Robert Henry Brom (September 18, 1938 – May 9, 2022) was 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 ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Duluth in Minnesota, from 1983 to 1989, and as bishop of the Diocese of San Diego in Southern California from 1990 to 2013.

Biography

Early life and priesthood

Brom was born in

Arcadia, Wisconsin Arcadia is a city in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Trempealeau River. The population was 3,737 at the 2020 census. Arcadia is a Latino-majority city and the largest city in Trempealeau county. History Arcadia was fo ...

, on September 18, 1938. Brom was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Winona on December 18, 1963.

Bishop of Duluth

On March 25, 1983,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed Brom as bishop of the Diocese of Duluth. He was consecrated on May 23, 1983, by Archbishop John Roach at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary in Duluth, Minnesota. On April 22, 1989, Pope John Paul II appointed Brom as

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 ...

of the Diocese of San Diego to assist Bishop Leo Maher.

Bishop of San Diego

On July 10, 1990, after Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of Bishop Maher, Brom automatically became the new bishop of the Diocese of San Diego. On September 7, 2007, the Diocese of San Diego agreed to a $200 million settlement to victims of childhood sexual abuse by priests serving in the diocese since its founding in 1935. Brom apologized to the victims and said that the offenders' histories would be made public. Brom was responsible for the creation of two Catholic high schools: * Mater Dei Catholic High School in Chula Vista, California, replacing Marian Catholic High School in

Imperial Beach, California Imperial Beach is a beach city in San Diego County, California, United States, with a population of 26,137 as of the 2020 census. It is in the South Bay area of San Diego County, south of downtown San Diego and northwest of downtown Tiju ...

Cathedral Catholic High School Cathedral Catholic High School (CCHS) is a private coeducational Catholic college preparatory day school in San Diego, California, serving grades 9–12. It is operated by the Diocese of San Diego. In 1970, Cathedral Girls High School, a girl ...

in Carmel Valley, California, replacing University of San Diego High School in

Linda Vista, California Linda Vista (Spanish for "Pretty View") is a community in San Diego, California, United States. Located east of Mission Bay, north of Mission Valley, and south-east of Tecolote Canyon, it lies on a mesa overlooking Mission Valley to the south a ...

Brom also created a pastoral center in San Diego after selling the former chancery building to the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...

. On January 4, 2012, the

apostolic nuncio to the United States The Apostolic Nunciature to the United States, sometimes referred to as the Vatican Embassy, is the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to the United States. It is located at 3339 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Embassy ...

, Archbishop Carlo Vigano, announced that

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 ...

had appointed Auxiliary Bishop

Cirilo Flores The name Cirilo Flores can refer to: * Cirilo B. Flores, a 20th-21st Century American clergyman of the Catholic Church *, an important Guatemalan politician from the 18th and 19th Centuries {{Human name disambiguation ...

as coadjutor bishop to Brom in the diocese.Catholic News Agency: "Bishop Cirilo Flores to help oversee San Diego diocese"
January 4, 2012

Retirement and legacy

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 ...

accepted Brom's resignation on the latter's 75th birthday, September 18, 2013. He was succeeded automatically by Bishop Flores. Robert Brom died in San Diego on May 9, 2022, at age 83.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brom, Robert Henry 1938 births 2022 deaths People from Arcadia, Wisconsin People from Winona, Minnesota Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester Roman Catholic bishops of Duluth Roman Catholic bishops of San Diego Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Wisconsin