John Robert Roach (July 31, 1921 – July 11, 2003) was an
American Catholic
The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the cou ...
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...
who served as
Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis from 1975 to 1995. Appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese in 1971, he his later appointment as archbishop made him the first St. Paul archbishop to have been born in Minnesota. Roach delivered a
benediction
A benediction (, 'well' + , 'to speak') is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposition of the eucharisti ...
at
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
's inauguration in 1977 and was head of the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops from 1980 to 1983. In 1985, he was arrested for drunk driving after crashing into a convenience store; he would later admit to being an alcoholic. Roach was alleged by
MPR News
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest.
MPR has ...
to have protected and reassigned a priest accused of molesting girls. Both MPR and the
Star Tribune
''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the List of newspapers in the United States, seventh- ...
criticised his handling of
cases of sexual abuse by clergy. He oversaw a major reorganization and renovation of the
Saint Paul Seminary
The Saint Paul Seminary (SPS) is a Catholic Church, Catholic major seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. A part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, SPS prepares men to enter th ...
and its affiliation and merger with the
University of St. Thomas. He retired at age 74 on September 5, 1995, succeeded by
Harry Flynn. Roach died at age 81 on July 11, 2003.
Early life
John Robert Roach was born on July 31, 1921, in
Prior Lake, Minnesota, to Simon and Mary Roach. The eldest of three children, he had two younger sisters—Virginia and Mona. Growing up, he worked at the general store in Prior Lake owned by his father.
He attended
Shakopee High School
Shakopee High School is a four-year public high school as of fall 2018 located in Shakopee, Minnesota, United States. The school district serves nearly 8,380 students in Shakopee, Savage, Prior Lake, and the Jackson, Louisville, and Sand Creek ...
for two years before transferring in his junior year to
Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary
Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary, known familiarly as Naz Hall, was a Minor seminary, high school seminary in Arden Hills, Minnesota, United States, serving the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Archdiocese of Saint Pa ...
. In 1941, he began at
Saint Paul Seminary
The Saint Paul Seminary (SPS) is a Catholic Church, Catholic major seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. A part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, SPS prepares men to enter th ...
. Because of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he was placed on an accelerated path to ordination and was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
a priest on June 18, 1946, while 24 years old, by Archbishop
John Gregory Murray.
He would later go on to receive
Master of Education
The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...
degree at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
.
Priesthood
Roach was first assigned to the
Church of Saint Stephen in Minneapolis. Only there for the summer, when the fall arrived he was assigned to
Saint Thomas Academy
Saint Thomas Academy (abbr. STA), originally known as St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary and formerly known as St. Thomas Military Academy, is an all-male, Catholic military high school in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. The academy has a middle school (gr ...
where he served as an instructor of Latin and religion.
From 1951 to 1968, he was the headmaster of the school.
[ As headmaster, he oversaw the 1965 move of the academy from sharing a campus with the College of Saint Thomas to its own location in ]Mendota Heights
Mendota Heights ( ) is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. It is a first-ring southern suburb of the Twin Cities. The population was 11,744 at the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has ...
. He was named a monsignor
Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...
in 1965. From 1968 to 1971, he served as the founding rector of Saint John Vianney Seminary in St. Paul.
Episcopacy
Auxiliary bishop
On July 12, 1971, at the age of 49, Roach was appointed 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 an ...
of Cenae
The diocese of Cene () is a suppressed and titular see of the Roman Catholic Church.
Cenae, identifiable with the island of Kneiss in today's Tunisia, are an ancient bishopric of the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis. There are only two ...
and an auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions.
...
of Saint Paul and Minneapolis; he was consecrated on September 8, 1971, alongside Raymond Alphonse Lucker. Archbishop Luigi Raimondi
Luigi Raimondi (25 October 1912 – 24 June 1975) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints from his elevation to the cardinalate by Pope Paul VI in 1973 until hi ...
was the primary consecrator. From 1971 to 1973, Roach served as pastor of St. Charles Borromeo parish in St. Anthony; from 1973 to 1975, he served as pastor of St. Cecilia in St. Paul
Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
.
Archbishop
Roach was appointed to succeed Leo Binz as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis on May 21, 1975, and was installed on July 16, 1975. He was the first priest born in the archdiocese to be named the archbishop. In 1977, Roach delivered a benediction
A benediction (, 'well' + , 'to speak') is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposition of the eucharisti ...
at the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
. Roach served as the president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) from 1980 to 1983. During his tenure, the NCCB strongly advocated for nuclear disarmament and economic justice.[ During his last months as president, the NCCB issued a pastoral letter on war and peace, " The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response". During the drafting process, President ]Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
involved himself, appealing to Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
for a letter that would distance itself from the Nuclear Freeze campaign
The Nuclear Freeze campaign was a mass movement in the United States during the 1980s to secure an agreement between the U.S. and Soviet governments to halt the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons.
Background
The idea of simpl ...
