Allen Henry Vigneron | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop Emeritus of Detroit Ecclesiastical Superior-Emeritus of the Cayman Islands | |
 | |
| Archdiocese | Detroit |
| Appointed | January 5, 2009 |
| Installed | January 28, 2009 |
| Retired | February 11, 2025 |
| Predecessor | Adam Maida |
| Successor | Edward Weisenburger |
| Other posts | Ecclesiastical Superior of the Cayman Islands Chairman Board President, |
| Previous posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | July 26, 1975 by John Francis Dearden |
| Consecration | July 9, 1996 by Adam Maida,James Aloysius Hickey, andEdmund Szoka |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-10-21)October 21, 1948 (age 77) |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| Education | Sacred Heart Major Seminary Pontifical Gregorian University Catholic University of America |
| Motto | Aspicientes in Iesum (Eyes fixed on Jesus) |
| Styles of Allen Henry Vigneron | |
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| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Archbishop |
Ordination history of Allen Vigneron | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Allen Henry Vigneron (born October 21, 1948) is anAmerican Catholicprelate who served as archbishop of theArchdiocese of Detroit in Michigan andecclesiastical superior of the Cayman Islands from 2008 to 2025.
Vigneron previously served as bishop of theDiocese of Oakland in California from 2003 to 2009 and as an auxiliary bishop of Detroit from 1996 to 2003.
The eldest of six children, Allen Vigneron was born on October 21, 1948, inMount Clemens,Michigan, to Elwin and Bernardine (née Kott) Vigneron.[1] He is of French descent on his father's side and German descent on his mother's.[2]
Deciding to become a priest, Vigneron enteredSacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He graduated from there in 1970, receiving degrees in bothphilosophy andclassical languages. He then furthered his studies at thePontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he obtained aBachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1973.
Upon his return to Detroit, Vigneron wasordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Detroit by CardinalJohn Dearden on July 26, 1975, at St. Clement of Rome Church inRomeo, Michigan.[1][3]
After his 1975 ordination, the archdiocese assigned Vigneron as an associatepastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish inHarper Woods, Michigan. He later returned to Rome, obtaining hisLicentiate in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University in 1977. After coming back to Michigan, he resumed hispastoral work in suburbanDetroit.
Vigneron completed his graduate studies at theCatholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He earned hisDoctor of Philosophy degree in 1987 with a dissertation on the philosopherEdmund Husserl. In 1985, Vigneron was appointedprofessor at Sacred Heart Seminary, becoming itsdean in 1988.
In 1991, Vigneron served in Rome as an official in theVatican Secretariat of State and as adjunct instructor at the Gregorian University. He returned to Sacred Heart Seminary in 1994 as itsrector. While at Sacred Heart, Vigneron removed several teachers whom he perceived as straying from church dogma. Vigneron was raised byPope John Paul II to the rank ofmonsignor in 1994.[1][4]
On June 12, 1996, John Paul II appointed Vigneron as anauxiliary bishop of Detroit andtitular bishop ofSault Sainte Marie. He was consecrated on July 9, 1996, at theCathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit by CardinalAdam Maida, with CardinalsJames Hickey andEdmund Szoka serving asco-consecrators.[3]
John Paul II named Vigneron was ascoadjutor bishop of Oakland on January 10, 2003. He automatically succeeded BishopJohn Cummins as the third bishop of Oakland on October 1, 2003.[1][3]
While bishop, Vigneron helped lead protests againstsame-sex marriage.[5]
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Vigneron as archbishop of Detroit on January 5, 2009, replacing Cardinal Maida.[1] Installed on January 28, 2009, Vigneron was the first Detroit native named archbishop of Detroit.[1]
Vigneron was elected chair of the board of trustees ofCatholic University of America on June 9, 2009. He received thepallium from Benedict XVI on June 29, 2009, in a ceremony atSt. Peter's Basilica in Rome.In April 2011, Vigneron participated in an interfaith vigil at theIslamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan.[6]
