Charles Joseph Chaput

Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. (pronounced "chap-you") (born September 26, 1944) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He is the ninth and current Archbishop of Philadelphia, installed on September 8, 2011. He previously served as Archbishop of Denver (1997–2011) and Bishop of Rapid City (1988–1997).

Chaput is a professed Capuchin and has a reputation for orthodoxy. A member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi tribe, he is the second Native American to be ordained a bishop in the United States and the first Native American archbishop. His Potawatomi name is “the wind that rustles the leaves of the tree” while his Sioux name is “good eagle”.

Early life

Charles Chaput was born in Concordia, Kansas, one of three children of Joseph and Marian Helen (née DeMarais) Chaput. His father was a French Canadian who was directly descended from the French saint King Louis IX. His mother was a Native American of the Prairie Band Potawatomi tribe; his maternal grandmother was the last member of the family to live on a reservation. Chaput himself was enrolled in the tribe at a young age, taking the name Pietasa ("rustling wind"). He received his early education at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Grade School in Concordia. Deciding to become a priest at the age of 13, he attended St. Francis Seminary High School in Victoria.

In 1965, at age 21, Chaput entered the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, a branch of the Franciscans, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[6] He studied at St. Fidelis College in Herman, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1967. On July 14, 1968, he made his solemn profession as a Capuchin friar. He finished his studies in psychology at the Catholic University of America in 1969, and earned a Master of Arts degree in Religious Education from Capuchin College in 1970.

Priesthood

Chaput was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Cyril Vogel on August 29, 1970. He received a Master of Theology degree from the University of San Francisco in 1971. From 1971 to 1974, he was an instructor in theology and spiritual director at his alma mater, St. Fidelis College. He then served as executive secretary and director of communications for the Capuchin province in Pittsburgh until 1977, from which position he was appointed pastor of Holy Cross Church in Thornton, Colorado.

Chaput was elected vicar provincial for the Capuchin Province of Mid-America in 1977, later becoming secretary and treasurer for the province in 1980 and chief executive and provincial minister in 1983. He was among a group of Native Americans who greeted Pope John Paul II when the latter visited Phoenix, Arizona, during his 1987 trip to the United States.