The 45-year-old priest, whose appointment was announced Tuesday, will succeed Bishop James Garland, 74, whose resignation was accepted by the Pope.
Alexander Sample was born in Kalispell, Montana, on Nov. 7, 1960. He studied for the priesthood at the College of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.
He holds a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Michigan Technological University. In 1996, he earned a licentiate in canon law from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelicum, in Rome.
He was ordained a priest for Marquette in June 1990. He has been chancellor since 1996. Among other posts, he was also diocesan chaplain of the Knights of Columbus.
The Marquette Diocese comprises the Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan.
