John Roach (bishop)

For other people named John Roach, see John Roach (disambiguation).

John Robert Roach (July 31, 1921 – July 11, 2003) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis from 1975 to 1995.

His Excellency The Most Reverend John Roach
Archbishop emeritus of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Church	Catholic Church
Appointed	May 21, 1975
Term ended	September 8, 1995
Predecessor	Leo Binz
Successor	Harry Flynn
Previous post(s)	Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis (1971–1975) Titular Bishop of Cenae (1971–1975)
Orders
Ordination	June 18, 1946
Consecration	September 8, 1971
Personal details
Born	July 31, 1921 Prior Lake, Minnesota
Died	July 11, 2003
Nationality	American
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Alma mater	Saint Paul Seminary

Styles of John Robert Roach
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Monsignor

Ordination history of John Roach
History Priestly ordination Date June 9, 1946 Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator Luigi Raimondi Co-consecrators Leo Binz, Leo Christopher Byrne Date September 8, 1971
Episcopal succession Bishops consecrated by John Roach as principal consecrator Victor Hermann Balke September 2, 1976 Paul Vincent Dudley January 25, 1977 John Francis Kinney January 25, 1977 William Henry Bullock August 12, 1980 Robert Henry Brom May 23, 1983 Robert James Carlson January 11, 1984 Jerome George Hanus, OSB August 24, 1987 Joseph Leo Charron, CPPS January 25, 1990 Roger Lawrence Schwietz, OMI February 2, 1990

Biography

John Roach was born in Prior Lake, Minnesota, to Simon and Mary Roach. The eldest of three children, he had two younger sisters—Virginia and Mona. He attended public elementary school in Prior Lake, and studied for two years at Shakopee High School. In his junior year he transferred to Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary and began his studies for the priesthood. He proceeded to Saint Paul Seminary in 1941 for philosophy and theology. Due to the accelerated program of priestly formation put in place there during World War II, he was ordained a priest on June 18, 1946, while still 24 years old.

Roach served as a priest in a number of different assignments over the course of the next 25 years. On July 12, 1971, at the age of 49 he was appointed titular Bishop of Cenae and an auxiliary bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis; he was consecrated on September 8, 1971. Roach's archiepiscopate began on May 21, 1975, when he succeeded Archbishop Leo Binz and ended with the acceptance of his retirement on September 8, 1995. He was succeeded by coadjutor Archbishop Harry Flynn, and became the archbishop emeritus.

In 1977, Roach delivered the benediction at the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter. He served as the president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference from 1980 to 1983.

Other

Roach made national news when he was arrested for drunk driving on February 21, 1985. He was discovered to have a blood alcohol count of 0.19, after driving his car into the wall of a convenience store.

Death

Roach died on July 11, 2003.