ANTE CRUCEM NIHIL DEFENSIONIS
'Before the Cross There is No Defense'

Bishop Robert J. Carlson served from as the fifth Bishop of Saginaw from his installation in February 2005 until April 2009. A native of Minneapolis, Minn., he was ordained to the priesthood on May 23, 1970 for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He was later ordained as an auxiliary bishop for his home archdiocese on January 11, 1984 and went on to serve as Bishop of Sioux Falls, S.D., from 1994 to 2005. On April 21, 2009, he was named by Pope Benedict XVI as the 10th ordinary and 9th Archbishop of Saint Louis.

Education: Earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from St. Paul Seminary in 1966; earned a master's degree in divinity from St. Paul Seminary in 1976; and earned a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Catholic University of America in 1979.

Other current appointments: Member, Canon Law Society of America; Board Member, The International Dominican Foundation; Board Member, Sacred Heart Seminary, Detroit, Mich,; Co-Chair, Mission Advisory Committee, Institute for Priestly Formation, Omaha, Neb.; Board Member, Los Cabos Children’s Foundation; Member, National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors Advisory Board; and Founder, The Messangers of Peace Religious Community, Colombia, South America.

Previous appointments: Past Chair, National Foundation for Catholic Youth Ministry; Past Chair, USCCB Committee on Vocations; Past Chair, USCCB Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry; Past Chair, USCCB Ad Hoc Committee on Youth; Past Chair, USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal; Former Member, USCCB Committee on Laity; Former Member, USCCB Committee on Pastoral Practice; Former Episcopal Moderator, USCCB Committee on Scouting; Former Episcopal Moderator, Serra International - USA/Canada Council; Past President, National Evangelization Team (NET).