William Keith Weigand (born May 23, 1937) 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 served as bishop of the

Diocese of Sacramento The Diocese of Sacramento is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. The diocese's see is Sacramento, it is led by a bishop who pastors the mother church of ...

in California from 1993 to 2008. Weigand previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City in Utah and as a priest in the Diocese of Boise in Idaho.

Biography

Early life

Weigand was born on May 23, 1937, in

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...

, one of four sons of Harold and Alice Weigand. When Weigand was age 12, the family moved to

St. Maries, Idaho St. Maries (pronounced like "St. Mary's") is a city in north central Idaho, the largest in rural Benewah County and its county seat. Its population was 2,402 at the 2010 census, down from 2,652 in 2000. History The townsite was selected by Jose ...

. He attended St. Maries Academy in Cottonwood, Idaho, a school run by the Benedictine Sisters. In 1951, Weigand entered Mt. Angel Minor Seminary in Saint Benedict, Oregon, for secondary school and two years of college. In 1959, Weigand graduated from

St. Edward Seminary Saint Edward Seminary (sometimes Saint Edward's Seminary) was an institution for developing Catholic priests in the US state of Washington. Dedicated to Saint Edward the Confessor and located in Kenmore, it operated for 46 years before closing in ...

in Kenmore, Washington, with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in philosophy. He then attended St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, finishing in 1963 with 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.

Priesthood

On May 25, 1963, Weigand was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Boise by Bishop Sylvester W. Treinen at St. Mary Immaculate Church in St. Maries. His first assignment was at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in

Lewiston, Idaho Lewiston is a city and the county seat of Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States, in the state's north central region. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene, and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is ...

. However, in 1964, Treinen asked Weigand to serve as vice chancellor of the diocese in Boise. In 1965, Weigand was named chancellor. Weigand served as a parochial vicar in several parishes in the diocese, and as the administrator of several missions. Weigand served from 1964 to 1968 as the

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 ...

and vice-officialis of the diocese, and was a member of the diocesan council of presbyters. In 1968, Weigand moved to

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, to work at a mission run by the Diocese of Boise. In an interview after his retirement, Weigand described his work in Colombia:

“We had a huge challenge to provide religious instruction for youth, to prepare people for Confirmation and marriage. We also established social service ministries that included medical clinics and food pantries. So we had to develop networks of lots of people to help. All these ministries were satellite communities, of sorts, under the umbrella of the parish. It was almost the exact image of a diocese.”

While in Colombia, Weigand started experiencing health issues and requested a return to the United States. In 1978, he was appointed pastor of St. Hubert's Parish in

Homedale, Idaho Homedale is a city in Owyhee County Idaho. The population was 2,633 at the time of the 2010 census. The town name was chosen by drawing names from a hat during a community picnic. Homedale is part of the Boise metropolitan area. It was, at one ...

Bishop of Salt Lake City

On September 3, 1980,

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 Weigand as bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. He was consecrated on November 17, 1980,by Archbishop

John R. Quinn John Raphael Quinn (March 28, 1929 – June 22, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of San Francisco from 1977 to 1995 and Archbishop of Oklahoma City (and Bishop of the predecessor Diocese) from 1971 ...

, Bishop

Sylvester Treinen Sylvester William Treinen (November 19, 1917 – September 30, 1996) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Boise in Idaho from 1962 to 1988. Biography Early life Sylvester Treinen was ...

and Bishop Joseph Federal at the

Salt Palace Convention Center The Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, more commonly known as the Salt Palace, is a convention center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Named after Utah's 11th governor, Calvin L. Rampton, the name "Salt Palace" was previously used by two ...

in Salt Lake City. Soon after becoming bishop, Weigand was diagnosed with

primary sclerosing cholangitis Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a long-term progressive disease of the liver and gallbladder characterized by inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts, which normally allow bile to drain from the gallbladder. Affected individuals may ha ...

, the source of his health issues. However, he was able to continue as bishop. In 1990, Weigand created one of the strongest sexual abuse policies then in effect in the United States. Weigand led a $9.7 million restoration of the

Cathedral of the Madeleine The Cathedral of the Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was completed in 1909 and currently serves as the cathedral, or mother church, of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. It is the only cathedral in the ...

in Salt Lake City from 1991 to 1993. Aside from repairing and cleaning the cathedral, the restoration aimed at bringing it into compliance with liturgical changes resulting from the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. The most important change was moving the altar closer to the congregation.

Bishop of Sacramento

On November 18, 1993, Pope John Paul II appointed Weigand as bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento. He was installed January 27, 1994, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento. In 1996, Weigand celebrated the funeral mass of former Governor Pat Brown. Then Governor Pete Wilson, previous Governor

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

, and Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna, Jr. also spoke at the funeral mass. In 2005, as a result of Weigand's primary sclerosing cholangitis, he experienced liver failure. In April 2005, he received a liver transplant. In October 2007, Father

Jaime Soto Jaime Soto (born December 31, 1955) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, Diocese of Sacramento in Northern California since 2007. He ...

was named as

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

to assist Weigand.

Retirement

In 2008, Weigand submitted a letter of resignation to

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 sovereign ...

due to health issues. It was granted on November 29, 2008, and on November 30, 2008, Soto succeeded Weigand as bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento official website

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weigand, William Roman Catholic bishops of Sacramento Roman Catholic bishops of Salt Lake City 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise People from Bend, Oregon 1937 births Living people Mount Angel Seminary Catholics from Oregon