Pope Francis has appointed Father Michael John Izen, an alumnus of The Saint Paul Seminary at the University of St. Thomas, as the next auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
Izen, 55, currently serves as the pastor at the churches of St. Michael and St. Mary in Stillwater, Minnesota. He is highly regarded as a humble and effective leader of the two parishes and St. Croix Catholic School.
“As much as I would never have pursued this,” Izen said during a press conference Jan. 5, “I would never say no to the Church.”
Said Archbishop Bernard Hebda: “Pope Francis has chosen wisely.”
