25 Mar

Photo Credit: CNS/Paul Haring - Bishop Robert Baker of Birmingham, Alabama, and other U.S. bishops from the southeast concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 5, 2019. Pope Francis accepted his resignation March 25 and has named Bishop Steven Raica of Gaylord, Michigan, his successor.

Pope Francis accepts resignation of Bishop Robert Baker of Birmingham; names Bishop Steven Raica as successor

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

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March 25, 2020

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert Baker, 75, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Birmingham and has named Bishop Steven Raica of Gaylord, Michigan, to succeed him.

The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C., on March 25 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Raica was born on Nov. 8, 1952 and ordained to the priesthood on Oct. 14, 1978. He was named bishop of Gaylord in 2014.

The Diocese of Birmingham is comprised of 28,091 square miles in the State of Alabama and has a total population of 3,073,473 of which 104,837 are Catholic.