LeVoir named bishop of Diocese of New Ulm
By KEVIN SWEENEY, Journal EditorArticle Photos
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Biographical information on Bishop-designate John LeVoir
NEW ULM - When Rev. John LeVoir was appointed pastor at the Church of St. Michael and the Church of St. Mary in Stillwater back in 2004; he figured that was where he would serve the Catholic Church until he retired.
But the church and Pope Benedict XVI had other plans for him.
LeVoir, 62, was named the fourth bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm on Monday. He will fill the vacancy created when Bishop John C. Nienstedt was named Co-Adjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis last year.
"I figured in 12 years I'd be 70, which is the retirement age for priests, and I thought this would be me last assignment."
On Monday, June 30, LeVoir returned to his parish office at 7 p.m. to find a voice mail from Msgr. Martin Krebs, charges d'affaires of the Apostolic nunciature to the Holy See.
"This can't be what I think it is, I mean it just can't be," LeVoir recalled on Monday, in a press conference at the New Ulm Diocesan Center.
"I called him back and he said, 'The Holy Father wants to appoint you as bishop to New Ulm, and the first thing I said to him was, 'My heavens!' I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it. I had been a parish priest for 27 years, and that's what I do. I never expected this. So it's really overwhelming, and it's still something that seems unreal. But, you know, if the pope wants me, and God wants me, I'll do the best I can."
LeVoir is a Minneapolis native, a 1968 graduate of the College of St. Thomas, and a certified CPA who worked with the Arthur Andersen accounting firm before following his call to become a priest.
"I had been thinking about the priesthood when I graduated from St. Thomas in '68," said LeVoir. He entered a Jesuit seminary that fall, but found the community life was not for him. He went back to the University of Minnesota to get his business degree in accounting, and earned his CPA in 1973. From 1971 to 1976 he worked as an accountant, but he kept thinking about the priesthood.
Finally, he spoke with an old St. Thomas instructor, Msgr. Richard Schuler, who told him, "The only way you're going to find out is to try it." So LeVoir entered the St. Paul Seminary, and was ordained in 1981.
"Once I went in to the seminary, I just had a peace. There was a kind of unsettled feeling before, and after I went in, that was gone. There was a real peace that is what God wanted me to do."
The bishop-designate said his business background has helped him out in his years as a pastor, and he is sure it will be useful as bishop and chief administrator of the New Ulm Diocese.
"I can read a financial statements, and business issues don't disturb me. The only thing I worry about is getting enough money to carry out a mission that we have to do. I tell people I was an accountant, that I accounted for money. I didn't make it, I didn't print it. So I'm sure it will help me as a bishop as well. Most seminarians, if they don't get it before they enter the seminary, don't get any business courses or a business background."
LeVoir said the date of his installment as bishop is not yet determined, but he has talked with Nienstedt, who suggested some time at the end of August or early in September.
Msgr. Douglas Grams, who has been serving as diocesan administrator since Dec. 13, said he is "delighted" that the selection has been made.
"We had been praying for a new bishop for more than a year. We are grateful that our prayers have been answered."
Grams found out about the appointment Monday morning, as did most everyone else. Not even Fr. LeVoir's 93-year-old mother, Mary LeVoir, got word until he was on the road, heading for New Ulm on Monday.
"She was overwhelmed," said LeVoir. "She congratulated me, she cried, she gave me advice. She's really thrilled, but she always thinks I'm kidding her."
LeVoir was born in Minneapolis. His father, Marvin LeVoir, died several years ago. He has two brothers and a sister, Frederick and Paul LeVoir, and Mary Ellen Steinkraus.
After his ordination by Archbishop John R. Roach in the Cathedral of St. Paul, LeVoir served as associate pastor at the Church of St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony from 1981 to 1992, then was pastor at the Church of the Holy Trinity in South St. Paul from 1992 to 2004. He also served as pastor at St. Augustine's in South St. Paul from 2000 to 2004. In July 2004 he was appointed to his parishes in Stillwater.
LeVoir said he hasn't had time to evaluate and set priorities for the New Ulm Diocese. He will be meeting with his predecessor, Nienstedt, who has assured him "that he is about to shepherd a diocese of good and faith-filled people," said Nienstedt in a statement issued Monday.
"During the past year, I have come to know Father John LeVoir as a dedicated pastor of two of the finest parishes in the Archdiocese. He is a priest of deep devotion to Christ and the teachings of His Church. He is also a skilled administrator, having a solid background in the areas of accounting and finance. He has served as a mentor for many of our younger priests. But overall, it is his love for souls - the people entrusted to his pastoral care - that marks the goodness of this man," said Nienstedt's statement.
Nienstedt is currently attending the World Youth Congress in Australia, but will be ready to offer advice as the new bishop needs it.
That fits in with the advice LeVoir's mother gave him. "She really likes Archbishop Nienstedt. She said he had a good program going here, and that I should just keep it going," said LeVoir.