Paul Joseph Swain is the current bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 of the Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 Diocese of Sioux Falls

Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls is a Roman Catholic diocese in the U.S. state of South Dakota. It was founded on November 12, 1889 by Pope Leo XIII and comprises that part of South Dakota east of the Missouri River. The architect for the St...

.

Early life

Swain was a convert from Methodism

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

 and attended law school at the University of Wisconsin–Madison

University of Wisconsin–Madison

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

. He was born in Newark, New York

Newark, New York

Newark is a village in Wayne County, New York, U.S., south east of Rochester. The population was 9,682 at the 2000 census.The Village of Newark is in the south part of the Town of Arcadia and is in the south of Wayne County.- History :...

. He served in Vietnam

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 and, after his return home, was legal counsel to Wisconsin Governor

Governor of Wisconsin

The Governor of Wisconsin is the highest executive authority in the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The position was first filled by Nelson Dewey on June 7, 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state...

 Lee S. Dreyfus

Lee S. Dreyfus

Lee Sherman Dreyfus was an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 40th Governor of Wisconsin from January 4, 1979 to January 3, 1983....

. Received into the church in 1982, he attended Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII

-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...

 National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts

Weston, Massachusetts

Weston is a suburb of Boston located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States in the Boston metro area. The population of Weston, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, is 11,261....

 and was ordained on May 27, 1988 for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison

Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison

The Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, is the Roman Catholic Diocese for the southwest corner of Wisconsin. It comprises Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, LaFayette, Marquette, Rock and Sauk counties. The area of the diocese is approximately...

.

Bishop of Sioux Falls

In 2002, he was named Madison's vicar-general and rector of its Saint Raphael's Cathedral

Saint Raphael's Cathedral, Madison, Wisconsin

Saint Raphael's Cathedral is the Cathedral parish for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison. The parish is located in downtown Madison, Wisconsin at 222 West Main Street. In March 2005 the building was heavily damaged in a fire...

.
He was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

 on August 31, 2006 and was ordained on October 26, 2006 to replace Robert James Carlson

Robert James Carlson

Robert James Carlson is an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the ninth and current Archbishop of St. Louis. He previously served as Auxiliary Bishop of St...

 who was reassigned to Diocese of Saginaw

Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is a Roman Catholic diocese covering eleven counties in Michigan. It was founded on February 26, 1938; the first bishop was William Francis Murphy....

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 on February 24, 2005. Archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 Harry Flynn of St Paul-Minneapolis

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by the prelature of an archbishop which administers the archdiocese from the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis...

, served as principal consecrator

Consecrator

Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...

, assisted by Swain's predecessor, Robert Carlson of Saginaw and Bishop-emeritus

Emeritus

Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...

 William H. Bullock, of his home diocese of Madison

Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison

The Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, is the Roman Catholic Diocese for the southwest corner of Wisconsin. It comprises Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, LaFayette, Marquette, Rock and Sauk counties. The area of the diocese is approximately...

. Bishop Swain wears the ring of the Second Bishop of Madison Cletus F. O'Donnell

Cletus F. O'Donnell

Cletus Francis O'Donnell was the second bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison, in Madison, Wisconsin.Born in Waukon, Iowa, he was ordained to the priesthood on May 3, 1941, for the Archdiocese of Chicago...

.

Example of Forgiveness

On March 14, 2005, while Swain was serving at Saint Raphael's Cathedral

Saint Raphael's Cathedral, Madison, Wisconsin

Saint Raphael's Cathedral is the Cathedral parish for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison. The parish is located in downtown Madison, Wisconsin at 222 West Main Street. In March 2005 the building was heavily damaged in a fire...

, the cathedral was set on fire by an arsonist. Swain met with the man who had admitted burning the cathedral to offer forgiveness. Swain said, "As soon as I learned it was arson, I just couldn't believe somebody would do that, unless the person were troubled, and so I never really had any bitterness. I honestly believe from other aspects of my life that God uses these moments that seem tragic to deepen our faith and to call us to be more profoundly who we are."