Charles J. Chaput facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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| Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia | |
Chaput at Georgetown University
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| Archdiocese | Philadelphia |
| Appointed | July 19, 2011 |
| Enthroned | September 8, 2011 |
| Predecessor | Justin Francis Rigali |
| Successor | Nelson J. Perez |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | August 29, 1970 |
| Consecration | July 26, 1988 by Pio Laghi, John Roach, and James Stafford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 26, 1944 Concordia, Kansas |
| Nationality | American |
| Denomination | Catholic |
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| Motto | As Christ loved the church |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Styles of Charles Joseph Chaput |
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| Reference style |
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| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Archbishop |
Charles Joseph Chaput OFMCap ( SHAP-yoo; born September 26, 1944) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the ninth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, serving from 2011 until 2020. He previously served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver in Colorado (1997–2011) and bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City in South Dakota (1988–1997). Chaput was the first archbishop of Philadelphia in 100 years who was not named a cardinal.
Chaput is a professed Capuchin Franciscan. A member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in Kansas, he is the second Native American bishop and the first Native American archbishop.
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Early life
Charles Chaput was born on September 26, 1944, in Concordia, Kansas, one of three children of Joseph and Marian Helen (née DeMarais) Chaput. His father was a French Canadian who was descended from King Louis IX. His mother was a Native American of the Prairie Band Potawatomi tribe; his maternal grandmother was the last member of the family to live on a reservation. Chaput himself was enrolled in the tribe at a young age, taking the name Pietasa ("rustling wind"). His Potawatomi name is "the wind that rustles the leaves of the tree" while his Sioux name is "good eagle".
Chaput received his early education at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Grade School in Concordia. Deciding to become a priest at the age of 13, he attended St. Francis Seminary High School in Victoria, Kansas.
In 1965, at age 21, Chaput entered the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, a branch of the Franciscans, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1967, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy from St. Fidelis College Seminary in Herman, Pennsylvania. On July 14, 1968, he made his solemn profession as a Capuchin friar. In 1970, he graduated Master of Arts in religious education from Capuchin College in Washington, DC.
Priesthood
Chaput was ordained to the priesthood for the Capuchin Order by Bishop Cyril Vogel on August 29, 1970. He received a Master of Theology degree from the University of San Francisco in 1971. From 1971 to 1974, he was an instructor in theology and spiritual director at St. Fidelis College. He then served as executive secretary and director of communications for the Capuchin province in Pittsburgh until 1977.
As a seminarian, Chaput was an active volunteer in the 1968 US presidential campaign of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. As a young priest, he supported the election of Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter as US president in 1976. Chaput was appointed pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Thornton, Colorado.
Chaput was elected vicar provincial for the Capuchin Province of Mid-America in 1977 and became secretary and treasurer for the province in 1980 and chief executive and provincial minister in 1983. He was part of a group of Native Americans who greeted Pope John Paul II when he visited Phoenix, Arizona, in 1987.
Episcopal career
Bishop of Rapid City
On April 11, 1988, Chaput was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City by John Paul II. He was consecrated on July 26, 1988, by Archbishop Pio Laghi, with Archbishop John Roach and Archbishop James Stafford serving as co-consecrators.
Chaput was the second priest of Native American ancestry to be consecrated a bishop in the United States, after Bishop Donald Pelotte. He was the first Native American to be consecrated as an ordinary bishop rather than a titular bishop. He chose as his episcopal motto: "As Christ Loved the Church" from Ephesians 5:25.
Archbishop of Denver
On February 18, 1997, Chaput was appointed by John Paul II as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver, replacing Archbishop James Stafford. In 2007, Chaput delivered the commencement address at Denver's Augustine Institute. In 2008, he became the episcopal moderator of the Tekakwitha Conference.
In 2007, Chaput conducted an apostolic visitation to the Diocese of Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia, on behalf of the Congregation for Bishops. The Vatican was concerned by statements that Bishop Bill Morris had made regarding the ordination of women. In May 2011, Pope Benedict XVI removed Morris as bishop of Toowoomba after he refused to resign.
Archbishop of Philadelphia
On July 19, 2011, Chaput was appointed as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia by Pope Benedict XVI. He succeeded Cardinal Justin Rigali, who had reached retirement age of 75 in April 2010. He was installed on September 8, 2011.
From August 17 to 19, 2011, Chaput gave catechesis at the World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain, similar to the function he performed at the 2008 World Youth Day in Sydney. On November 14, 2014, at a meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Chaput was elected as a delegate to the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family pending Vatican approval. Though Chaput led a historically important see and his five immediate predecessors were cardinals, Benedict XVI did not appoint him a cardinal in his two 2012 consistories, nor did Pope Francis in any of his.
Pope Francis accepted Chaput's letter of resignation as archbishop of Philadelphia on January 23, 2020.
See also
In Spanish: Charles Joseph Chaput para niños
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
