Kevin C. Rhoades

Kevin Carl Rhoades (born November 26, 1957) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the ninth Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, having served as Bishop of Harrisburg from 2004 to 2009.

Rhoades was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania to Charles and Mary Rhoades. The second of three children, he has an older brother, Charles, and a younger sister, Mrs. Robin McCracken. His father was a cousin of Republican state Senator James J. Rhoades.

Raised in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Rhoades graduated from Lebanon Catholic High School in 1975 and then studied at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, for two years. He applied to the Diocese of Harrisburg for enrollment in the program of priestly formation, and in 1977 entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary("Overbrook"), in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Philosophy in 1979.

From 1979-83, Rhoades studied theology at the Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he obtained his Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree. He also studied Spanish at the Pontifical University of Salamanca in Spain during the summer of 1982. Cardinal Terence Cooke, then the Archbishop of New York, ordained him a deacon at St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, in 1982.

Rhoades was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop William Keeler (later, Cardinal) on July 9, 1983, and then served as parochial vicar at St. Patrick Church in York until 1985. During this time, he also ministered in the Spanish-speaking apostolates at Cristo Salvador Church in York and Cristo Rey Mission in Bendersville. In 1985, he returned to the Gregorian in Rome, earning a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) in 1986 and a Licentiate of Canon Law (J.C.L.) in 1988.

Upon his return to the United States, Rhoades was named assistant chancellor to Bishop Keeler. He also served as director of the Spanish apostolate in Dauphin, Cumberland, and Perry counties. Rhoades was pastor of Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Harrisburg from 1990 to 1995, when he became a professor at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Md. He taught courses in systematic theology, canon law, and Hispanic ministry, and rose to the position of rector in July 1997.

Bishop of Harrisburg

On October 14, 2004, Rhoades was appointed the ninth Bishop of Harrisburg by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 9 from Justin Cardinal Rigali (Archbishop of Philadelphia), with Cardinal Keeler and Bishop Thomas Olmsted serving as co-consecrators. He selected as his episcopal motto: Veritatem In Caritate, meaning, "Truth in Charity" (Ephesians 4:15).

Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Rhoades was a member of the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, the Committee on Pastoral Practices, and the Subcommittee on the Catechism. He chaired the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend

On November 14, 2009, Rhoades was named the ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend in Indiana. At a special Vespers service at the Cathedral on Sunday, January 3, 2010, the Diocese of Harrisburg bade a formal farewell to Bishop Rhoades. In 2011, he became the first bishop to grant an imprimatur to an iPhone application.

During the 2017 Fall General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Rhoades was elected Chairman of the Conference's Committee on Doctrine.

On August 1, 2018, Bishop Ronald Gainer, Rhoades' successor as bishop of Harrisburg, announced that the names of every bishop of Harrisburg from 1947 onward -- including Rhoades' -- will be removed from any building or room in the diocese named in their honor, due to their failure to protect victims from abuse.

On August 17, 2018, Rhoades announced that he would release the full list of clergy in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend who were credibly accused of sexual abuse "in a matter of weeks."A partial list which had been released in 2003 under Bishop John D’Arcy listed 16 priests who were credibly accused of sexually abusing 33 children, but did not contain all their names.Rhoades noted that he previously listed the names of three priests who he removed from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend during his tenure as Bishop due to allegations of sex abuse. On September 18, 2018, Rhoades fulfilled this promise and released the names of 18 priests and deacons who previously served the Diocese and were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.