OLD CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES
OLD CATHOLIC CONFEDERATION
The Rt. Rev. Carl T. Swaringim, Ed.D., D.D.
His Excellency, The Rt. Rev. Carl T. Swaringim, Ed.D., D.D., is the Retired Bishop of Missouri for the Old Catholic Confederation and former Presiding Bishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Church USA. Bishop Swaringim was Chair of the Bishops' Committee on Education and Priestly Formation until his retirement from active ministry on October 21, 2014.. Bishop Swaringim entered the seminary for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1955 and was ordained a priest by Joseph Cardinal Ritter, S.T.D., D.D. on March 30, 1963. He resigned ministry in the Roman Catholic Church on December 31, 1969. In 1996, he was consecrated a bishop in the American Catholic Church in Waynesville, New York. In 2001, he founded the Ecumenical Catholic Church+USA and was elected Presiding Bishop at its first synod on November 1 in Middletown, New Jersey. He is currently completing a second elected term as Presiding Bishop until 15th Annual Synod in October, 2014.
During his tenure as a diocesan priest, he taught Religion two Roman Catholic High Schools in Metropolitan St. Louis; served as part-time associate pastor at four parishes; as Director of Girl Scouting under Catholic auspices for four years; and as confessor at local religious houses as assigned by the Archbishop.
Bishop Swaringim completed a B.A. in Scholastic Philosophy at Cardinal Glennon College (1959) and Theology at Kenrick Seminary (1963) in St. Louis. He was assigned to graduate study in Religious Studies at Catholic University of America from 1964-1967. He also holds a Master of Education in Guidance and Counseling (1971) and a Doctorate of Education in Education Administration (1982) from Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Before retiring in 2000, he was an educator in a suburban St. Louis public school district serving over thirty-one years as a high school guidance counselor; ESEA Title III Project Director; secondary school principal; and Director of Technology. During these years, Dr. Swaringim also taught adults seeking their GED and, at a local private university, graduate students pursuing a Masters Degree in Gifted Education.
In addition to his roles as Presiding Bishop, Bishop Carl serves as Bishop for the Church’s Mid-Western Diocese of Sts. Simon and Jude; Rector of Vilatte Theological Seminary and Pastoral Director of The Vilatte Institute OCC. He was elected to the Old Catholic Confederation of the United States Synod of Bishops on October 26, 2013.
Bishop Carl has been married to Rosann Swaringim, an public elementary school teacher for thirty years, since 1971. They reside in St. Charles County, Missouri.
