Roger William Gries, OSB (born March 26, 1937) is an American prelate 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 ...

. He is one of a few monastic priests to be named a bishop. Gries served 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. ...

of the

Diocese of Cleveland The Diocese of Cleveland () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern Ohio in the United States. , the bishop is Edward Malesic. The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, located in Clevelan ...

in Ohio from 2001 to 2013. Previously, Gries was abbot of St. Andrew Abbey in Cleveland from 1981 to 2001.

Biography

Early life

Roger Gries was born on March 26, 1937, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, to John and Dorothy (Soukup) Gries. He attended Benedictine High School in Cleveland, where he captained the football team. On July 11, 1957, Gries professed to the

Order of St. Benedict The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, they a ...

, entering St. Andrew Abbey in Cleveland.

Priesthood

Gries was ordained a priest by Bishop Clarence Elwell on May 18, 1963 to the Order of St. Benedict. Following his ordination, Gries attended

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

, where he earned Bachelor of Education and

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 ...

degrees. In 1964, he was assigned to Benedictine High School in Cleveland, serving there until 2001 as a teacher, coach, bus driver, principal and president. On June 9, 1981, Gries was elected and confirmed as abbot of St. Andrew Abbey. He was blessed in August, 1981. Gries served as abbot for the next 20 years.

Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland

On March 25, 2001,

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 ...

named Gries as titular bishop of

Praesidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some countries' political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. The term is also sometimes used for the ...

and as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland. He was consecrated by Bishop Anthony Pilla on June 7, 2001. with Auxiliary Bishops James Quinn and Anthony Pevec as the principal co-consecrators.

Resignation

Gries's letter of resignation as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland was accepted by

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 ...

on Friday, November 1, 2013. After his retirement, Gries performed

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

s, jubilees, funerals, and other celebrations and would visit inner city schools in Cleveland for mass and other activities.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Official Site

Episcopal succession

Living people 1937 births Religious leaders from Cleveland Loyola University Chicago alumni American Benedictines Benedictine abbots Benedictine bishops Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops 20th-century Christian abbots {{US-RC-bishop-stub