Bishop-Elect Robert Coerver has been appointed the third Bishop of Lubbock. He heard of his appointment on Monday, September 19, 2016. He said "it was the most difficult secret to keep". To help him keep quiet he joined his prayers of surrender and thanksgiving to his search on the internet as he learned as much as he could about the Diocese of Lubbock.
He began his address at today's press conference audience in Spanish, acknowleding the many Spanish-speaking parishioners of the diocese, by thanking Bishop Rodriguez for his service to Lubbock. Referencing the Catholics of Lubbock as now "my people" he went on to say he is humbled by the trust Pope Francis has in him as the third Bishop of Lubbock.
Bishop-Elect Coerver tugged at the hearts of Lubbock's Spanish-speaking Catholics as he asked them to be patient with him and his language difficulties and, like Pope Francis' first papal address, he asked for prayers. He closed with the final meditation of the spiritual exercise of St. Ignatius of Loyola. This prayer is a stewards prayer that acknowledges everything is a gift given from God that we are to return with gratitude. Bishop-Elect Coerver intends to make this prayer his episcopal motto:
Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.
Please join our prayers of thanksgiving to God for our new steward and shepherd, Bishop-Elect Robert Coerver
Sources: The Diocese of Dallas congratulates Bishop-Elect Coerver
The following bio and episcopal transition information is from Christ the King Cathedral. w
ww.ctkcathedral.org
Rev. Msgr. Robert Milner Coerver, 62, was introduced as the Third Bishop of Lubbock during a press conference at Christ the King Cathedral at 10 a.m. on September 27.
Bishop-elect Coerver is a priest of the Diocese of Dallas ordained in 1980. He is a native of Dallas, raised in St. Thomas Aquinas Parish. He has served as Assistant Pastor at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in Dallas and at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Plano. For eleven years he served as Director of Spiritual Formation at Holy Trinity Seminary on the campus of the University of Dallas.
He moved into full-time diocesan ministry, serving as spirituality consultant to programs of the diocese, in July 1996. In July of 1997 he was appointed Director of the Office of Sacramental Life for the Diocese, and was named Director of Priestly Life and Ministry in 2003. In December of 2004 Pope John Paul II named Fr. Bob a Prelate of Honor with the title "Monsignor."
On March 16, 2005 Fr. Bob left his chancery and diocesan positions to become Pastoral Administrator and one year later Pastor at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Rockwall Texas. On July 26, 2010, Fr. Bob assumed his current position as Pastor of St. Rita Parish in Dallas. He holds a Licentiate in Spiritual Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a Masters Degree in Counseling and Guidance from Texas A&M University Commerce (formerly East Texas State University). He has served as a member and Chairperson of the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of Dallas since 2008.
He will be ordained a bishop on November 21 at 2 p.m. at Christ the King Cathedral in Lubbock and installed as the third Bishop of Lubbock.
You may follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/frbobc.
