Steven J. Raica


Steven John Raica is a Catholic bishop in the United States. Since 2020, he has been the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama.

Biography

Early life and education

Steven John Raica was born in Munising, Michigan to Steve and Mary Raica. He earned a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University, a master of divinity degree from St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan and a master of arts degree in religious studies from the University of Detroit.

Ordination and ministry

Raica was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lansing by Bishop Kenneth Povish on October 14, 1978.
After ordination, he served as the parochial vicar at two parishes between 1978 and 1984: Holy Redeemer Parish in Burton, Michigan and St. Pius X Parish in Flint, Michigan. He served as pastor of Holy Family Parish in Ovid, Michigan from 1984 to 1985 and as co-rector of St. Mary Cathedral from 1985 to 1988. Raica earned a licentiate and a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. After his return to Michigan he became the pastor of St. Mary Parish in Charlotte, Michigan from 1991 to 1993 and St. Ann Parish in Bellevue, Michigan from 1995 to 1997. From 1997 to 1999 and from 2005 to 2014 Raica served as chancellor of the Lansing diocese. Pope John Paul II named him an Honorary Prelate of His Holiness, with the title Monsignor, in 1998. He was superior of Casa Santa Maria, the graduate studies house of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 1999 to 2005. At the same time he served as a spiritual director and adjunct faculty at the college. In addition Raica served the Lansing diocese's tribunal as a pro-synodal judge, the promoter of justice and a tribunal judge. He was also involved in ministry to the deaf and is fluent in American Sign Language, can converse in Italian and Polish, and has a reading knowledge of Latin, French, Spanish and German.

Bishop of Gaylord, Michigan

On June 27, 2014, Pope Francis appointed Raica the fifth bishop of Gaylord. He was consecrated by Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit on August 28, 2014, in St. Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Gaylord, Michigan. Bishop Emeritus Carl Mengeling of Lansing and Coadjutor Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Newark were the principal co-consecrators.

Bishop of Birmingham

Pope Francis named him Bishop of Birmingham, Alabama, on March 25, 2020. He was installed on June 23, 2020. Attendance at the ceremony was limited to about one hundred guests who wore masks and practiced social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.