Pope Appoints Allentown Priest As Fifth Bishop of Allentown
By Daniel Patrick Sheehan
He expected to be told the name of the new bishop and was astonished to learn he was it. It is relatively rare, though not unheard of, for a priest to be named bishop of his own diocese. At the news conference, Schlert received a standing ovation upon his introduction and spoke to a crowd that included priests, diocesan employees and his parents, Alfred Sr. and Marylou, who said they knew early on that their son would become a priest. “When he was in grade school, we had an inkling,” his mother said. “When he was in his junior year at [Notre Dame High School] we asked him where he wanted to go to college and he said he didn’t want to go to college, he wanted to go to seminary. We were kind of ready for it.” Schlert credited his parents, who have been married 67 years, with showing him a great example of how to live a vocation. He also said he will have a shorter learning curve in assuming the role. “The advantage first of all is the wonderful priests I already know, the deacons, our wonderful staff,” he said. In taking command, Schlert faces the same challenges as his predecessors and counterparts nationwide: the need to increase vocations, attract young people to the faith, bring lapsed Catholics back to the fold and help those wounded by clerical sexual abuse. On the latter issue, Schlert said the diocese and the church as a whole have established policies and procedures to prevent abuse and help victims. “For some it will be a difficult path to healing, and we have to stay close to them and accompany them,” he said. “We’ve taken a lot of steps and will continue to be faithful to that.” Attracting young people is a challenge but the church can best do so by offering them something beyond shallow, sound-bite catechesis. “We do our youth a disservice when we do not give them the whole faith,” he said. “They want true teaching.” Schlert is highly regarded by parishioners and fellow clergy, especially his former bosses, Barres and Bishop Emeritus Edward P. Cullen. “He is primarily a loving pastor with an insightful and compassionate pastoral charity,” Barres said in a statement. “He is humble and down to earth and has this incredibly creative sense of humor that is charitable and puts everyone around him at ease. “He is a priest’s priest and now will be a bishop’s bishop,” Barres said. Cullen, in a statement, said Schlert “is truly God’s chosen and beloved. Let us bring to him the fullness of our spiritual support.” Monsignor Francis Nave, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Bath, said priests were delighted to learn Pope Francis had chosen Schlert, describing him as a genuinely humble and gentle man. “I don’t think there could have been a better choice,” Nave said. “No one knows the diocese better than he does. He’s a true son of the church.” Scranton Bishop Joseph C. Bambera said Schlert has “many pastoral gifts” that will serve the diocese well. “On behalf of the Church of Scranton, I wish him God’s choicest blessings in his service to the Diocese of Allentown,” Bambera said. Schlert was educated at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Elementary School, in Wilson, and Notre Dame High School in Bethlehem Township. He prepared for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary near Philadelphia and attended the Pontifical Roman Seminary and St. John Lateran University in Rome. Bishop Thomas J. Welsh ordained him a priest at the Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena in Allentown on Sept. 19, 1987. Schlert has served as an assistant pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Allentown, as a professor at Notre Dame High School and as the Catholic chaplain at Lehigh University. During his years at Notre Dame, he resided at St. Anthony of Padua Church and St. Bernard Church in Easton and at Sacred Heart Church in Bath. Schlert completed graduate work at Pontifical North American College and Pontifical Lateran University in Rome and received a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University in 1992. He was named vice chancellor and secretary to Welsh in 1997 before being named vicar general of the diocese by Cullen in 1998. As vicar general, Schlert has overseen coordination of all administrative offices of the diocese and assisted Cullen and Barres in the governance of the diocese. From 1998 to 2008, he was in residence at the Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena in Allentown. Pope St. John Paul II named him a chaplain to his holiness with the title of monsignor in 1999. Pope Benedict XVI named him a prelate of honor, the second highest rank of monsignor, in 2005. While still serving as vicar general, he was pastor of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church, Hellertown, from July 2008 until February 2010, when he resumed full-time service as vicar general and residence at St. Theresa’s. Schlert’s ordination and installation will be held Aug. 31 at the Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena. NEW BISHOP Bishop-elect Alfred A. Schlert, 55, grew up in Palmer Township. He went to St. Jane Frances De Chantal Elementary School in Wilson, and Notre Dame High School in Bethlehem Township. He prepared for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary near Philadelphia and attended the Pontifical Roman Seminary and St. John Lateran University in Rome. Ordained in 1987, he served at St. Francis of Assisi in Allentown, St. Bernard in Easton. Sacred Heart in Bath and St. Theresa in Hellertown. He was also chaplain at Lehigh University. Named a monsignor in 1999, he became vicar general of the diocese in 1998 and was in residence at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena in Allentown for a decade. HOW BISHOPS ARE SELECTED The confidential process begins at the diocesan level and works its way through a series of consultations until reaching Rome. The process can take eight months or more. Every bishop may submit recommendations to the archbishop of his province, who distributes the recommendations to all the bishops of the province for discussion. A vote is taken on which priests to recommend. The names are sent to the apostolic nuncio — the pope’s representative — in Washington, D.C. He conducts his own investigation of their suitability, then forwards recommendations to the Congregation for Bishops. The congregation agrees on a candidate, whose name is presented to the pope in a private audience. The pope has final say in appointing bishops. ALLENTOWN’S BISHOPS Bishop Joseph McShea, appointed when the diocese was carved out of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1961. Retired in 1983. Bishop Thomas Welsh, 1983 to 1997 Bishop Edward P. Cullen, 1998 to 2009 Bishop John O. Barres, 2009 to 2017 On behalf of the Church of Scranton, I wish him God’s choicest blessings in his service to the Diocese of Allentown.
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