Bernard Shlesinger

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

{{Infobox Christian leader

| type =

| honorific-prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend

| name = Bernard Edward Shlesinger

| title = Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta

| see =

| archdiocese = Atlanta

| appointed = May 15, 2017

| enthroned = July 19, 2017

| retired =

| predecessor =

| successor =

| ordination = June 22, 1996

| ordained_by = Francis Joseph Gossman

| consecration = July 19, 2017

| consecrated_by = Wilton Daniel Gregory, Luis R. Zarama, and Michael Francis Burbidge

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1960|12|17}}

| birth_place = Washington, D.C., US

| death_date =

| death_place =

| buried =

| coat_of_arms =

| motto = Christum oportet crescere
(Christ must grow)

| education = Virginia Tech
Catholic University of America
Pontifical North American College
Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas

}}

{{Infobox bishopstyles

| name= Bernard Edward Shlesinger

| dipstyle=

| offstyle=Your Excellency

| relstyle=Bishop

| image = Coat of arms of Bernard Edward Shlesinger.svg

| image_size = 200px

}}

Bernard Edward "Ned" Shlesinger III (born December 17, 1960) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Atlanta since 2017.

Biography

= Early life =

Bernard Shlesinger III was born on December 17, 1960, in Washington, D.C. to Bernard E. “Bill” Shlesinger Jr. and Rita Belmont Shlesinger. Bill Shlesinger was an inventor and attorney. Bernard Shlesinger has two brothers and three sisters.{{Cite web |last=Golden |first=Nichole |date=2017-08-03 |title=Siblings support their youngest brother as he becomes Atlanta bishop - Georgia Bulletin |url=https://georgiabulletin.org/news/2017/08/siblings-support-youngest-brother-becomes-atlanta-bishop/ |access-date=2024-01-05 |website=georgiabulletin.org |language=en-US}}

Shlesinger attended Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria, Virginia, then entered Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, with plans to become a farmer. While at Virginia Tech, he started pilot training through the college.

After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural engineering in 1983, Shlesinger entered the US Air Force as a commissioned officer. As a pilot, he flew Lockheed C-130E Hercules air transport planes out of Pope Field in Fayetteville, North Carolina. While in the Air Force, he started serving as a catechist for Reverend Richard Higgins, then a military chaplain.{{Cite web|title=Most Reverend Bernard E. Shlesinger III|url=https://archatl.com/about/archbishop-and-bishops/reverend-bernard-e-shlesinger-iii/|access-date=2021-12-19|website=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta {{!}} Atlanta, GA|language=en-US}}

In 1990, Shlesinger retired from the Air Force with the rank of captain and started studying for the priesthood. He first studied philosophy at the Theological College of Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Shlesinger then went to Rome to reside at the Pontifical North American College while studying there. Shlesinger was awarded a Bachelor of Theology degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1995. He then studied for a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

= Priesthood =

File:St Charles Borromeo Sem II.jpg

After returning to North Carolina, Shlesinger was ordained a priest on June 22, 1996, by Bishop Francis Gossman at St. Mark Church in Wilmington, North Carolina, for the Diocese of Raleigh.{{Cite web|title=Bishop Bernard Edward ("Ned") Shlesinger III [Catholic-Hierarchy]|url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bshles.html|access-date=2021-12-19|website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}} After Shlesinger's ordination, the diocese assigned him that same year as parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Wilmington. Two years later, in 1998, the diocese appointed him as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Newton Grove, North Carolina, along with the position of assistant director of vocations for the diocese.

In 2007, the diocese moved Shlesinger out of Our Lady of Guadalupe to become the director of vocations and seminarian formation. Between 2010 and 2012, he also served as the diocesan administrator of Maria, Reina de las Americas Parish in Mount Olive, North Carolina.

In 2013, Shlesinger left Raleigh to become director of spiritual formation at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

= Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta =

On May 15, 2017, Pope Francis appointed Shlesinger as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.{{cite news|url=http://www.usccb.org/news/2017/17-080.cfm|title=Pope Francis Names Priest as New Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta|last=Keane|first=Judy|date=May 15, 2017|work=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops|accessdate=May 15, 2017}}{{cite news|url=https://archatl.com/new-auxiliary-bishop-named-archdiocese-atlanta/|title=New Auxiliary Bishop Named for The Archdiocese of Atlanta|accessdate=May 15, 2017|publisher=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta}} {{Dead link|date=August 2019}} He was consecrated by Cardinal Wilton Gregory at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta on July 19, 2017, with Bishops Michael Francis Burbidge and Luis Rafael Zarama Pasqualetto serving as co-consecrators.

As an auxiliary bishop, Shlesinger is responsible for Region II of the archdiocese.{{Cite web |title=Archbishop's Office |url=https://archatl.com/offices/archbishops-office/ |access-date=2024-01-05 |website={{!}} Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta |language=en-US}}

Coat of arms

Based on the arms of Shlesinger's home diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, by reversing the color to be red on silver (white), is a cross of the faith that is composed of eight diamonds (heraldically called “lozenges”). Upon these lozenges is a gold escutcheon (small shield within the major shield) that is charged with the symbolism of the Sacred Heart. To the lower right, base sinister, is a blue “M,” of the Virgin Mary, taken from the arms of Pope John Paul II.