Catholic Extension honors retired Iowa bishop, 'model of a good shepherd close to his flock'

MINNEAPOLIS (OSV News) -- Catholic Extension Society inaugurated its Minnesota Spirit of Francis Award by presenting the first one to retired Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, a Minnesota native and a former auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Bishop Pates, 82, was recognized for his efforts in expanding the church's outreach to the marginalized; reinvigorating the parishes, dioceses and institutions he has served throughout the course of his life; and "being a model of what it means to be a good shepherd who is close to his flock."

"Bishop Pates embodies the mystery of one who believes in the transformative power of the risen Christ," said Father Jack Wall, Catholic Extension's president.

He made the comments in presenting the award May 13 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul during a benefit dinner that drew hundreds of friends and supporters of the hometown bishop.

The dinner marked the first time the Spirit of Francis Award has been presented following the death of Pope Francis, one of the three "Francis figures" for whom the award is named, a Catholic Extension release said. The other two namesakes are St. Francis of Assisi and Father Francis Clement Kelley, the founder of Catholic Extension, which is based in Chicago. All three are known for embracing and helping the poor.

"We all know and love Bishop Pates," Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis said at the dinner. "We know of his generosity to come out of retirement to help. He truly is a 'master pastor.'"

The youngest of three sons, Richard Edmund Pates was born in St. Paul on Feb. 12, 1943, and was ordained a priest for the Minnesota archdiocese Dec. 20, 1968, in Rome. His first parish assignment was as associate pastor at Blessed Sacrament Parish in St. Paul, followed by four years as vocation director of the archdiocese, 1970 to 1974.

In 1975, then-Father Pates was appointed secretary of the apostolic delegation to the United States at the nunciature in Washington. From 1981 to 1987, he was rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, then he was archdiocesan vicar for seminaries and a parish pastor.

In December 2000, St. John Paul II named him an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and in April 2008 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the ninth bishop of Des Moines, where he served for 11 years. His ministry "emphasized the beauty and importance of the universal church," Catholic Extension said. He guided the diocese in welcoming more than 4,000 Catholics to the diocese, including Vietnamese and Hispanic parishioners.

Upon his retirement in 2019, Bishop Pates returned to his home state. He has come out of retirement three times to temporarily administer vacant dioceses in Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa.
The Spirit of Francis Award was first presented in 2014 to bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark in New York City.

Since then, the award dinner has been held annually in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York and Washington. Proceeds from the Minnesota Spirit of Francis Award Dinner will benefit the mission of Catholic Extension Society, which was founded in 1905 to build up the Catholic faith communities in underserved regions.