Pope Benedict XVI appointed local priest Fr. Joseph R. Binzer as a
new auxiliary bishop for the Cincinnati Archdiocese on April 6.
“I am honored and humbled that our Holy Father would make this
appointment,” said Bishop-elect Binzer, who will serve as the
archdiocese's first auxiliary bishop in four years.
The 55-year-old currently holds the positions of chancellor for the
archdiocese and also serves as the pastor of St. Louis Church in
downtown Cincinnati.
He was introduced at a press conference Wednesday
morning at the local Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains.
Archbishop of Cincinnati Dennis M. Schnurr said at the conference
that he was “very grateful” to the Pope for appointing Bishop-elect
Binzer to assist him “in shepherding the archdiocese.”
He added that the new auxiliary “is an excellent administrator, but
also a priest of great simplicity and compassion. His love of the Church
shines through in his tireless service to the people of God.”
“He is extremely well respected by his collaborators at the Chancery,
by the parishes he has served and by people in general,” Archbishop
Schnurr said.
Bishop-elect Binzer, a Cincinnati native, was born in 1955 and eventually attended Miami University in Ohio to study accounting.
He worked for 11 years as a Certified Public Accountant before
joining the seminary in 1988 to study for the priesthood.
After
attending Mount St. Mary’s of the West Seminary, he was ordained a
priest for the Cincinnati archdiocese in 1994.
He earned a licentiate in Canon Law from The Catholic University of
America in Washington, D.C. and returned to Ohio to serve in local
parishes.
Bishop-elect Binzer was appointed chancellor and pastor of St. Louis Church in 2003.
He will be ordained a bishop on June 9 at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains in Cincinnati.
“I will do my best to continue to work under Archbishop Schnurr to
serve the people of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to the best of my
ability,” he said.