Faith
California Bishop Barron chosen by pope as new bishop for Winona-Rochester Catholics
Southern Minnesota Catholics are getting a new bishop, by way of California.
Pope Francis has appointed Los Angeles auxiliary bishop Robert Barron as bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester.
Barron is a Chicago native who will replace John Quinn, who has reached the church’s mandatory retirement age for bishops.
Quinn has been bishop of Winona and Rochester for 13 years, and introduced Barron Thursday at a news conference in Rochester. Barron says he doesn’t mind coming back to Midwestern weather, after six years of serving the Santa Barbara area.
The Winona-Rochester diocese serves more than 130-thousand Catholics in 20 southern Minnesota counties.
Bishops are expected to retire at age 75, and Quinn turned 76 in December. Barron is 62, and is well-known for hosting a social media program called “Word on Fire.”