Alexander Sample

{{short description|American prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1960)}}

{{Infobox Christian leader

| type = Bishop

| honorific-prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend

| name = Alexander Sample

| honorific-suffix =

| title = Archbishop of Portland in Oregon

| image =

| caption = Archbishop Sample celebrating Pontifical High Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, circa 2012.

| church = Catholic Church

| archdiocese = Portland in Oregon

| diocese =

| see =

| appointed = January 29, 2013

| term_start = April 2, 2013

| predecessor = John George Vlazny

| successor =

| alma_mater = {{unbulleted list|Michigan Technological University (BS, MS) | Pontifical College Josephinum | Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (JCL)}}

| motto = Vultum Christi contemplari
({{langx|en|"To contemplate the face of Christ"}})

| coat_of_arms =

| ordination = June 1, 1990

| ordained_by = Mark Schmitt

| consecration = January 25, 2006

| consecrated_by = Adam Maida, James Henry Garland, and Mark Schmitt

| rank =

| previous_post = Bishop of Marquette (2006-2013)

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|11|7}}

| birth_place = Kalispell, Montana, US

| death_date =

| death_place =

| religion = Roman Catholic

}}

{{Infobox bishopstyles

| name= Alexander King Sample

| dipstyle=

| offstyle=Your Excellency

| relstyle=Archbishop

| image = Coat of arms of Alexander King Sample.svg

| image_size = 200px

}}

{{Ordination

| ordained deacon by =

| date of diaconal ordination =

| place of diaconal ordination =

| ordained priest by = Mark Schmitt

| date of priestly ordination = June 1, 1990

| place of priestly ordination =

| consecrated by = Adam Maida

| co-consecrators =

| date of consecration = January 25, 2006

| place of consecration =

| elevated by =

| date of elevation =

| bishop 1 = Peter Leslie Smith

| consecration date 1 = April 29, 2014

| bishop 2 = Austin Vetter

| consecration date 2 = November 20, 2019

| sources =

}}

Alexander King Sample (born November 7, 1960) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Portland since 2013. He previously served as Bishop of Marquette from 2005 to 2013.

Biography

= Early life =

Alexander King Sample was born on November 7, 1960, in Kalispell, Montana, to Alexander and Joyce (née Dory) Sample.{{Cite web|url=http://www.catholicsentinel.org/Content/News/Local/Article/Joyce-Sample-mother-of-the-archbishop-dies-at-89/2/35/34835|title=Joyce Sample, mother of the archbishop, dies at 89|last=Langlois|first=Ed|date=January 1, 2018|website=Catholic Sentinel|language=en-us|access-date=2018-02-01}} His father was of Scottish heritage and his mother Polish.{{cite web |publisher= Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette |title= Bishop's Office |url= http://www.dioceseofmarquette.org/dept2.asp?dept=31&which=32}} The younger Alexander Sample graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1978.{{cite web |last1=Fee |first1=Vickie |title=He's a regular man who embraced a special life |url=https://www.catholicsentinel.org/MobileContent/News/Local/Article/He-s-a-regular-man-who-embraced-a-special-life/2/35/20967 |publisher=Catholic Sentinel |access-date=29 April 2020 |date=13 April 2013}} He attended Michigan Technological University (MTU) in Houghton, Michigan, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1982 and a Master of Science degree in metallurgical engineering in 1984.{{cite press release|first=David |last=Maluchnik |date=January 25, 2006 |publisher=Michigan Catholic Conference |title=Bishop Alexander Sample To Join Michigan Catholic Conference Board of Directors |url=http://www.micatholic.org/advocacy/news-room/news-releases/bishop-alex-sample-to-join-mcc-board-of-directors/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030162148/http://www.micatholic.org/advocacy/news-room/news-releases/bishop-alex-sample-to-join-mcc-board-of-directors/ |archive-date=October 30, 2014 }}

Interested in becoming a priest since the fourth grade, Sample decided to study for the priesthood after graduating from MTU, saying, "I knew I would never know peace until I explored the vocation to be a priest."{{cite journal |journal= Michigan Tech Magazine |publisher= Michigan Technological University |title= Tech Alumnus Becomes Bishop |date= Spring 2006 |volume= 43 |issue= 1|url=http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/magazine/spring06/briefs.html}} He graduated in 1986 from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and then entered the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.

