Mark Andrew Bartosic (born June 21, 1961) is an American

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 ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who has been serving as 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. ...

for the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. The Vatican erected it as a diocese in 1843 and elevated it to an ar ...

in Illinois since 2018.

Biography

Early life

Mark Bartosic was born in

Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah ( ) is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River (Green Bay tributary), Fox River approximately northeast of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, O ...

on June 21, 1961. He attended St. Edward School in

Ashland, Ohio Ashland is a city in Ashland County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is approximately 66 miles southwest of Cleveland. The population was 19,225 at the 2020 census. It is the center of the Ashland Micropolitan statistical area, wh ...

, then completed his secondary education in the Ashland City School District. Bartosic attended

Ashland University Ashland University is a private university in Ashland, Ohio, United States. The university consists of a main campus and several off-campus centers throughout central and northern Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern U ...

, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater. After graduating from college in 1983, Bartosic moved to Chicago to get acting jobs. According to Bartosic, he started attending Mass at a Chicago church and was impressed with how much more diverse it was than his church in Ashland. He worked on the crew of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as a stand-in for Alan Ruck. After re-evaluating his chances of becoming a successful actor, he decided he would rather be a successful priest. In 1989, Bartosic entered the

University of St. Mary of the Lake The University of Saint Mary of the Lake (USML) is a private Roman Catholic seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. It is the principal seminary and school of theology for the formation of priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois. USML wa ...

in Mundelein, Illinois and later Niles College Seminary at Loyola University Chicago. After graduation, Bartosic spent a year in Mexico working in an orphanage.

Priesthood

On May 21, 1994, Bartosic was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago by Cardinal

Joseph Bernardin Joseph Louis Bernardin (April 2, 1928 – November 14, 1996) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Cincinnati from 1972 until 1982, and as Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 until his death from pancreatic cancer. B ...

. After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Bartosic as associate pastor for St. Agnes of Bohemia Parish in Chicago. In 2001, he was named pastor of St. Frances of Rome Parish in

Cicero, Illinois Cicero is a town in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,268, making it the 11th-most populous municipality in Illinois. The town is named after Marcus Tullius Cicero, a R ...

, serving there for 15 years. Bartosic assumed the additional pastoral duties at Our Lady of Charity Parish in Cicero in 2009. In 2016, Cardinal

Blase Cupich Blase Joseph Cupich ( ; born March 19, 1949) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Chicago since 2014. He was made a cardinal in 2016. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Cupich was ordained a priest in 1975. He was named Bisho ...

appointed Bartosic as director of the Kolbe House Jail Ministry in Chicago as well as the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of Assumption Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Chicago.

Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed Bartosic as auxiliary bishop of Chicago on July 3, 2018. He was consecrated at Holy Name Cathedral on September 17, 2018 by Cupich, with Auxiliary Bishops Francis J. Kane, and George J. Rassas serving as co-consecrators. On September 22, 2018, Cupich suspended Reverend Paul Kalchik, pastor of Resurrection Parish in Chicago, after receiving complaints from parishioners. Ten days earlier, Kalchik had held an

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...

at the church, followed by the burning of a

rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the seven spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. History In the 18th century, American Revolutionary ...

on the church grounds. Bartosic met with Kalchik at the parish and told him he had to leave his residence or be arrested for

trespass Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person (see below), trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery ...

ing. Since Kalchik was just getting ready to officiate a wedding, Bartosic took his place. Bartosic is currently going around church parishes in the Chicago area holding masses and special occasions.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartosic, Mark A. 1961 births Living people People from Neenah, Wisconsin Catholics from Wisconsin 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Bishops appointed by Pope Francis