St. Louis archbishop's departure spurs whispers about successor

ST. LOUIS -- Days from Archbishop Justin Rigali's farewell Mass and his leaving town to lead the Philadelphia area's Roman Catholics, there's plenty of hushed buzz about who might take his place in one of the nation's oldest archdioceses.

Yet such speculation seldom hits the mark, as history has shown time and again in a Catholic power structure where decisions about key vacancies often are cloaked in impenetrable secrecy.

"Some people use this speculating as a hobby," says the Rev. Richard Stika, a St. Louis archdiocese vicar general who finds it all a bit bemusing as Rigali nears his send-off Mass on Sunday. Rigali leaves for Philadelphia on Monday.

There's been some media mention of Archbishop John Foley, a Philadelphia native now at the Vatican after once editing the Philadelphia archdiocese newspaper. Foley's name was floated as a prospect to head St. Louis' archdiocese in 1994, but Rigali got the job.

There's been a local buzz about Rockford, Ill., Bishop Thomas Doran, the scheduled homilist at Rigali's special Mass this weekend. The Rockford native and canon lawyer who -- like Rigali once served in Rome -- last year helped draft the national sex-abuse policy in which America's bishops promised they will get offending clergy out of public ministry.

And there have been quiet rumblings about Memphis' Bishop J. Terry Steib, who from February 1984 through early 1993 was a St. Louis auxiliary bishop.

Don't expect any confirmations from Rome, a Vatican expert says.

"The Vatican hates it when names leak out, and they try to keep it all behind doors," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, editor of the Jesuit magazine America.

In filling the St. Louis vacancy, the pope's diplomat in Washington -- Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the papal nuncio -- likely will consult with Rigali and a select group of others, then pinpoint and rank by preference three contenders whose names are sent to the Vatican.

"He's the key person," Reese said of Montalvo, likening the process to that of a president vetting a Supreme Court nominee.

In Rome, a panel of cardinals examines the names, their dossiers and Montalvo's report about the St. Louis' archdiocese's situation, then either recommend to the pope one of the three finalists or choose none and order Montalvo to try again.

The pope may accept or reject any finalist and also direct Montalvo to start over.

Typically, a man never leads an archdiocese without first gaining experience as a bishop elsewhere.

On Monday, Rigali offered few specifics about his possible St. Louis successor, pressing that Rome deciders of such matters "have a very good description of what a bishop is supposed to be."

Rigali's heir "has to be conscious of the spirit of St. Louis and the very distinguishing marks of St. Louis over the years -- all the wonderful work that's been done in Catholic charities, Catholic education and Catholic health care," Rigali said, also stressing "continuity."

Speaking vaguely, he did not elaborate whether being "conscious of the spirit of St. Louis" meant having previous ties to the Gateway City, as Steib does, or whether "continuity" meant someone who shares his philosophy.

"We know that nobody will do it perfectly," Rigali said. "But the new archbishop will have his particular gifts."

Reese cautioned against reading too much into Rigali's reference to "continuity."

"I don't think there's anyone who's a mirror image of Rigali," he said. "You're going to get someone who has some differences. There'll be continuity but also some change, though I wouldn't expect radical change."

Reese's guess: Rigali's successor will be 65 to 70 years old, having been bishop of a similarly sized or smaller diocese for at least five years, with some experience in church administration.

"That's playing the statistical probability," he says with a chuckle.

For the record, 63-year-old Steib has been Memphis' bishop for 10 years. Doran, 67, has headed the Rockford diocese for nine years.