= Priesthood =

Sample was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Marquette by Bishop Mark Schmitt on June 1, 1990.{{cite news |publisher= Catholic-Hierarchy.org |title= Bishop Alexander King Sample |url= http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bsample.html}}{{Self-published source|date=March 2015}} After his ordination, Sample had the following pastoral assignments in Michigan parishes:

Parochial vicar of St. Peter Cathedral from 1990 to 1993
Pastor of St. George in Bark River
St. Michael in Perronville
Sacred Heart in Schaffer{{cite press release |date=December 13, 2005 |publisher= United States Conference of Catholic Bishops |title= Chancellor Named Bishop of Marquette, Michigan; Bishop Garland's Resignation Accepted |url=http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2005/05-278.shtml}}

In 1994, Sample entered the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), earning a Licentiate of Canon Law in 1996.

After returning to Marquette in 1996, Sample was named chancellor of the diocese and pastor of St. Christopher Parish in Marquette. He also served as a member of the college of consultors, as director of ministry personnel services and of ongoing formation of priests, and diocesan chaplain to the Knights of Columbus. Within the marriage tribunal, Sample served as judge, adjutant judicial vicar, defender of the bond, and promoter of justice. He was also director of the Bishop Baraga Association and vice-postulator of the cause of beatification for Bishop Frederic Baraga, a 19th-century missionary to Native Americans in the Upper Midwest.

= Bishop of Marquette =

On December 13, 2005, Sample was appointed the twelfth bishop of the Diocese of Marquette by Pope Benedict XVI. He received his episcopal consecration on January 25, 2006, from Cardinal Adam Maida, with Bishops James Garland and Mark Schmitt serving as co-consecrators. At the time of his consecration, Sample was the youngest Catholic bishop in the United States and the first to be born in the 1960s.{{cite web |date= December 13, 2005 |work= Whispers in the Loggia |publisher= Self-published |title= Breaking the Barrier |url=http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2005/12/breaking-barrier.html |last= Palmo |first= Rocco }}{{unreliable source?|failed=y|date=February 2013}} He selected as his episcopal motto: "Vultum Christi contemplari", meaning "To contemplate the face of Christ".

On October 7, 2007, at the invitation of Archbishop Raymond Burke, Sample attended the Red Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, delivering the homily.

In July 2012, Sample ordained five seminarians to the diaconate, and ten new subdeacons. These new subdeacons include five from the United States for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.{{cite web |url=http://www.institute-christ-king.org/news/213/92/Ordinations-Week-2012/ |title=Ordinations Week 2012 |website=www.institute-christ-king.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106213040/http://www.institute-christ-king.org/news/213/92/Ordinations-Week-2012/ |archive-date=2014-01-06}}{{cite news |first= Kevin J. |last= Jones |url= https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/22790/deacons-should-preach-less-at-mass-michigan-bishop-says |publisher= Catholic News Agency |title= Deacons should preach less at Mass, Michigan bishop says |date= June 21, 2011}}

=Archbishop of Portland=

On January 29, 2013, Sample was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Portland, succeeding the retiring Archbishop John Vlazny.{{cite press release |url= http://www.usccb.org/news/2013/13-027e.cfm |title= Pope Accepts Resignation Of Archbishop John Vlazny; Names Bishop Alexander Sample To Succeed Him |publisher= United States Conference of Catholic Bishops |date= January 29, 2013 |first= Mary Ann |last= Walsh}}{{cite news|url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/articolo.asp?c=660004|title=Appointments: Bishop Sample to Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon|date=January 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224110454/http://en.radiovaticana.va/articolo.asp?c=660004|archive-date=December 24, 2013|publisher=Vatican Radio}} He was the last American residential bishop appointed during the pontificate of Benedict XVI.{{cite web | url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/events/b2013.html | title=Year 2013, January, Bishop Events [Catholic-Hierarchy] }} Sample was installed on April 2, 2013, at the Chiles Center Arena on the campus of the University of Portland.{{Cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2013/04/archbishop_sample_calls_cathol.html|title=Archbishop Sample calls Catholics to recognize Jesus, proclaim good news|last=Haught|first=Nancy|date=April 2, 2013|work=The Oregonian|access-date=2018-02-02|language=en-US}}

In August 2018, Sample acknowledged the history of sexual abuse crimes committed by clergy in the archdiocese, which he described as an "institutional and spiritual" failure, and issued an apology.{{Cite news|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2018/08/portland_archbishop_sex_abuse.html|title=Portland archbishop: Sex abuse by priests an 'institutional and spiritual' failure|date=January 29, 2019|work=The Oregonian|access-date=2020-11-29|language=en-US}}

