Roman Catholic bishop

John Thomas Folda (born August 8, 1961) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Fargo in North Dakota since 2013.

Contents

• 1 Biography
  • 1.1 Early life
  • 1.2 Priesthood
• 2 Bishop of Fargo
• 3 See also
• 4 References
• 5 External links
• 6 Episcopal succession

Biography

Early life

John Thomas Folda was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School in Omaha and attended the University of Nebraska, earning bachelor and masters degrees. Folda then attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, receiving a Master of Divinity degree.

Priesthood

Folda was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lincoln on May 27, 1989. He received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angeli*) in Rome in 1993.

After his ordination, Folda served as an *istant pastor at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ Parish and taught religion at St. Pius X High School in Lincoln, Nebraska from 1989 to 1991. From 1993 to 1995, he served as the pastor of St. Paulinus Parish in Syracuse, Nebraska and Holy Trinity Parish in Avoca, Nebraska. At the same time he was a teacher and counselor at Lourdes Central Catholic High School in Nebraska City, Nebraska.

Beginning in 1995, Folda served as pastor of St. Leo Parish in Palmyra, Nebraska and St. Martin Parish in Douglas, Nebraska. Folda was named the diocesan director of religious education and co-vicar for religious in 1997. The following year, he was named the spiritual director at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Nebraska, and rector in 1998. Pope Benedict XVI named Folda a chaplain of his holiness, with the *le "monsignor" in 2007.

Bishop of Fargo

Pope Francis named Folda as bishop of the Diocese of Fargo on April 8, 2013. He was consecrated on June 19, 2013 at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo. Archbishop John Nienstedt was the principal consecrator. Archbishop Samuel Aquila and Bishop James D. Conley were the co-consecrators.

On July 2, 2021, Folda announced that Bishop James Sullivan, a former bishop of Fargo, had been added to a list of clerics with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors. Sullivan, who died in 2006, had been accused of abusing two boys in Lansing, Michigan, when he was a priest. The Diocese of Fargo renamed a middle school with Sullivan's name.

See also

Portals:BiographyCatholicism

• Catholic Church hierarchy
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• List of Catholic bishops of the United States
• Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

References

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Fargo Official Site

Episcopal succession