Pope appoints Bishop for Alexandria, LA, USA

By Vatican News

Pope Francis has appointed Father Robert Marshall as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana, in the USA. Bishop-elect Marshall succeeds Bishop David Talley, who was appointed by Pope Francis as Bishop of Memphis in March 2019.

Bishop-elect Marshall was born in Memphis, Tennessee on June 17, 1959. He attended Christian Brothers University in Memphis (1977-1980) where he received a Bachelor of Arts in History. In 1983, he received a Juris Doctorate from the Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis, and a Master of Divinity from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans in 2000. Prior to entering seminary, Father Marshall worked as a civil attorney. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 10, 2000 for the Diocese of Memphis.

Father Marshall’s assignments in the Diocese of Memphis after ordination include: Parochial Vicar at Incarnation Church in Collierville (2000-2002); Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Humboldt and St. Matthew Parish in Milan (2002-2004); Pastor of the Church of the Ascension in Memphis (2004-2012); Pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Cordova (2012-2017); and Parochial Administrator of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Memphis (2017-2019). Since 2019, Bishop-elect Marshall has served as Vicar General for the Diocese of Memphis and Pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

The Diocese of Alexandria comprises 11,108 square miles in the State of Louisiana with a total population of 389,837 of which 35,402 are Catholic.