Bishop Baker of Charleston named to head Birmingham Diocese

Published: 2007-08-14

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Robert J. Baker of Charleston, S.C., as the bishop of Birmingham, Ala. He succeeds Bishop David E. Foley, who retired May 10, 2005. The appointment was announced in Washington Aug. 14 by Msgr. Martin Krebs, charge d'affaires of the Vatican nunciature. Bishop Baker, 63, has headed the Charleston Diocese since 1999. He will be installed in Birmingham Oct. 2. While bishop of Charleston, he initiated annual observances focused on tenets of the Catholic faith, including years focused on prayer, the rosary, stewardship, the Eucharist and the family. In other efforts, he encouraged people to observe the traditional 12 days of Christmas, focusing on acts of kindness and prayer, and to keep Sunday as a day of rest. He joined bishops from Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., in a 2004 letter saying Catholic politicians or candidates who support keeping abortion legal were barred from receiving Communion in any Catholic church in their dioceses. The Birmingham Diocese has been vacant since Bishop David E. Foley retired in 2005.

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