Steven John Raica (born November 8, 1952) 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 ...

. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama since 2020. He previously 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 2014 to 2020

Biography

Early life and education

Steven Raica was born on November 8, 1952, in

Munising, Michigan Munising ( ') is a city in Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,355 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Alger County. The city is partially surrounded by Munising Township, but the two are administered auton ...

to Steve and Mary Raica. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in East Lansing, Michigan, a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

degree from

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, and a Master of Religious Studies degree from the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic universi ...

Ordination and ministry

Raica was ordained a priest at St. Mary Cathedral in Lansing for the

Diocese of Lansing The Diocese of Lansing ( la, Diœcesis Lansingensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church located in the south-central portion of Michigan around Lansing. It encompasses an area of including the counties o ...

by Bishop Kenneth Povish on October 14, 1978.After his 1978 ordination, the diocese assigned Raica as

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 Holy Redeemer Parish in

Burton, Michigan Burton is a city in Genesee County in the state of Michigan and a suburb of Flint. The population was 29,999 at the 2010 census, making Burton the second largest city in Genesee County. Neighborhoods * Belsay is on Belsay Road at the rail trac ...

and St. Pius X Parish in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

. In 1984, the diocese moved Raica to Holy Family Parish in

Ovid, Michigan Ovid is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Nearly all of the city is located within Clinton County with only a very small portion extending east into Shiawassee County. The population was 1,603 at the 2010 census. The city is located along M ...

to serve as pastor. The next year, he left Holy Family to become co-rector of St. Mary Cathedral. In 1988, Raica traveled to Rome to attend the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

, receiving a Licentiate in Canon Law and a

Doctor of Canon law Doctor of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Doctor, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD ...

degree. After his return to Michigan in 1991, the diocese named Raica as pastor of St. Mary Parish in

Charlotte, Michigan Charlotte ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,074. It is the county seat of Eaton County. Charlotte is in the central portion of the county, on the boundary between Eaton Township and C ...

, serving there until 1993. He became pastor of St. Ann Parish in

Bellevue, Michigan Bellevue is a village in Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,282 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Bellevue Township. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a tot ...

in 1995. In 1997, Raica was appointed as

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the diocese.

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 ...

named him 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.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 1998. Raica returned to Rome in 1999 to serve as the superior of Casa Santa Maria, the graduate studies house of the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

. At the same time, he was also spiritual director and adjunct faculty at the college. When Raica came back to Lansing in 2005, he resumed his role as chancellor. Raica served the diocese tribunal as a pro-synodal judge, the promoter of justice and a tribunal judge. He was also involved in ministry to the

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

and is fluent in

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

Bishop of Gaylord

On June 27, 2014,

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. ...

appointed Raica as the fifth bishop of Gaylord. He was consecrated by Archbishop

Allen Vigneron Allen Henry Vigneron (born October 21, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan and Ecclesiastical Superior of the Cayman Islands, serving since 2009. Vi ...

on August 28, 2014, in St. Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Gaylord, Michigan. Bishop Emeritus Carl Mengeling and Coadjutor Archbishop

Bernard Hebda Bernard Anthony Hebda (born September 3, 1959) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has served as the twelfth ordinary of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis since March 24, 2016. Prior to his installation as the ...

were the principal co-consecrators. In February 2017, Reverend Sylvestre Obwaka, a Nigerian priest from St. Ignatius Parish in

Rogers City, Michigan Rogers City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,827 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Presque Isle County. The city is adjacent to Rogers Township, but is politically independent. Rogers City is located on La ...

, was arrested on sexual assault charges. Another priest had accused Obwaka of assaulting him when he was sleeping at Obwaka's residence after a night of drinking. Raica later spoke with Obwaka, who admitted sexual contact with the man. Obwaka was acquitted in July 2017.

Bishop of Birmingham

Francis named Raica as bishop of Birmingham on March 25, 2020. He was installed on June 23, 2020. Raica can converse in Italian and Polish, and has a reading knowledge of Latin, French, Spanish and German.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham Official SiteRoman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raica, Steven J. 1952 births Living people People from Munising, Michigan Michigan State University alumni University of Detroit Mercy alumni Pontifical North American College alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing Roman Catholic bishops of Gaylord Bishops appointed by Pope Francis