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Catholic Extension Society has awarded its inaugural Minnesota Spirit of Francis Award to retired Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa. Bishop Pates, a native of Minnesota and former auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, was honored for his efforts in church outreach and revitalization.
Father Jack Wall, president of Catholic Extension, highlighted Bishop Pates' embodiment of faith during the award presentation on May 13 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. The event attracted numerous friends and supporters.
The Spirit of Francis Award is named after three "Francis figures": Pope Francis, St. Francis of Assisi, and Father Francis Clement Kelley, founder of Catholic Extension. Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda praised Bishop Pates as a "master pastor" for his service.
Born in St. Paul on February 12, 1943, Richard Edmund Pates was ordained a priest in December 1968 in Rome. His early assignments included serving as associate pastor at Blessed Sacrament Parish and as vocation director for the archdiocese.
In 1975, he became secretary to the apostolic delegation in Washington and later served as rector at St. John Vianney College Seminary from 1981 to 1987. Appointed auxiliary bishop by St. John Paul II in December 2000, he became the ninth bishop of Des Moines under Pope Benedict XVI in April 2008.
Upon retiring in 2019, Bishop Pates returned to Minnesota but continued to serve by temporarily administering vacant dioceses across several states.
The Spirit of Francis Award was first given in 2014 to author Mary Higgins Clark and has since been presented annually across various cities to support Catholic Extension's mission founded in 1905.
