A Vatican communiqué announced today that the Pope accepted the resignation of Archbishop Alexander Brunett, 76, and named Archbishop Sartain, 58, in his place.
Archbishop Sartain has been serving as bishop of Joliet since 2006. Before that, he was the bishop of Little Rock, Arkansas, since 2000.
He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and ordained a priest for that diocese in 1978. The prelate’s educational background includes St. Meinrad College in Indiana, the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome, and the Pontifical Athenaeum San Anselmo, also in Rome.
Archbishop Sartain comes with a wealth of experience from his various responsibilities through the years, including: director of vocations, chancellor, moderator of the curia, vicar for clergy, and vicar general.
He has served as academic dean for the permanent diaconate formation program, and as a member of the advisory council for the Institute for Priestly Formation.
The prelate currently serves on the administrative committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
