Catholic Charities Welcomes New Bishop to Central Minnesota

Catholic Charities warmly welcomes Father Patrick Neary to Central Minnesota. Pope Francis named Father Neary, C.S.C., a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, as the 10th bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud on Dec.15. Bishop-elect Neary was in St. Cloud for the announcement, and he visited some of the diocese’s offices and met with staff.

“I identify very much with the mission statement [of the Diocese of Saint Cloud],” said Father Neary. “Our mission is to be His heart of mercy, voice of hope, hands of justice.”

On Dec. 16, Steve Pareja, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Saint Cloud, gave Bishop-elect Neary a tour of Catholic Charities. Father Neary also met with some of the leadership staff of Catholic Charities during the tour.



“Bishop-elect Neary was excited to hear about all of our programs and was thrilled to hear how many employees and volunteers work to serve our communities,” said Pareja. “After his ordination as Bishop, he is anxious to learn more about Catholic Charities and the great work we do.”

Catholic Charities is a nonprofit organization supported by generous individuals, foundations, businesses, and faith communities. At the heart of Catholic Charities is people. People seeking help, people offering help and people who believe that we are all a community of neighbors, here in central Minnesota. The most important people to us are our clients: those whom we humbly serve.

The Diocese of St. Cloud includes 131 parishes spread across 16 counties in Central Minnesota and includes a Catholic population of around 125,000 people.