèse de la Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Arquidiócesis de Nueva Orleans) is an ecclesiastical division of the Roman Catholic Church spanning Jefferso ...

, having previously worked in the archdiocese's summer Witness program. He entered

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 ...

that same year, earning a Master's in Divinity in 1970.

Priesthood

Morin 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 on April 15, 1971, and then served as an associate pastor at St. Henry's Church in New Orleans. He received a Master of Science degree in urban affairs from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

in 1974, and became director of the Archdiocesan Social Apostolate in 1975. From 1978 to 1981, at the request of

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Ernest Morial, he served as a volunteer special assistant in the office of the mayor, dealing with federal programs and projects. In 1981, Morin was named archdiocesan

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

for community affairs and

parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of Incarnate Word Church in New Orleans, later serving as its

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 ...

from 1988 to 2002. He was raised to the rank of

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

in 1985, and organized preparations for

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 ...

's visit to New Orleans in 1987. He was named

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' ...

and moderator of the

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

for the archdiocese in 2001.

Episcopal career

On February 11, 2003, Morin was appointed auxiliary bishop of New Orleans and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of '' Aulon'' by John Paul II. He received his

episcopal consecration 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 ...

on the following April 22 from Archbishop Alfred Hughes, with Archbishops Philip Hannan and Francis Schulte serving as co-consecrators. He selected as his episcopal

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

, "Walk Humbly and Act Justly." Within the

United States 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 ...

, Morin has served as chairman of the Subcommittee of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and as a member of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and the Committee on National Collections.

Bishop of Biloxi

Morin was later named the third Bishop of Biloxi,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, by

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 soverei ...

on March 2, 2009. He succeeded Thomas John Rodi, who was promoted to Archbishop of Mobile in April 2008. He was formally installed at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the following April 27; the papal bull of appointment that is customarily read at a bishop's installation did not arrive by the time of Morin's own installation. As Bishop of Biloxi, Morin was the spiritual leader of 68,000 Catholics in southern Mississippi. Bishop Morin died on October 31, 2019.

References

External links

Diocese of Biloxi

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morin, Roger 1941 births 2019 deaths 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Notre Dame Seminary alumni People from Lowell, Massachusetts Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi Saint John's Seminary (Massachusetts) alumni Tulane University alumni Roman Catholic bishops in Mississippi Catholics from Massachusetts