John Folda


John Thomas Folda is a Catholic bishop in the United States. He is the eighth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fargo in North Dakota.

Early life and education

John Thomas Folda was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School and attended the University of Nebraska and earned bachelor of arts, master of arts and master of divinity degrees from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Folda was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lincoln on May 27, 1989. He received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome in 1993.

Priesthood

After ordination, Folda served as an assistant pastor at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ and taught religion at St. Pius X High School in Lincoln, Nebraska from 1989–1991. From 1993-1995 he served as the pastor of St. Paulinus Church in Syracuse, Nebraska and Holy Trinity Church in Avoca, Nebraska. At the same time he was a teacher and counselor at Lourdes Central Catholic High School in Nebraska City. Beginning in 1995 he served as the pastor of St. Leo Church in Palmyra, Nebraska and St. Martin Church in Douglas, Nebraska. Folda was named the diocesan director of religious education and co-vicar for religious in 1997. The following year he was named the spiritual director at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Nebraska, and was named the school's rector in 1998. Pope Benedict XVI named him a Chaplain of His Holiness, with the title "Monsignor" in 2007.

Bishop of Fargo

named Folda the bishop of Fargo on April 8, 2013. He was consecrated bishop on June 19, 2013 and installed in the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo. Archbishop John Clayton Nienstedt of Saint Paul and Minneapolis was the principal consecrator. Archbishop Samuel Joseph Aquila of Denver, the previous bishop of Fargo, and Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln were the co-consecrators.

Episcopal succession