BREAKING Pope Leo XIV Accepts Resignation of Archbishop Rodi and Appoints Bishop Mark Rivituso in Alabama
Pope Leo XIV Accepts Resignation of Archbishop Thomas Rodi of the Archdiocese of Mobile; Appoints Bishop Mark Rivituso as Successor
Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Thomas J. Rodi, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Mobile, and has appointed Most Reverend Mark S. Rivituso, currently auxiliary bishop of Saint Louis, as his successor.
July 1, 2025
WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Thomas J. Rodi, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Mobile, and has appointed Most Reverend Mark S. Rivituso, currently auxiliary bishop of Saint Louis, as his successor.
The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on July 1, 2025, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
The Archdiocese of Mobile is comprised of 22,969 square miles in the State of Alabama and has a total population of 1,859,393 of which 107,870 are Catholic.
###USCCB Release
Archdiocese of Mobile at a glance
The first parish in Mobile was founded on July 20, 1703. The Archdiocese of Mobile was established in 1825 as the Vicariate-Apostolic of Alabama and the Floridas and became the Diocese of Mobile in 1829. The name was changed to the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham on July 9, 1954, and was redesignated on June 28, 1969. It was established as the Archdiocese of Mobile on Nov. 16, 1980.
Land mass (in miles): 22,969
Catholic population: 107,870
Number of parishes: 76
Number of mission parishes: 7
Diocesan priests: 81
External diocesan priests: 7
Religious order priests: 21
Permanent deacons: 65
Religious order brothers: 3
Religious order sisters: 61
Educational institutions
Colleges: 1
High schools: 3
Elementary parochial schools: 14
Private schools: 2
Total number of students: 8,551
Charitable and social institutions
Homes for the aged: 1
Residential care of the disabled: 1
Special centers for social services: 9
The Province of Mobile includes the dioceses of Biloxi and Jackson, Mississippi, and the Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama.
BIOGRAPHY of Bishop Mark Rivituso
Bishop Mark S. Rivituso was born in St. Louis on Sept. 20, 1961, the sixth of eight children to August (Gus) and Rosemary Rivituso. He was baptized in 1961 at St. Wenceslaus Parish in south St. Louis and attended St. Wenceslaus School, which later became Notre Dame Elementary School. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s High School.
Bishop Rivituso attended Cardinal Glennon College and Kenrick Seminary. He earned a master’s degree and a licentiate in canon and civil law from St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada. He was ordained a priest for the archdiocese at the St. Louis Cathedral (now Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis) by Archbishop John L. May in 1988. Pope Benedict XVI named him a monsignor in 2005.
He was associate pastor of St. Ambrose in south St. Louis (1988-90), part-time associate pastor of Immaculate Conception in Dardenne Prairie and on the faculty of St. Dominic High School (1990-93), part-time associate pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland in south St. Louis and staff member of the archdiocesan Metropolitan Tribunal (1993-94).
After returning from studies in Canada in the mid-1990s, he was appointed to the Metropolitan Tribunal staff (1993-94, 1996-2004) and named part-time associate pastor at St. Jerome in Bissell Hills (1996-2004). He also had assignments as acting associate master of ceremonies to the archbishop (1997-2008), in residence at St. Mary Magdalen in south St. Louis (1997-2004) and St. Gabriel the Archangel in south St. Louis (2004-08), adjunct judicial vicar of the Tribunal of Second Instance of the Province of St. Louis (2004-05), judicial vicar of the Tribunal of Second Instance (2005-11) and pastor of Cure of Ars (2008-13).
In 2011, he was named vicar general for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, a role in which he aided the archbishop in the administration of the archdiocese and lived at Annunciation Parish in Webster Groves. Pope Francis appointed him as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 2017. He was ordained bishop on May 2, 2017. Then-Archbishop Robert J. Carlson was the principal consecrator, with Auxiliary Bishop emeritus Robert J. Hermann and Bishop Edward M. Rice of Springfield-Cape Girardeau as co-consecrators.
Source: Archdiocese of Mobile
Catholic population: 107,870
Number of parishes: 76
Number of mission parishes: 7
Diocesan priests: 81
External diocesan priests: 7
Religious order priests: 21
Permanent deacons: 65
Religious order brothers: 3
Religious order sisters: 61
Educational institutions
Colleges: 1
High schools: 3
Elementary parochial schools: 14
Private schools: 2
Total number of students: 8,551
Charitable and social institutions
Homes for the aged: 1
Residential care of the disabled: 1
Special centers for social services: 9
The Province of Mobile includes the dioceses of Biloxi and Jackson, Mississippi, and the Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama.
BIOGRAPHY of Bishop Mark Rivituso
Bishop Mark S. Rivituso was born in St. Louis on Sept. 20, 1961, the sixth of eight children to August (Gus) and Rosemary Rivituso. He was baptized in 1961 at St. Wenceslaus Parish in south St. Louis and attended St. Wenceslaus School, which later became Notre Dame Elementary School. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s High School.
Bishop Rivituso attended Cardinal Glennon College and Kenrick Seminary. He earned a master’s degree and a licentiate in canon and civil law from St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada. He was ordained a priest for the archdiocese at the St. Louis Cathedral (now Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis) by Archbishop John L. May in 1988. Pope Benedict XVI named him a monsignor in 2005.
He was associate pastor of St. Ambrose in south St. Louis (1988-90), part-time associate pastor of Immaculate Conception in Dardenne Prairie and on the faculty of St. Dominic High School (1990-93), part-time associate pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland in south St. Louis and staff member of the archdiocesan Metropolitan Tribunal (1993-94).
After returning from studies in Canada in the mid-1990s, he was appointed to the Metropolitan Tribunal staff (1993-94, 1996-2004) and named part-time associate pastor at St. Jerome in Bissell Hills (1996-2004). He also had assignments as acting associate master of ceremonies to the archbishop (1997-2008), in residence at St. Mary Magdalen in south St. Louis (1997-2004) and St. Gabriel the Archangel in south St. Louis (2004-08), adjunct judicial vicar of the Tribunal of Second Instance of the Province of St. Louis (2004-05), judicial vicar of the Tribunal of Second Instance (2005-11) and pastor of Cure of Ars (2008-13).
In 2011, he was named vicar general for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, a role in which he aided the archbishop in the administration of the archdiocese and lived at Annunciation Parish in Webster Groves. Pope Francis appointed him as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 2017. He was ordained bishop on May 2, 2017. Then-Archbishop Robert J. Carlson was the principal consecrator, with Auxiliary Bishop emeritus Robert J. Hermann and Bishop Edward M. Rice of Springfield-Cape Girardeau as co-consecrators.
Source: Archdiocese of Mobile
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