As Archbishop-elect Rivituso heads to Mobile, he credits the shepherding care of God’s people who have inspired him on the journey
As Archbishop-elect Mark S. Rivituso prepares to shepherd the Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama, he sees that the Lord has placed plenty of good people in his life who have helped prepare him for his new role.
“I’ve been so blessed to be with so many who live the care of Christ for others and help us to be the care we need to be as a Church,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV appointed the 63-year-old native St. Louisan as the 10th bishop and third archbishop of Mobile on July 1. He succeeds Archbishop Thomas Rodi, who submitted his letter of resignation in March 2024 at the age of 75, as required by canon law. Archbishop-elect Rivituso will be installed at a Mass on Sept. 3 at the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile.
As the archbishop-elect heads south, he recently reflected on his priesthood in a video interview with the St. Louis Review. He said there was a certain peace that came over him after he received the phone call from the papal nuncio informing him of his appointment.
“There was a certain peace after the phone call that you know, Jesus is going to come through for me, and He’s always helped me, working through me,” he said. “He’s always provided good people in my life to help me to do the work of the Lord.”
In Mobile, Archbishop-elect Rivituso will shepherd an archdiocese with about 107,000 Catholics in 83 parishes and parish missions along the lower 28 counties of the state of Alabama. As a metropolitan archbishop, he will also oversee a province that includes the Dioceses of Biloxi and Jackson, Mississippi, and the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama.
Archbishop-elect Rivituso has served as a parish priest and a canon lawyer with the archdiocesan Metropolitan Tribunal. Since becoming an auxiliary bishop in 2017, he’s increased his involvement in what he described as “works of mercy and compassion” — visiting prisons, food pantries and pregnancy resource centers, among other ministries.
He hopes to continue some of that work in Mobile and looks forward to filling his calendar with visits to parishes and schools in the archdiocese as well as other ministries, including those that work with the poor, imprisoned and immigrants.
“I always say, you know someone by the calendar they keep, and I want my calendar to reflect what the Church is living,” he said. “We’re living the Church as one who comes to serve, not to be served, and be Christ for others — and to serve all those who are in their own poverties of life, to enrich them by the goodness and love of Jesus.”
No matter what diocese he’s being called to shepherd, Archbishop-elect Rivituso said every one of us is part of the Lord’s shepherding care.
“I have been blessed here in this archdiocese with so many good people who do wonderful works of goodness and lift people up in their dignity and love people for who they are — being Jesus for them, and seeing Jesus in them — in those that we serve,” he said. “It’s not just about who I am (as) a shepherd but helping all to understand we’re all part of being the Good Shepherd for others.”
