Stephen Jay Berg (born March 3, 1951) is an American prelate 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 of the

Diocese of Pueblo The Diocese of Pueblo ( la, Dioecesis Pueblensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southern Colorado. The diocese was created on November 15, 1941. It encompasses the southern half of Colorado, from ...

in Colorado since 2014.

Biography

Early life

Stephen Berg was born on March 3, 1951, the eldest of ten children to Connie and Jeanne Berg in

Miles City, Montana Miles City ( chy, Ma'xemâhoévé'ho'eno) is a city in and the county seat of Custer County, Montana, United States. The population was 8,354 at the 2020 census. History After the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, the U.S. Army created fo ...

. He was educated in the local Catholic schools and in 1969 graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Miles City. He earned a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

degree in piano performance from the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

in Boulder, Colorado, and a Master of Music degree from

Eastern New Mexico University Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU or Eastern) is a public university with a main campus in Portales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one at Ruidoso and one at Roswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensi ...

in Portales, New Mexico. After college, Berg taught music at

Tarrant County College Tarrant County College (TCC) or Tarrant County College District (TCCD) is a public community college in Tarrant County, Texas. It offers Associate of Arts, an Associate of Science, an Associate of Applied Science, and Associate of Arts in Teachi ...

in Fort Worth, Texas. He later worked in management for a nursery company in Georgia, California, and Texas for 14 years. In 1993, Berg started studies for the priesthood at

Assumption Seminary Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas, was established in 1915 to train the Catholic priests of the region to carry out their service to the people. History After its establishment in 1874, the Diocese of San Antonio needed to find a system ...

in San Antonio. In 1999, he received a master of divinity degree at the

Oblate School of Theology The Oblate School of Theology is a Catholic graduate school for theological studies in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1903 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Dr. Scott Woodward has served as its president since October 2020. Cam ...

also in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Priesthood

On May 15, 1999, Berg was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Fort Worth by his uncle, Bishop

Joseph Charron Joseph Léo Charron C.PP.S. is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Charron served as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines in Iowa from 1994 to 2007 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in Minn ...

. After his ordination, Berg began serving as the

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 ...

at St. Michael’s Parish in

Bedford, Texas Bedford is a city located in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, in the "Mid-Cities" area between Dallas and Fort Worth. It is a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. The population was 46,979 at the 2010 census. Bedford is part of the Hurst-Euless-Bedf ...

. In 2001 he became parochial vicar at St. John the Apostle Parish in

North Richland Hills, Texas North Richland Hills, commonly known as NRH, is a city inside Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a mid-to-high end suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 69,917 at the 2020 census, making it the third largest city in Tarrant County. In ...

. In 2002, Berg was appointed pastor for four parishes in rural Texas: * St. Mary's in

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Henrie ...

* St. Jerome in Bowie * St. William in Montague * St. Joseph in Nocona In 2008, Berg was appointed the

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's ...

of the diocese while also serving as the pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Fort Worth. In 2012, he was named

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 ...

and parochial administrator of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Fort Worth. In December 2012, Berg was elected diocesan administrator

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

by the diocesan board of consultors.

Bishop of Pueblo

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 Berg as the bishop of the Diocese of Pueblo on January 15, 2014. He was consecrated on February 27, 2014, by Archbishop Samuel Aquila. Bishop Charron and Bishop Michael Sheridan were the principal co-consecrators. The liturgy was held in Memorial Hall in

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

. On August 10, 2021, Berg and other Colorado bishops signed a letter opposing mandatory

COVID-19 vaccinations A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an es ...

for business and government employees.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pueblo Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Stephen Jay 1951 births Living people People from Miles City, Montana People from Fort Worth, Texas University of Colorado alumni Eastern New Mexico University alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Pueblo 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Texas Catholics from Montana Bishops appointed by Pope Francis