Erik Pohlmeier

Erik Thomas Pohlmeier (born July 20, 1971) is an American Catholic prelate who serves as the bishop of Saint Augustine in Florida.

Biography

Early life Erik Pohlmeier was born on July 20, 1971, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, one of five children of Tom and Sharon Pohlmeier. Pohlmeier enrolled in the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1989 to study mechanical engineering. Having decided to become a priest, he left the university after two years to enter the Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Saint Meinrad in 1994.

After finishing at Saint Meinrad, Pohlmeier traveled to Rome to attend the seminary at the Pontifical North American College. He received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1997. He was ordained a deacon on October 7, 1997, at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The next year, Pohlmeier finished a Master of Arts degree in spirituality from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

Priesthood Pohlmeier was ordained a priest at the Subiaco Abbey in Arkansas, for the Diocese of Little Rock by Bishop Andrew McDonald on July 25, 1998.

Bishop of Saint Augustine Pope Francis appointed Pohlmeier bishop of St. Augustine on May 24, 2022. Pohlmeier was consecrated as bishop by Archbishop Thomas Gerard Wenski at St. Joseph Church in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 22, 2022, with Bishops Felipe de Jesús Estévez and Anthony Taylor serving as co-consecrators.

In August 2023, Pohlmeier condemned the racially motivated 2023 Jacksonville shooting at a Dollar General store that left three African-Americans dead:It has come to light that the shooter’s motivations were fueled by hatred and bigotry, as he targeted innocent lives solely because of their race. This reprehensible act reminds us of the deep-seated wounds that still afflict our society — wounds rooted in prejudice and racism.