{{Short description|American prelate}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = Bishop | honorific_prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend | name = Joseph R. Kopacz | title = Bishop of Jackson | image = | alt = | caption = | church = Catholic Church | archdiocese = | diocese = Jackson | see = | appointed = December 12, 2013 | enthroned = February 6, 2014 | retired = | predecessor = Joseph Nunzio Latino | successor = <!-- Orders --> | ordination = May 7, 1977 | ordained_by = Joseph Carroll McCormick | consecration = February 6, 2014 | consecrated_by = Thomas John Rodi, Joseph Nunzio Latino, and Joseph Bambera | rank = <!-- Personal details --> | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|09|16}} | birth_place = Dunmore, Pennsylvania | death_date = | death_place = | previous_post = | alma_mater = {{unbulleted list|University of Scranton|Christ the King Seminary|Fordham University|Marywood University}} | motto = ''Fiat lux'' (Let there be light) }} {{Infobox bishopstyles | name= Joseph Richard Kopacz | dipstyle= *His Excellency *The Most Reverend | offstyle=Your Excellency | relstyle=Bishop | image = Coat of arms of Joseph Richard Kopacz.svg | image_size = 200px }}
'''Joseph Richard Kopacz''' (born September 16, 1950) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Jackson since 2014.<ref name="press.vatican.va">{{Cite web |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2013/12/12/0835/01875.html |title=Rinunce e Nomine |access-date=2014-01-08 |archive-date=2015-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202235233/http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2013/12/12/0835/01875.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Biography ==
=== Early life and education === Joseph Kopacz was born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Stanley and Carmella Calomino Kopacz. He is the second of three children with a brother, Robert, and a sister, Mary Ellen Negri.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://www.dioceseofscranton.org/media/pope-francis-appoints-father-joseph-r-kopacz-ph-d-diocese-of-scranton-priest-as-bishop-of-jackson-mississippi/ |title=Pope Francis Appoints Father Joseph R. Kopacz, Ph.D., Diocese of Scranton Priest, as Bishop of Jackson, Mississippi « THE DIOCESE OF SCRANTON |access-date=2014-01-08 |archive-date=2014-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114185030/http://www.dioceseofscranton.org/media/pope-francis-appoints-father-joseph-r-kopacz-ph-d-diocese-of-scranton-priest-as-bishop-of-jackson-mississippi/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Joseph Kopacz is a graduate of Dunmore Central Catholic High School. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Kopacz then entered the Seminary of Christ the King in Buffalo, New York, where he obtained a Master of Theology degree.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz |url=https://jacksondiocese.org/bishop |access-date=February 29, 2024 |website=Catholic Diocese of Jackson}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> He then went to New York City to attend Fordham University a Master of Arts degree in Latin. He obtained a master's degree in counseling and psychology and a doctorate in human development from Marywood University in Scranton.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Pope Names Bishops for Mississippi, Texas Dioceses |url=https://www.usccb.org/news/2013/pope-names-bishops-mississippi-texas-dioceses |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=US Conference of Catholic Bishops |language=en}}</ref>
=== Priesthood === Kopacz was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Scranton on May 7, 1977, at St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton by Bishop Joseph McCormick.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Bishop Joseph Richard Kopacz [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bkopacz.html |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref>
After his ordination, the diocese assigned Kopacz as parochial vicar of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania, and Epiphany Parish in Sayre, Pennsylvania. He also served as administrator of St. Patrick's Parish in Nicholson, Pennsylvania. He was moved from these three parishes in 1980 to Saint Pius X Seminary in Dalton, Pennsylvania, to be a faculty member. Kopacz spent the next ten years at Saint Pius.<ref name=":1" />
In 1989, the diocese appointed Kopacz as pastor of three parishes in Jessup, Pennsylvania: Saint Michael, Saint James and Saint Stanislaus.<ref name="press.vatican.va" /> He was moved again in 1995 to the post of pastor at Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Scranton. In 1998, Bishop James Timlin named Kopacz as director of education at Saint Pius X. He left the seminary in 2002 to be pastor of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish in Scranton.<ref name=":1" />
Bishop Joseph Martino selected Kopacz in 2005 to serve as vicar general and vicar for clergy (February 2005 – August 2009). In 2006, he also became pastor of Most Holy Trinity Parish in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.<ref name=":1" /> Kopacz was a member of the council for finance and the coordinator of the Hispanic apostolate for Monroe County, Pennsylvania.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
=== Bishop of Jackson === On December 12, 2013 Pope Francis appointed Kopacz as the eleventh bishop of Jackson. He was consecrated at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson by Archbishop Thomas Rodi on February 6, 2014. Emeritus Bishop Joseph Latino and Bishop Joseph Bambera were the principal co-consecrators.<ref name=":2" />
In March 2015, the diocese removed Reverend Lenin Vargas, the pastor at St. Joseph's Parish in Starkville, Mississippi, and Corpus Christi Parish in Macon, Mississippi. In February, the diocese had discovered that Vargas had been defrauding his parishioners for several years, fundraising for nonexistent cancer treatments. During a visit to Corpus Christi in March, Kopacz told parishioners that Vargas had been sent away for counseling, When asked about the fundraising, Kopacz did not inform them about Vargas' criminal activities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fowler |first=Sarah |title=Ex-Mississippi priest Vargas indicted. Affidavit accuses diocese of lying to parishioners |url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2020/07/16/lenin-vargas-indicted-bishop-kopacz-affidavit-catholic-diocese-of-jackson/5447329002/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=The Clarion-Ledger |language=en-US}}</ref> Kopacz only revealed the fraud when local authorities started a criminal investigation in 2018. Vargas, who had previously fled to Mexico, was indicted in July 2020 on 10 counts of wire fraud.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-17 |title=Ex-priest indicted on wire fraud charges |url=https://www.wjtv.com/news/ex-priest-indicted-on-wire-fraud-charges/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=WJTV |language=en-US}}</ref>
==See also== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * Catholic Church hierarchy * Catholic Church in the United States * Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States * List of Catholic bishops of the United States * Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.jacksondiocese.org/ Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson Official Site]
==Episcopal succession== {{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{succession box | before= Joseph Nunzio Latino | title=Bishop of Jackson | years=2014–Present | after=Incumbent }} {{s-end}}
{{portal bar|Biography|Catholicism|Mississippi}} {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson}} {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kopacz, Joseph R.}} Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Jackson Category:American people of Polish descent Category:Fordham University alumni Category:Marywood University alumni Category:People from Dunmore, Pennsylvania Category:University of Scranton alumni Category:Catholics from Pennsylvania Category:Bishops appointed by Pope Francis