Phillip Francis Straling

Phillip Francis Straling (born April 25, 1933) is a bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino in the state of California from 1978–1995, and the Diocese of Reno in the state of Nevada from 1995-2005.

Early life and ministry

Born in San Bernardino, California, Straling was ordained a Catholic priest for the Diocese of San Diego on March 19, 1959. He served 11 years in campus ministry before serving as executive secretary of the second Synod of the Diocese of San Diego. In 1976 he became pastor of Holy Rosary Parish in San Bernardino.

Bishop of San Bernardino

On July 14, 1978 Pope Paul VI named Father Straling the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of San Bernardino. He was consecrated on November 6, 1978 by Cardinal Timothy Manning of Los Angeles. The co-consecrators were Archbishop John Raphael Quinn of San Francisco and Bishop Leo Thomas Maher of San Diego. As Bishop of San Bernardino, Straling was noted for his collaborative leadership style. He was challenged by the rapid growth of the diocese and limited personnel. During his episcopate the diocese grew from about 235,000 people to 800,000, and from 85 parishes to 105. Therefore, he had to rely on the leadership skills of the laity and the vowed religious of the diocese. To provide the necessary formation for ministry he established a diaconate program, and started the Straling Institute in 1980 for laypersons. On January 28, 1992 Pope John Paul II named Gerald Richard Barnes as the first auxiliary bishop of the diocese and Bishop Strailing ordained him on March 18 of the same year.

Bishop of Reno

On March 21, 1995, Pope John Paul II divided the Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas into two dioceses and appointed Bishop Straling as the Bishop of Reno. He was installed as the sixth bishop of Reno on June 29, 1995 and served there for ten years. Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation on June 21, 2005 and Strailing was named Bishop Emeritus of Reno.