Lee Anthony Piché (born May 8, 1958) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota beginning in 2009, resigned from public ministry in 2015, and returned to ministry in 2023 as

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 p ...

for retired priests.

Biography

Early life and education

The eldest of seven children, Lee Piché was born on May 8, 1958, in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, to LeRoy and Cecilia Piché. He attended

Irondale High School Irondale High School is a public high school in New Brighton, Minnesota, United States. Part of the Mounds View Public Schools district, the school is in a suburban area ten miles north of downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Irondale made head ...

in New Brighton, Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He studied at St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, where he obtained a

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

degree.

Ordination and ministry

Piché was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

into the priesthood by Archbishop John Roach for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on May 26, 1984. He then served as associate pastor at St. Mark's Parish in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, until 1987, when he joined the faculty of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Piché then furthered his studies at St. Joseph Seminary in

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

(1987–1988), and at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York City, earning a

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

degree in 1994. From 1994 to 1999, Piché taught undergraduate philosophy at the University of St. Thomas. He served as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of St. Joseph Parish in West St. Paul, Minnesota, (1999–2005), and of All Saints Parish in

Lakeville, Minnesota Lakeville is an exurb of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and the largest city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. It is about south of both downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul along Interstate 35 in Minnesota, Interstate 35. Lakeville w ...

(2005–2008). From 2000 to 2008, Piché served as chairman of the Archdiocesan Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Affairs. In June 2008, he was named pastor of St. Andrew Parish in St. Paul as well as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

and

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 ...

for the archdiocese.

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis

On May 27, 2009, Piché was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis 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 an ...

of Tamata by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on June 29, 2009, from Archbishop John Nienstedt, with Archbishop Harry Flynn and Bishop John LeVoir serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

, at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

Resignation

The Vatican announced on June 15, 2015, that

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

had accepted Piché's resignation as auxiliary bishop of Saint Paul-Minneapolis. The Vatican statement cited the provision of

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

that allows a bishop to resign when some "grave reason" makes it impossible to continue to fulfill his duties. Ten days before his retirement, criminal and civil charges were filed against the archdiocese alleging that warning signs of abuse against minors were willingly ignored. Additionally, it was alleged that Piché was informed of a priest going camping and sharing a bed with minor boys and did not act on this information, allegations that Piché denied.

Vicar for Retired Priests

In July 2023, Piché returned from retirement to serve as vicar for retired priests at the request of Archbishop Bernard Hebda. The role does not involve public duties.

References

External links

Catholic-HierarchyArchdiocese of St. Paul and MinneapolisUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piche, Lee A. 1958 births Living people 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis American people of French-Canadian descent Clergy from Minneapolis University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni Saint Paul Seminary alumni Saint Joseph's Seminary (New Jersey) alumni University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) faculty Columbia University alumni Religious leaders from Minnesota