The 60-year-old prelate is replacing Bishop Wilton Gregory, former president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, who was named last December as archbishop of Atlanta.
Edward Braxton was born in Chicago. He studied at Loyola University, Niles College, and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Chicago, and the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, where he earned a doctorate.
Ordained a priest of the Chicago Archdiocese in May 1970, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of St. Louis in March 1995. On Dec. 12, 2000, he was named bishop of Lake Charles.
The Diocese of Belleville comprises the southernmost part of the state of Illinois. It has a Catholic population of about 104,000 out of a total population of about 846,000.