In May 2018, Sample directed that Catholics attending Mass in the archdiocese must kneel after chanting the Lamb of God until they receive communion.{{cite news |date=May 3, 2018 |title=Archbishop Sample Abolishes Standing In Front of the Blessed Sacrament |language=en |website=gloria.us |url=https://gloria.tv/article/As9U8wg3ZGA94VbGyLiLbRgQD |url-status=live |access-date=May 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507121701/https://gloria.tv/article/As9U8wg3ZGA94VbGyLiLbRgQD |archive-date=May 7, 2018}}

Views

= Abortion =

In April 2009, Sample expressed his "disappointment and dismay" over the University of Notre Dame's decision to invite President Barack Obama to deliver its commencement speech and receive an honorary degree, given Obama's support of abortion.{{cite news |date=April 7, 2009 |title=Bishop Disapproves of Obama Commencement |publisher=WLUC-TV |location=Negaunee, MI |url=http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=283795 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413175330/http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=283795 |archive-date=April 13, 2009}} He added:

It saddens me beyond words that the great university named after Our Lady would bestow distinction and honor on a politician who would seek to expand threats to such innocent human life.

In March 2025, Archbishop Alexander Sample issued a formal statement in response to Oregon Governor Tina Kotek's proclamation of Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. He criticized the framing of the issue, stating:

And that’s why, no matter how loudly abortion is celebrated, something feels… off. The need to frame it as a social good, as a moral necessity, reveals the guilt just beneath the surface. If abortion were truly nothing, no one would need to justify it. No one would need to celebrate it. The fact that it must be ritualized as progress is itself an admission of its darkness.https://archdpdx.org/pastoral-teaching-sanctity-of-life

= Immigration =

In December 2016, at a Mass celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Sample condemned racist and bigoted language used against minorities by Donald Trump in the 2016 US Presidential Election Campaign.{{Cite web |title='We stand with you and we love you,' Portland archbishop tells immigrants |url=https://catholicphilly.com/2016/12/news/national-news/we-stand-with-you-and-we-love-you-portland-archbishop-tells-immigrants/ |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Catholic Philly |language=en-US}} He stated:

It does not matter to me from where you have come, when you came, or whether you have the proper documents or not. You are loved! You are loved by God and precious in his eyes. You are loved by Our Lady of Guadalupe. You are her special children, her little ones, and she will not abandon you.

= Issues related to marriage and sexuality =

In 2017, Sample decreed that Catholics in the archdiocese who are sexually active LGBT or divorced and civilly remarried (without a declaration of nullity) heterosexuals should not receive the eucharist. These individuals must first "sacramentally confess all serious sins with a firm purpose to change" before they can take communion.{{cite news |date=July 11, 2017 |title=Portland archbishop: active gays must repent and change before receiving Communion |language=en |url=http://cal-catholic.com/portland-archbishop-active-gays-must-repent-and-change-before-receiving-communion/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715115317/http://cal-catholic.com/portland-archbishop-active-gays-must-repent-and-change-before-receiving-communion/ |archive-date=July 15, 2017 |quote=Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, issues guidelines for implementing 'Amoris Laetitia,' says persons living unchastely must "sacramentally confess all serious sins with a firm purpose to change, before receiving the Holy Eucharist"}}

In 2023, Sample released guidelines for the Portland Archdiocese regarding gender and pronouns.https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2023/02/portland-archbishop-tells-catholic-schools-to-use-names-pronouns-assigned-at-birth.html#:~:text=Sample%20late%20last%20month.,support%20of%20gender%20identity%20theory.%E2%80%9D He asked teachers not to use preferred pronouns. After a coalition of parents and teachers asked for a meeting to discuss, he closed down the Department of Catholic schools, which Sample claimed was unrelated and due to mismanagement by school officials.https://www.ncronline.org/news/portland-archbishop-closes-schools-office-amid-gender-document-backlash

= Sexual abuse scandal =

In August 2018, Sample expressed his shock and disappointment over the Pennsylvanian grand jury report on sexual abuse of minors by clergy.{{Cite web |date=2018-08-25 |title=Archbishop Sample 'shaken to core,' calls for lay-run abuse investigation |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/archbishop-sample-shaken-core-calls-lay-run-abuse-investigation |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=National Catholic Reporter |language=en}} He stated:

These horrific revelations are particularly painful in light of what victims in our own archdiocese have suffered and the impact that sexual abuse has had on the church here in western Oregon. I am sorry beyond words for the harm that has been done.