# John Roach (bishop)

John Robert Roach (July 31, 1921 – July 11, 2003) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis from 1975 to 1995. The first St. Paul archbishop to have been born in Minnesota, Roach had national prominence as deliverer of benediction at Jimmy Carter's inauguration in 1977 and head of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops from 1980 to 1983. His tenure was also touched by scandal, with a drunk driving arrest and failure to properly handle sexual abuse cases by clergy. His impact on the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, is commemorated by a building renamed after him.

## Early life

John Robert Roach was born on July 31, 1921, in Prior Lake, Minnesota, to Simon and Mary Roach. The eldest of three children, he had two younger sisters—Virginia and Mona. Growing up, he worked at the general store in Prior Lake owned by his father.$^{:270}$ He attended Shakopee High School for two years before transferring in his junior year to Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary. In 1941, he began at Saint Paul Seminary. Because of World War II, he was placed on an accelerated path to ordination and was ordained a priest on June 18, 1946, while only 24 years old, by Archbishop John Gregory Murray.$^{:271}$ He also received a master's degree in education from the University of Minnesota.

## Priesthood

Roach was first assigned to the Church of Saint Stephen in Minneapolis. Only there for the summer, when the fall arrived he was assigned to Saint Thomas Academy where he served as an instructor of Latin and religion.$^{:271}$ From 1951 to 1968, he was the headmaster of the school. As headmaster, he oversaw the 1965 move of the academy from sharing a campus with the College of Saint Thomas to its own location in Mendota Heights. He was named a monsignor in 1965.$^{:271}$ From 1968 to 1971, he served as the founding rector of Saint John Vianney Seminary in St. Paul.

## Episcopacy
### Auxiliary bishop

On July 12, 1971, at the age of 49, Roach was appointed titular bishop of Cenae and an auxiliary bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis; he was consecrated on September 8, 1971. Archbishop Luigi Raimondi was the primary consecrator, with Leo Binz and Leo Christopher Byrne serving as principal co-consecrators. From 1971 to 1973, Roach served as pastor of St. Charles Borromeo parish in St. Anthony; from 1973 to 1975, he served as pastor of St. Cecilia in St. Paul.

### Archbishop

Roach was appointed to succeed Leo Binz as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis on May 21, 1975, and was installed on July 16, 1975. He was the first priest born in the archdiocese to be named the archbishop. In 1977, Roach delivered a benediction at the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter. Roach served as the president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) from 1980 to 1983. During his tenure, the NCCB strongly advocated for nuclear disarmament and economic justice. During his last months as president, the NCCB issued the controversial pastoral letter on war and peace, "The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response". During the drafting process, President Ronald Reagan involved himself, appealing to Holy See for a letter that would distance itself from the Nuclear Freeze campaign. Roach publicly complained about the interference. In addition to his time as NCCB president, Roach would also served as chairman of the National Catholic Educational Association from 1986 to 1989, and president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference. Roach oversaw the implementation of a permanent diaconate program in the Archdiocese in the wake of Vatican II, ordaining the first group of 12 permanent deacons on April 25, 1976.
At a Jewish-Christian interfaith event on May 13, 1977, Roach was giving an acceptance speech for an award when a man threw a chocolate-cream pie at Roach. The man, 22-year-old Patrick Schwartz, did so as a protest against the Catholic Church's views on homosexuality. George Casey, a Jesuit priest and former chaplain to a group for gay Catholics, had offered $20 to anyone who would hit Roach with a pie. In 1985, Roach founded a diocesan AIDS ministry, providing support to those with AIDS and their family members and providing anointing of the sick to those with the disease. The archdiocese also started a support group for gay and lesbian persons wishing to remain celibate.
Roach made national news when he was arrested for drunk driving on February 21, 1985, after driving his car into the wall of a Tom Thumb convenience store in Lindstrom, Minnesota. He was discovered to have a blood alcohol count of 0.19. His license was suspended for 90 days; during that time, he was limited to driving only for official clerical business between Tuesday and Sunday, as well as the court-required alcohol education program. During a homily at a Mass before youth at World Youth Day 1993 in Denver, he admitted that he was an alcoholic. He received a standing ovation at the end of Mass.
Roach left a major impact on the operations of the Saint Paul Seminary. He oversaw the 1987–1989 renovation of Saint Mary's Chapel, and the demolition of the old administration building and construction of a new one, as well as construction of new dormitories.$^{:341–343}$ Roach oversaw the 1987 merger and affiliation agreement between the College of Saint Thomas and seminary, which until that point had been separate institutions with adjacent campuses. As part of the affiliation, much of the land of the campus of the seminary was sold to the college to create the current south campus, and the college became the degree-issued institution for the seminary.$^{:326}$
His tenure as archbishop was also marred by his poor handling of the cases of sexual abuse by clergy, which was seen as too lenient. In one case, Roach was alleged to have protected and reassigned a priest accused of raping girls. On February 22, 1994, Bishop Harry Flynn, the Bishop of Lafayette, Louisiana, was appointed coadjutor bishop and became the presumptive successor of Roach. On September 5, 1995, Roach's retirement was accepted. While Roach was only 74, a year younger than the normal retirement age, he said that he considered Flynn ready to take over.

## Retirement and death

When he retired, Roach stated that he intended to do mission work in local parishes and work on a project with the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to evaluate Catholic social teaching in Catholic schools. He moved into the same apartment at Saint Thomas Academy where he had lived when he taught there. In 2000, the University of St. Thomas changed the name of Albertus Magnus Hall to the John R. Roach Center for Liberal Arts in recognition of his 20 years of service as chairman of the St. Thomas board of trustees, after a $9.8 million ($17.9 million in 2024) renovation to the 1947 Collegiate Gothic building.
Roach died of heart failure on July 11, 2003, at the Little Sisters of the Poor home in St. Paul. Over 2,500 attended his funeral at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, including 300 priests and 15 bishops. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and former vice-president Walter Mondale were also in attendance. The sermon was given by Bishop John Kinney. Roach was buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights.