William Albert Wack, C.S.C. (born June 28, 1967) 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 ...

, serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee in Florida since August 22, 2017.

Early life

William Wack was born June 28, 1967, in South Bend,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He is the second youngest of ten children, including a younger brother who followed him into the priesthood. After graduating from LaSalle High School and attending Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Indiana, for one year, Wack transferred to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

.http://www.ptdiocese.org/documents/2017/5/Bishop-elect%20Wack%20bio.pdf He graduated in 1989 with a degree in government and international relations. Wack entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

for the Congregation of Holy Cross in August 1989 and professed temporary vows in 1990. He returned to Notre Dame, where he received 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 in May 1993. On August 28, 1993, Wack professed solemn vows as a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross and was ordained a

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 Churc ...

the following day.

Priesthood

On April 9, 1994, Wack was ordained to the priesthood for the Congregation Order by Archbishop James MacDonald. His first assignment was as associate pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Colorado Springs,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

for three-plus years. From July 1997 to July 2002, he served as associate director of vocations for Holy Cross, as well as working in campus ministry at Notre Dame. He served as director of André House, a facility serving the homeless and poor of Phoenix,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, from 2002 until December 2008. In June 2009, Wack moved to

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

to become pastor of St. Ignatius Martyr Parish.

Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee

On May 29, 2017,

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 Wack as diocesan bishop for the Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee. On August 22, 2017, Wack was consecrated by Archbishop

Thomas Wenski Thomas Gerard Wenski (born October 18, 1950) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed Archbishop of Miami by Pope Benedict XVI on April 20, 2010 and was installed on June 1, 2010. He previously served as Bishop of ...

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee
Official Website

(Catholic-Hierarchy.org)

Episcopal succession