In high school, he began to discern the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood. He continued his discernment during his studies at the St. Ignatius Institute at the University of San Francisco, where he majored in theology and minored in philosophy and German.
With the encouragement of his family, he entered St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif. for one year, then completed his seminary education at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
He studied philosophy and liturgy at the University of Innsbruck. He then earned three degrees – including a doctorate – in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he has also served as an adjunct faculty member.
On June 23, 2001, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of San Francisco by Cardinal William J. Levada (then Archbishop Levada).
As a priest of the Archdiocese, he served as an associate pastor at two parishes: St. Patrick Catholic Church in San Francisco and St. Anselm Catholic Church in Ross, Calif.
In 2005, he was named an official of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office responsible for promoting and preserving Catholic teaching. For seven of his 10-plus years at the Vatican, he served as secretary to the Cardinal Prefect. He was named a monsignor in 2010.
Pope Francis named him the Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter on Nov. 24, 2015.
https://ordinariate.net/bishop-lopes
Director, Saint Monica Girls’ Tailoring Centre, Gulu, Uganda
Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, a Catholic nun whose humanitarian work has drawn the attention of Bill and Chelsea Clinton, Forest Whitaker and other high-profile supporters, has dedicated her life to helping girls formerly held captive by warlord Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army.
A native of Paidha, Uganda, she began serving the people of her country after joining the Catholic order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1976. As director of St. Monica’s since 2001, Sister Rosemary has given hope to more 2,000 young women, many of whom were abducted, raped, tortured and forced to kill their own family members as soldiers in Kony’s army. In addition to providing a safe harbor for the former abductees, who are often shunned and persecuted by the people of their own villages, she has given them a way to support themselves through job training in tailoring, catering and other skills. Currently, approximately 250 girls and 250 children live at St. Monica’s. Sister Rosemary also oversees a second school in Atiak, Uganda.
Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe’s inspiring story is told in Sewing Hope, a documentary produced by filmmaker Derek Watson and narrated by Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, and a book of the same name co-authored by Reggie Whitten, co-founder of Pros for Africa, and professional writer Nancy Henderson (Dust Jacket Press, 2013). All proceeds from book sales go to help the girls at St. Monica’s.