Plácido Rodríguez C.M.F. (born October 11, 1940) is a Mexican-born American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Lubbock in Texas from 1994 to 2015 and as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of San Antonio The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States, and sui juris Latin Church in full communion with the pope of Rome. It encompasses in the U.S. state of Texas. The Roman Catholic ...

in Texas from 1983 to 1994.

Biography

Early life

Plácido Rodríguez was born on October 11, 1940, in

Celaya Celaya (; ) is a city and its surrounding municipality in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, located in the southeast quadrant of the state. It is the third most populous city in the state, with a 2005 census population of 310,413. The municipality f ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

to Eutimio and Maria Conception. He was the 11th born out of 14 children; his family emigrated to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in 1953, when he was twelve years old. Rodríguez attended Saint Francis Assisi Parish School in Chicago, then St. Jude's Seminary in

Momence, Illinois Momence is a city and capital of Momence township, Illinois it is located in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,171 at the 2000 census, and 3,310 in 2010. It is part of the Kankakee– Bradley Metropolitan Statist ...

. He then entered entered the Claretian Novitiate in Los Angeles, making his first profession of vows in 1960. After finishing at the novitiate, Rodríguez entered Claretian College Seminary in

Calabasas, California Calabasas (from Spanish ''calabazas'' "gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica and Santa Susanna mountains.Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U. ...

in Washington, D.C. Rodríguez took his perpetual vows with the Claretians in 1967 and graduated from Catholic University in 1988, receiving a

Licentiate in Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theolo ...

and a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Lic ...

degree.

Priesthood

Rodríguez was ordained into the priesthood by Bishop

Thomas Grady Thomas Grady VC DCM ( ga, Tomás Ó Grádaigh; 18 September 1835 – 18 May 1891) was born in Claddagh, County Galway and was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of t ...

for the Claretian Order on May 23, 1968. After his ordination, Rodríguez was assigned as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in

South Chicago South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtown ...

. During this period, he earned a Master of Urban Studies degree in 1971 from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, Catholic univers ...

. In 1975, Rodríguez was appointed vocation director for the Claretian's eastern province, a job he held for six years. In 1981, Rodríguez was named pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago

Rodríguez was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

Fuerteventura Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the North Africa region, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the northwestern coast of Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNES ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on October 18, 1983. He was consecrated by Cardinal Joseph Bernadin on December 13, 1983.

Bishop of Lubbock

Rodríguez was appointed as bishop of the Diocese of Lubbock on April 5, 1994, by John Paul II. He was installed on June 1, 1994 in the Lubbock Memorial Coliseum in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the nort ...

. In January 2004, Rodriguez released a list of five priests and one deacon with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors. Most of the cases dated back before the formation of the diocese. The men on the list were either deceased or already removed from ministry.

Retirement

After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 on October 11, 2015, Rodríguez submitted his letter of resignation as bishop of Lubbock to

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

. The pope accepted it on September 27, 2016. Rodríguez retired to Chicago to return to the Claretian Order, actively working in the promotion of priestly vocations.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lubbock Official Site
* https://twitter.com/bprodriguezcmf
Article title
* https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/holy-land-us-bishops-say-building-walls-does-no-good * https://ctkcathedral.org/people/most-rev-plcido-rodrguez-cmf * http://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/local-news/plcido-rodrguez-cmf-writes-pope-francis-to-request-retirement/246803513 * http://catholiclubbock.org/images/SPC.pdf * http://www.olvradio.com/ * https://www.catholic.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Placido 1940 births Living people People from Celaya Mexican emigrants to the United States Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of San Antonio 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Religious leaders from Texas Religious leaders from Illinois 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States