Michael William Warfel

Michael William Warfel (born September 16, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings in Montana since 2007.He served as bishop of the Diocese of Juneau in Alaska from 1996 to 2007.

Early life

Michael Warfel was born in Elkhart, Indiana, and studied at Indiana University.Before his graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in South Vietnam for 18 months during the Vietnam War and spending 13 months in South Korea. After leaving the Army in 1971, he entered St. Gregory's College Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy. Warfel received a Master of Divinity degree from Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West in Cincinnati.He attended St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont, for his Master of Theology degree.

Priesthood

Warfel was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Anchorage on April 26, 1980.After his ordination, he served as parochial vicar in Alaska parishes in Wasilla, Anchorage and Kodiak.

Bishop of Juneau

On November 19, 1996, Warfel was appointed as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Juneau by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on December 17, 1996, from Archbishop Francis Hurley, with Bishops Michael Kaniecki and William Skylstad serving as co-consecrators.

In 1997, Warfel mediated a dispute over subsistence fishing rights between the Alaska Native Brotherhood, a Native Alaskan advocacy group,and the Territorial Sportsmen, an association that sponsors fishing tournaments. As bishop, Warfel served as chair of the Committee on Evangelization within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) from 1999 to 2002.

Warfel was named apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Fairbanks on October 23, 2001. His term ended with the appointment of Bishop Donald Kettler on June 7, 2002.

Bishop of Great Falls-Billings

Pope Benedict XVI named Warfel the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings on November 20, 2007. He was installed by Archbishop John Vlazny on January 16, 2008. Within the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Warfel is chair of the Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions and a member of the administrative committee.

In July 2018, Warfel reprimanded two priests from the diocese who, in clerical garb. attended a rally in Great Falls, Montana, for President Donald Trump. The rally organizers seated the two men in the first row behind the podium. They were seen clapping when Trump joked about the MeToo movement and referred derisively to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren as "Pocahontas". Warfel told the priests that they should have worn civilian clothes to the rally and should have requested less visible seats.

In the fall of 2021, anticipating his retirement in 2023, Warfel asked for the appointment of a coadjutor bishop to assist him. In response, Pope Francis named Reverend Jeffrey M. Fleming as coadjutor bishop on April 19, 2022.