A south suburban native who has served in the Archdiocese of Chicago has been picked to become archbishop of Cincinnati.
The Most Rev. Robert Casey, 57, an auxiliary bishop in the Chicago archdiocese, was appointed Wednesday by Pope Francis to lead the 400,000-member archdiocese of Cincinnati. Casey succeeds Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, whose retirement was accepted by the pope.
Born in Evergreen Park and raised in Alsip, Casey attended Marist High School before entering Niles College Seminary of Loyola University Chicago. He received his master of divinity degree from Mundelein Seminary in 1994 and was ordained that May. He began ministering to the Hispanic community as a seminarian, became fluent in Spanish, and later served in several Hispanic parishes.
Casey was elevated to bishop in 2018 by Cardinal Blase Cupich. He has held leadership roles in parish renewal and social justice efforts.
“It is with gratitude and humility that I accept Pope Francis’ invitation to serve the present generation of faithful in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati,” Casey said in a written statement. “As archbishop, my primary role will be one of discipleship … so that together we may deepen our love for God and neighbor.”
Schnurr has served as archbishop in Cincinnati since 2009.
Casey’s career has not been without scrutiny. In 2008, he was removed from ministry for about four weeks while the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigated a complaint against him while he was pastor of Our Lady of Tepeyac Parish in Little Village.
Investigators determined the claim was “unfounded,” the archdiocese said.
He moved in 2009 to St. Barbara Parish in Brookfield and, in 2016, became pastor of St. Bede the Venerable Parish on Chicago’s Southwest Side, where he remained until he was appointed auxiliary bishop in 2023.
Casey is the latest Catholic church leader in Chicago to be appointed to lead other archdioceses.
Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey Grob was appointed in November to lead the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Bishop Alberto Rojas took over leadership of the Diocese of San Bernardino, California, in 2019.
Bishop Ronald Hicks was put in charge of the Diocese of Joliet in 2020.
Bishop Wilton Gregory was elevated in 2020 to cardinal, the country’s first African American cardinal. Gregory, born in Chicago and ordained in 1973, now leads the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.