Background
The eldest of six children, Allen Vigneron was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan, to Elwin and Bernardine (née Kott) Vigneron. He is of French descent on his father"s side and German on his mother"son
archbishop bishop theologian Catholic priest
The eldest of six children, Allen Vigneron was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan, to Elwin and Bernardine (née Kott) Vigneron. He is of French descent on his father"s side and German on his mother"son
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Sacred Heart Seminary, Detroit, 1970. Licentiate of Sacred Theology in Fundamental Theology, Pontifical Gregorian University, 1977. Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy, Catholic University America, 1987.
He is the current Archbishop of Detroit and Ecclesiastical Superior of the Cayman Islands, having previously served as Bishop of Oakland from 2003 to 2009. He then furthered his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he obtained a Bachelor"s degree in Sacred Theology in 1973. Priesthood
Upon his return to the United States, Vigneron was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal John Francis Dearden on July 26, 1975.
He earned his Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian in 1977, and later resumed his pastoral work in suburban Detroit.
Vigneron completed his graduate studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, District of Columbia, earning his doctorate in philosophy in 1987 with a dissertation on Edmund Husserl. He was also made a professor (in 1985) and the dean (in 1988) of Sacred Heart Seminary.
From 1991 to 1994, Vigneron served as an official in the Vatican Secretariat of State and adjunct instructor at the Gregorian. He then returned to Sacred Heart Seminary as its Rector.
Episcopate
On June 12, 1996, Vigneron was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit and Titular Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie in Michigan.
He received his episcopal consecration on the following July 9 from Cardinal Adam Maida, with Cardinals James Hickey and Edmund Szoka serving as co-consecrators. Vigneron was later named Coadjutor Bishop of Oakland, California, on January 10, 2003, succeeding John Stephen Cummins as the third Bishop of Oakland on October 1 of that same year. In California, he helped lead protests against same-sex marriage.
He compared abortion and stem-cell research to slavery and racism.
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Vigneron Archbishop of Detroit on January 5, 2009, replacing longtime incumbent Cardinal Maida. Installed on January 28, 2009, Vigneron is the first metropolitan Detroit native named Archbishop of Detroit.
He was elected chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America on June 9, 2009. He received the pallium, a vestment worn by metropolitan bishops, from Benedict XVI on June 29, 2009 in a ceremony at Saint Peter"s Basilica.
On April 21, 2011, as Archbishop of Detroit, he participated in an interfaith vigil held at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan.
Trustee National Catholic Bioethics Center, St. Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park, California, Catholic University American, Washington. Member of United States Conference Catholic Bishops (Doctrine committee, Catechism committee).