Pope appoints Tucson Bishop Weisenburger as new archbishop of Detroit

Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed Tucson Bishop Edward Weisenburger as the new archbishop of Detroit, accepting the resignation of current Archbishop Allen Vigneron.

Vigneron, who has led the Michigan archdiocese since 2009, had submitted his resignation in October 2023 upon turning 75 as required by canon law. In a Tuesday statement he “extend[ed] to Archbishop-elect Weisenburger a heartfelt welcome to his new home.”

“I offer the assurance of our prayerful support as he comes here to take up the mission being given to him by our Holy Father Pope Francis,” Vigneron said.

Weisenburger, meanwhile, said he was “humbled to be called to serve such a noble Church,” describing the Detroit Archdiocese as “steeped in rich history, vibrant ministries, and known for a committed clergy with a great passion for evangelization.”

“Despite the challenge of leaving my happy home in the Diocese of Tucson, I promise the good people of the Archdiocese of Detroit my all,” the archbishop-elect said.

Weisenburger was born in Illinois on Dec. 23, 1960. He attended Conception Seminary College in Missouri and graduated in 1983, after which he studied at the American College Seminary at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, earning degrees in theology, religious studies, and moral and religious sciences.

After being ordained to the priesthood in 1987 in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Weisenburger attended the University of St. Paul in Ottawa, Canada, graduating with a pontifical licentiate in canon law in 1992.

He served a variety of roles in the Oklahoma City Archdiocese, including as vice chancellor and on the diocesan tribunal; he also did prison ministry for several years. He also notably served as an on-site chaplain at the site of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

He was appointed bishop of Salina, Kansas, by Pope Benedict XVI on Feb. 6, 2012, and ordained on May 1 of that year. Pope Francis subsequently appointed him bishop of Tucson on Oct. 3, 2017, where he was installed on Nov. 29 of the same year.

In addition to his ministries and bishoprics, the archbishop-elect has served at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the migration committee as well as the subcommittee on the Catholic Communication Campaign.