Earl Alfred Boyea, Jr.

Earl Alfred Boyea Jr. (born April 10, 1951) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Lansing in Michigan since 2008. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan from 2002 to 2008.

Biography

Early life Earl Boyea was born on April 10, 1951, in Pontiac, Michigan, the eldest of the ten children of Earl and Helen Boyea. He was raised in Waterford, Michigan, and attended Our Lady of the Lakes School in Waterford until the eighth grade.

In 1965, Boyea entered Sacred Heart Seminary High School and College in Detroit, obtaining a bachelor's degree in history. In 1973, he traveled to Rome to attend the Pontifical North American College and Pontifical Gregorian University. Boyea graduated in 1976 from the Gregorian University with a Bachelor of Sacred Theology. In 1977, he returned to Michigan to serve as a deacon at St. Benedict Parish in Pontiac. After his 1978 ordination, the archdiocese assigned Boyea as associate pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Monroe, Michigan. In 1979, Boyea returned to the Gregorian University, obtaining his Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1980, with a thesis entitled Christology in Galatians.

In September 2019, the diocese released a list of 17 priests who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors or young adults. Boyea made this statement:The primary intended audience of this list are victims of abuse: to encourage presently unknown victims to come forward; to help victims expose their abusers; and to assist victims in finding healing – it is also hoped that this information will assist all to ensure that such abuse never happens again. In October 2019, the diocese released a special investigative report that reported its failure in 1990 to investigate a sexual assault by Reverend Pat Egan against a young man. Boyea made this statement:I repeat publicly now what I have said privately and personally to the victim in question: I am deeply sorry for the Diocese’s past failure and all should know that the allegation would have been handled differently today. In 2021, the USCCB elected Boyea as chair of the Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations Committee.