. Roach publicly complained about the interference. In addition to his time as NCCB president, Roach also served as chairman of the National Catholic Educational Association
The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) is a private, professional educational membership association. It represents over 150,000 educators in Roman Catholic Church, Catholic schools, universities, and religious education programs i ...
from 1986 to 1989, and president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference.[ Roach oversaw the implementation of a permanent diaconate program in the Archdiocese in the wake of ]Vatican II
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...
, ordaining the first group of 12 permanent deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
s on April 25, 1976.
At a Jewish-Christian interfaith event on May 13, 1977, Roach was giving an acceptance speech for an award when a man threw a chocolate-cream pie at Roach. The man, 22-year-old Patrick Schwartz, said he did so as a protest against the Catholic Church's views on homosexuality. George Casey, a Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
priest and former chaplain to a group for gay Catholics, had offered $20 to anyone who would hit Roach with a pie. In 1985, Roach founded a diocesan AIDS ministry, providing support to those with AIDS and their family members and providing anointing of the sick to those with the disease. The archdiocese also started a support group for gay and lesbian persons wishing to remain celibate.[
Roach made national news when he was arrested for drunk driving on February 21, 1985, after driving his car into the wall of a ]Tom Thumb
Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first known fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, ...
convenience store in Lindstrom, Minnesota
Lindström (also spelled Lindstrom) is a city in Chisago County, Minnesota, United States, located 35 miles northeast of the Twin Cities. The population was 4,888 at the 2020 census. Lindström's motto is ''America's Little weden'. U.S. High ...
. He was discovered to have a blood alcohol count of 0.19. His license was suspended for 90 days; during that time, he was limited to driving only for official clerical business between Tuesday and Sunday, and required to attend an alcohol education program. During a homily
A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ...
at a Mass before youth at World Youth Day 1993
The 1993 World Youth Day was held on August 10–15, 1993 in Denver, Colorado. It was the first World Youth Day held in either North America or an English-speaking nation.
The World Youth Day is an event for young people organized by the Roma ...
in Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, he admitted that he was an alcoholic; he received a standing ovation afterwards.[
At the ]Saint Paul Seminary
The Saint Paul Seminary (SPS) is a Catholic Church, Catholic major seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. A part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, SPS prepares men to enter th ...
, Roach oversaw the 1987–1989 renovation of Saint Mary's Chapel, the demolition of the old administration building and construction of a new one, as well as construction of new dormitories.[ Roach oversaw the 1987 merger and affiliation agreement between the College of Saint Thomas and seminary, which until that point had been separate institutions with adjacent campuses. As part of the affiliation, much of the land of the campus of the seminary was sold to the college to create the current south campus, and the college became the degree-issued institution for the seminary.][
His handling of cases of sexual abuse by clergy were criticized as being too lenient by the ]MPR News
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest.
MPR has ...
and the Star Tribune
''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the List of newspapers in the United States, seventh- ...
. In one case, Roach was alleged by MPR News
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest.
MPR has ...
to have protected and reassigned a priest accused of raping girls. On February 22, 1994, Bishop Harry Flynn, the Bishop of Lafayette, Louisiana, was appointed coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese.
The coa ...
and became the presumptive successor of Roach. On September 5, 1995, Roach's retirement was accepted. While Roach was 74, a year younger than the normal retirement age, he said that he considered Flynn ready to take over.
Retirement and death
When he retired, Roach stated that he intended to do mission work in local parishes and work on a project with the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to evaluate Catholic social teaching in Catholic schools. He moved into the same apartment at Saint Thomas Academy
Saint Thomas Academy (abbr. STA), originally known as St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary and formerly known as St. Thomas Military Academy, is an all-male, Catholic military high school in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. The academy has a middle school (gr ...
that he had lived in when he taught there.[ The University of St. Thomas changed the name of Albertus Magnus Hall to the John R. Roach Center for Liberal Arts in recognition of his 20 years of service as chairman of the St. Thomas board of trustees, after a $9.8 million renovation to the 1947 ]Collegiate Gothic
Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...
building was completed in 2000.
Roach died of heart failure on July 11, 2003, at the Little Sisters of the Poor home in St. Paul at the age of 81. Over 2,500 attended his funeral at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, including 300 priests and 15 bishops.[ Minnesota Governor ]Tim Pawlenty
Timothy James Pawlenty ( ; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served from 2003 to 2011 as the 39th governor of Minnesota. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House ...
and former vice-president Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928April 19, 2021) was the 42nd vice president of the United States serving from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1964 to 1976. ...
were also in attendance. The sermon was given by Bishop John Kinney. Roach was buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights
Mendota Heights ( ) is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. It is a first-ring southern suburb of the Twin Cities. The population was 11,744 at the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has ...
.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roach, John
1921 births
2003 deaths
Saint Paul Seminary alumni
People from Scott County, Minnesota
20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States
Roman Catholic archbishops of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Presidents of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
University of Minnesota alumni
Burials at Resurrection Cemetery