A Son Of Louisiana is Elevated to Archbishop By Pope Benedict

Well the Diocese of Shreveport is not the only Louisiana related Catholic News. It appears that perhaps Pope Benedict might indeed have Dixie on his mind. This morning Pope Benedict named Bishop Thomas Rodi of Biloxi as archbishop of Mobile.. Whispers in the Loggia has the story here at A Rodi for Mobile .

From the Diocese of Biloxi Web Site we can find the Louisiana stuff:

Most Reverend Thomas J. Rodi, a native of New Orleans, graduated from De La Salle High School in 1967 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in 1971.

He returned to New Orleans where he earned a law degree from the Tulane University Law School in 1974,(he is not perfect as we can see) and then entered Notre Dame Seminary, where he received a master of divinity degree in 1978.

Bishop Rodi was ordained to the priesthood on May 20, 1978, and served as associate pastor at St. Ann and St. Christopher the Martyr parishes, in Metairie, and at St. Agnes in Jefferson.In 1983 he was appointed judge for the Metropolitan Tribunal, which handles marriage cases. He earned a licentiate in canon law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1986, and served as professor of canon law at Notre Dame Seminary from 1986 to 1995.

Bishop Rodi served as director of the Office of Religious Education from 1988 to 1989, and as executive director of the Department of Pastoral Services from 1989 to 1996.In addition to his other duties, Bishop Rodi was named Archdiocesan Chancellor in 1992, and in 1996, he was named Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia.In 1992, he was named a prelate of honor (a monsignor) by Pope John Paul II.Bishop Rodi also served as administrator of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in River Ridge, ministered in Our Lady of the Rosary and St. Pius X parishes in New Orleans, and was pastor of St. Rita Church, in New Orleans.He was ordained a bishop and installed as Bishop of Biloxi on July 2, 2001.

For those keeping count Biloxi now becomes the nation's ninth vacant diocese, joining (in order of length) Little Rock, St Thomas, Des Moines, New Ulm, Knoxville, Green Bay, Charleston and Juneau.In addition, ordinaries serving past the retirement age still await successors in (again, by order) Detroit, New York, Omaha, Kalamazoo, Syracuse, Fort Wayne-South Bend, New Orleans, Wilmington, Pueblo and Allentown. The senior of the group, the Motor City's Cardinal Adam Maida, turned 78 in mid-March, and Gotham's Cardinal Edward Egan marks his 76th birthday today.