In May 2019, Vigneron published the pastoral note "The Day of the Lord". This note ended required Sunday sports practices and games in Catholic schools, with the aim of refocusing thesabbath on prayer, family and rest.[7][8]
In November, 2019, Vigneron was elected vice president of theUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).[9] At the end of the November 2020 USCCB meeting, BishopJosé Gómez, USCCB president, created a bishops' working group headed by Vigneron to formulate a strategy for dealing with the newly elected US PresidentJoe Biden.[10] According to theWashington Post, the group's work led to an unsuccessful effort by conservative bishops to approve a document at the June 2021 USCCB meeting that would have penalized Catholic politicians who supportabortion rights for women.[11]
Vigneron announced in June 2020 that the archdiocese was restructuring 200 parishes into 60 to 80 parish groups to deal with the shortage of priests.[12]
In December 2020, a lawsuit accused Vigernon of failing to investigate complaints ofsexual abuse at Orchard Lake Schools, an educational center in the archdiocese. Several male employees had accused Reverend Miroslaw Krol. chancellor of Orchard Lakes, of making sexual advances on them. A school board member who ultimately resigned said that he tried to bring the allegations to Vigneron, also a board member. However, Vigneron allegedly refused to listen to the allegations because he said they were second-hand.[13] Ned McGrath, the archdiocese spokesman, said the archdiocese did not run Orchard Lakes and that Krol was under the jurisdiction of theArchdiocese of Newark.[13] By February 2021, the group had finished its work, but there was uncertainty about its final report.
In March 2021, a Michigan man filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against Vigneron and the archdiocese. The plaintiff claimed to have been raped in 2010 when he was eight years-old by Aloysius Volskis, then a teacher at Bishop Kelly Catholic School inLapeer, Michigan. Volskis allegedly told the boy that he had power with the devil and would kill his mother if the boy revealed his abuse. After a female student reported an assault by Volskis to police, he fled the country. The suit claimed that Vigneron and the archdiocese were negligent in their oversight of the school. The archdiocese had assigned Volkis to Bishop Kelly after he was accused of sexual misconduct at Divine Providence Parish inSouthfield, Michigan.[14][15]
On February 11, 2025, Pope Francis accepted Vigneron's retirement as archbishop of Detroit and superior of the Cayman Islands, and named BishopEdward Weisenburger from theDiocese of Tucson to succeed him.[16][17][18]
In February 2009, Vigneron comparedabortion andstem-cell research to slavery andracism.[4]
In 2013, Vigneron stated that Catholics who supportedsame sex-marriage should not accept theeucharist at mass.[19] In 2015, he stated that the archdiocese did not want to discourage any Catholics from receiving the eucharist. However, he said that, according to Catholic doctrine, any Catholic conscious of serious sin (such as supporting same-sex marriage) should go to asacramental confession before receiving the eucharist.[20]
In December 2015, U.S. presidential candidateDonald Trump said that, if elected, he would restrict Muslim immigration into the United States. In response, Vigneron wrote a letter to priests in the archdiocese condemning the Trump proposals:
While the Catholic Church refrains from weighing in for or against individual candidates for a particular political office, the Church does and should speak to the morality of this important and far-reaching issue of religious liberty. Especially as our political discourse addresses the very real concerns about the security of our country, our families, and our values, we need to remember that religious rights are a cornerstone of these values. Restricting or sacrificing these religious rights and liberties out of fear – instead of defending them and protecting them in the name of mutual respect and justice – is a rationalization which fractures the very foundation of morality on which we stand. "[21]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Archbishop of Detroit 2009 – 2025 | Succeeded by |
| Ecclesiastical Superior of the Cayman Islands 2009 – 2025 | ||
| Preceded by | Bishop of Oakland 2003–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by - | Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit 1996-2003 | Succeeded by - |
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