Joseph Robert Jacobson (born 1940), known as Robert Jacobson, is a former

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

bishop who became a

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

upon his conversion from Lutheranism. He was formerly the Bishop of the Alberta Synod of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

Early life and Lutheran ministry

Jacobson was born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

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, in 1940, the son of a

minister. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from

Saint Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the ...

and his Bachelor of Divinity degree from the

Strasbourg University The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, before graduating from

Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary Luther Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions. It is accredited ...

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 ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, in 1965. After serving four Lutheran parishes in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

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, and homeschooling in the early 1980s, in 1985 he was elected the first bishop of the Alberta Synod of the

. Jacobson served in missions all over Canada, serving in that position for 10 years. During his term as Lutheran bishop, Jacobson ordained many women as ministers but he said that doesn't mean he endorses it for 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 ...

Conversion to Roman Catholicism and ordination to the priesthood

In 1998, almost five years after he took "early retirement" as Lutheran bishop, Archbishop Joseph MacNeil invited Jacobson to consider becoming a priest. Jacobson and his wife Carolyne, who live on a farm near

Bashaw Bashaw may refer to: Places ;Canada * Bashaw, Alberta ** Bashaw Airport ;United States * Bashaw, Wisconsin, a town * Bashaw, Burnett County, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community * Bashaw Township, Brown County, Minnesota Others * Mose Bashaw (188 ...

, began the

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (), or OCIA, known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) in many English-speaking countries, is a process developed by the Catholic Church for its catechumenate for prospective converts ...

at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Bashaw in 1999 and became Roman Catholics at the

Easter Vigil The Easter Vigil, also known as the Paschal Vigil, the Great Vigil of Easter, or Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil on the Holy Night of Easter, is a Christian liturgy, liturgy held in Christian worship#Sacramental tradition, traditional Christian ...

of 2000. Jacobson's conversion is also due to him to have served as co-chairman of the Lutheran–Catholic theological dialogue for Canada for almost eight years together with

Adam Exner Adam Joseph Exner, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, OMI (December 24, 1928 – September 5, 2023) was a Canadian Bishop in the Catholic Church, bishop of the Catholic Church. He was the List of Roman Catholic archbishops of Vancouver, A ...

, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver. Forty years after he was ordained a Lutheran minister, Jacobson converted to Roman Catholicism and was ordained to the priesthood on February 2, 2007, in the Archdiocese of Grouard–McLennan in Canada.

Personal life

Jacobson also pursues interests in

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and animal life as well as in music and poetry. A prolific writer, he has written several books, the latest being ''All Nature Sings'', a book of poems that speaks about creation and new creation through the eyes of the Scriptures. In addition to English, Jacobson is fluent in German, French and Spanish.

References

External links

* http://www.wcr.ab.ca/This-Week/Stories/entryid/5288 * http://www.catholicregister.org/features/archives/call-to-service/item/17945-protestantism%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98fatal-flaw%E2%80%99-draws-lutheran-to-catholic-church {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Robert 1940 births 21st-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism Living people Religious leaders from Milwaukee St. Olaf College alumni University of Strasbourg alumni