Allen Henry Vigneron

Ordination ordained priest by = John Francis Dearden date of priestly ordination = July 26, 1975 place of priestly ordination = Saint Clement of Rome, Church, Romeo, MI consecrated by = Adam Maida co-consecrators = date of consecration = July 9, 1996 place of consecration = sources =

Deciding to become a priest, Vigneron entered Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He graduated from there in 1970, receiving degrees in both philosophy and classical languages. He then furthered his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he obtained a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1973.

Priesthood Upon his return to Detroit, Vigneron was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Detroit by Cardinal John Dearden on July 26, 1975, at St. Clement of Rome Church in Romeo, Michigan.

After his 1975 ordination, the archdiocese assigned Vigneron as an associate pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Harper Woods, Michigan. He later returned to Rome, obtaining his Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University in 1977. After coming back to Michigan, he resumed his pastoral work in suburban Detroit.

Vigneron completed his graduate studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1987 with a dissertation on the philosopher Edmund Husserl. In 1985, Vigneron was appointed professor at Sacred Heart Seminary, becoming its dean in 1988.

In 1991, Vigneron served in Rome as an official in the Vatican Secretariat of State and as adjunct instructor at the Gregorian University. He returned to Sacred Heart Seminary in 1994 as its rector. While at Sacred Heart, Vigneron removed several teachers whom he perceived as straying from church dogma. Vigneron was raised by Pope John Paul II to the rank of monsignor in 1994.

Episcopate

Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit On June 12, 1996, John Paul II appointed Vigneron as an auxiliary bishop of Detroit and titular bishop of Sault Sainte Marie. He was consecrated on July 9, 1996, at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit by Cardinal Adam Maida, with Cardinals James Hickey and Edmund Szoka serving as co-consecrators.

Archbishop of Detroit Pope Benedict XVI appointed Vigneron as archbishop of Detroit on January 5, 2009, replacing Cardinal Maida. Installed on January 28, 2009, Vigneron was the first Detroit native named archbishop of Detroit.

In May 2019, Vigneron published the pastoral note "The Day of the Lord". This note ended required Sunday sports practices and games in Catholic schools, with the aim of refocusing the sabbath on prayer, family and rest.

In November 2019, Vigneron was elected vice president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). At the end of the November 2020 USCCB meeting, Bishop José Gómez, USCCB president, created a bishops' working group headed by Vigneron to formulate a strategy for dealing with the newly elected US President Joe Biden. According to the Washington Post, the group's work led to an unsuccessful effort by conservative bishops to approve a document at the June 2021 USCCB meeting that would have penalized Catholic politicians who support abortion rights for women.

Vigneron announced in June 2020 that the archdiocese was restructuring 200 parishes into 60 to 80 parish groups to deal with the shortage of priests.

In December 2020, a lawsuit accused Vigernon of failing to investigate complaints of sexual abuse at Orchard Lake Schools, an educational center in the archdiocese. Several male employees had accused Reverend Miroslaw Krol. chancellor of Orchard Lakes, of making sexual advances on them. A school board member who ultimately resigned said that he tried to bring the allegations to Vigneron, also a board member. However, Vigneron allegedly refused to listen to the allegations because he said they were second-hand. Ned McGrath, the archdiocese spokesman, said the archdiocese did not run Orchard Lakes and that Krol was under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Newark.

Retirement and legacy On February 11, 2025, Pope Francis accepted Vigneron's retirement as archbishop of Detroit and superior of the Cayman Islands, and named Bishop Edward Weisenburger from the Diocese of Tucson to succeed him.

Viewpoints

Abortion In February 2009, Vigneron compared abortion and stem-cell research to slavery and racism. In 2015, he stated that the archdiocese did not want to discourage any Catholics from receiving the Eucharist. However, he said that, according to Catholic doctrine, any Catholic conscious of serious sin (such as supporting same-sex marriage) should go to a sacramental confession before receiving the Eucharist.

Immigration In December 2015, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump said that, if elected, he would restrict Muslim immigration into the United States. In response, Vigneron wrote a letter to priests in the archdiocese condemning the Trump proposals:While the Catholic Church refrains from weighing in for or against individual candidates for a particular political office, the Church does and should speak to the morality of this important and far-reaching issue of religious liberty. Especially as our political discourse addresses the very real concerns about the security of our country, our families, and our values, we need to remember that religious rights are a cornerstone of these values. Restricting or sacrificing these religious rights and liberties out of fear – instead of defending them and protecting them in the name of mutual respect and justice – is a rationalization which fractures the very foundation of morality on which we stand. "