Peter Forsyth Christensen (born December 24, 1952) 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

Roman 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

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Boise in Idaho since 2014. He previously served as bishop of the

Diocese of Superior The Diocese of Superior () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northwest Wisconsin in the United States. Its episcopal see is Superior, and the Cathedral of Christ the King in Superior is its mother c ...

in Wisconsin from 2007 to 2014. Christensen was ordained into the priesthood on May 25, 1985, by Archbishop John Roach. On November 4, 2014,

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 ...

named Christensen as the eighth bishop in the Diocese of Boise. He was installed as bishop by Archbishop Harry Flynn in Boise on December 17, 2014, at St. John's Cathedral.

Biography

Early life and education

Peter Christensen was born on December 24, 1952, in

Altadena Altadena () is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, it is located approximately from Downtown Los Angeles. Its po ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He was the fourth of eight children; his parents were Robert and Ann (née Forsyth) Christensen. The family later moved to Palos Verdes, California. Christensen attended

Palos Verdes High School Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) is one of three public high schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, Southern California, USA (the others being Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (formerly Rolling Hills High School) and Rancho ...

, with interests in becoming a potter. Christensen briefly attended the

College of the Redwoods College of the Redwoods (CR) is a public community college with its main campus south of Eureka, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and serves three counties. It has two branch campuses, as well as three additiona ...

in Eureka, California, but dropped out in 1975 to move with his mother and siblings to Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. Christensen enrolled at the University of St. Thomas in that area, obtaining a Bachelor of Art degree in history degree. After graduation, Christensen worked as a

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

. After deciding to become a priest, Christensen in 1981 entered

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 ...

in St. Paul, Minnesota. During his seminary education, he studied in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

for a semester. He graduated with a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree from Saint Paul Seminary.

Ordination and ministry

Christensen 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 ...

to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul by Archbishop John Roach on May 25, 1985. After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Christensen as assistant

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 St. Olaf Parish in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. He left St. Olaf in 1989 to become spiritual director of St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul. After receiving a Master of Applied Spirituality degree, Christensen became rector of St. John Vianney. During his tenure, St. John Vianney became the largest Catholic college seminary in the United States. In June 1999, Christensen was appointed pastor of Nativity of Our Lord Parish 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 ...

, where he continued traditional practices, such as perpetual Eucharistic adoration. He also reconstructed the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

Bishop of Superior

On June 28, 2007,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

named Christensen as bishop of Superior. After receiving a telephone call from Archbishop

Pietro Sambi Pietro Sambi (27 June 1938 – 27 July 2011) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1969 until his death in 2011. He had the rank of archbishop and the title of nuncio from 1985, f ...

bringing news of his appointment, he "sobbed for about 15 minutes as he had not sought the episcopal office." During a

press conference A press conference, also called news conference or press briefing, is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalism, journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicia ...

, Christensen promised to be a "good listener" in his new role as bishop.''Catholic Herald''
Christensen named Fliss' successor
/ref> He was consecrated at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in St. Paul on September 14, 2007, by Archbishop Harry Flynn, with Bishops Raphael Fliss, and William Bullock serving as co-consecrators.

Bishop of Boise

On November 4, 2014,

named Christensen as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Boise. He was installed on December 17, 2014, in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Boise, Idaho. On February 2, 2017, police arrested Reverend Thomas Faucher, a retired priest, for possessing and distributing

child pornography Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...

. Surprised by the announcement, Christensen immediately suspended Faucher from priestly ministry. He later pleaded guilty to charges and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

at the Vatican defrocked Faucher in December 2019. Christensen made this statement: “There are no excuses for such behavior by any one of our clergy." In April 2020, Christensen issued a memo containing orders for diocese priests, including an order banning them from celebrating mass ''

ad orientem ''Ad orientem'', meaning 'to the east' in Ecclesiastical Latin, is a phrase used to describe the eastward orientation of Christian prayer and Christian worship, comprising the preposition ''ad'' (toward) and ''oriens'' (rising, sunrise, east), p ...

'' (facing the altar).

Viewpoints

Euthanasia

Christensen in 2012 joined the other Wisconsin bishops in warning against the use of Physician (or Provider) Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST). The bishops wrote to “encourage all Catholics to avoid using all such documents, programs and materials.”

Education

In January 2014, Christensen announced that the Diocese of Boise would not allow the use of the

Common Core The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, was an American, multi-state educational initiative begun in 2010 with the goal of increasing consistency across state standards, or what K–12 students throughout th ...

curriculum in its schools.

References

External links

Diocese of BoiseDiocese of Superior
* ttps://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/9748/pope-benedict-names-new-bishop-for-diocese-of-superior Catholic News Agency: "Pope Benedict names new bishop for Diocese of Superior" {{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Peter F. 1952 births Living people Clergy from Pasadena, California 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Wisconsin Roman Catholic bishops of Superior Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Roman Catholic bishops of Boise People from Palos Verdes, California Catholics from California