WASHINGTON — Pope Francis has named Msgr. Alfred A. Schlert,
administrator of the Diocese of Allentown, Pa., as the diocese's new bishop.
Bishop-designate Schlert, 55, succeeds Bishop John O. Barres, who
in December was named bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y.
The appointment was announced in Washington June 27 by Archbishop
Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Bishop-designate Schlert's ordination and installation Mass will
be celebrated Aug. 31 at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena in Allentown.
"This appointment elicits in me a great realization of my own
inadequacies, but with equally great gratitude to Almighty God for the grace
and strength he gives," he said at a news conference the day of his
appointment. "I will do my best to fulfill the responsibilities that the
Holy Spirit through the Holy Father has placed upon me."
He added: "I am so proud to be a member of the clergy of the
Diocese of Allentown and a native son of our local church. Everything I know
about being a priest, I know from the fine examples of men who have faithfully
served and are serving the Diocese of Allentown."
Bishop-designate Schlert said each of his predecessors has
strengthened the diocese "by their vision and their apostolic
ministry" and he will dedicate himself "to building on what they have
done," especially fostering vocations to the priesthood and the religious
life. He invited his brother priests to help him "create a culture of
vocations" in the Allentown Diocese, with assistance from the deacons,
women and men religious, parents, teachers, catechists and coaches.
He told the youth and young adults of the diocese that they have
"a very special place in the life of the church."
"We need your enthusiasm, your honesty and your witness to
Christ to prepare our diocese for the future," he said. "Your
youthfulness and hope make you ready to embrace a life of holiness and
authentic living that only the church can offer."
Bishop-designate Schlert said he looked forward to hearing from
the diocese's young people and working with them "in refreshing our
diocese with your active participation in our parishes, our opportunities for
spiritual growth, and projects of Christian service."
Bishop Barres said in a statement that his successor "has a
blend of holiness, intelligence and pastoral experience that will serve the mission
of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Allentown in an extraordinary way. His
seminary education in Rome gave him a global perspective on the church to this
beloved son of the Lehigh Valley."
He described the newly named bishop as "a loving pastor with
an insightful and compassionate pastoral charity and a nonstop new
evangelization missionary spirit."
"He is humble and down to earth and has this incredibly
creative sense of humor that is charitable and puts everyone around him at
ease," Bishop Barres. "He is calm and steady but passionate about
Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the Catholic Church's mission of mercy in the
world."
Bishop-designate Schlert is a native of Easton, Pennsylvania,
born July 24, 1961, just six months after the Diocese of Allentown was formed.
He was educated at Catholic elementary and high schools in Easton.
He studied for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
near Philadelphia and the Pontifical Roman Seminary and Pontifical Lateran
University in Rome, earning a licentiate in canon law.
Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, the first bishop of the Arlington
Diocese, ordained him a priest Sept. 19, 1987.
After ordination, his ministry included assignments as assistant
pastor at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Allentown; professor at Notre Dame
High School in Easton, his alma mater; and Catholic chaplain at Lehigh
University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
He was named vice chancellor and secretary to the bishop in 1997;
and was named vicar general of the Allentown Diocese of Allentown in 1998.
While vicar general, he was pastor of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church in
Hellertown from 2008 to 2010, when he resumed full time service as vicar
general.