Pope Francis appoints Father Robert Marshall as Bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria

Pope Francis has appointed Father Robert Marshall as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria. Bishop-elect Marshall succeeds Bishop David Talley, who was appointed by Pope Francis as Bishop of Memphis in March 2019.

Bishop-elect Marshall was born in Memphis, TN, on June 17, 1959. He attended Christian Brothers University in Memphis from 1977-1980 where he received a bachelor of arts degree in history. In 1983, he received a juris doctorate from the Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis, and a master of divinity from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans in 2000. Prior to entering seminary, Father Marshall worked as a civil attorney. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 10, 2000, for the Diocese of Memphis.

Father Marshall’s assignments in the Diocese of Memphis after ordination include: parochial vicar at Incarnation Church in Collierville (2000-2002); pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Humboldt and St. Matthew parish in Milan (2002-2004); pastor of the Church of the Ascension in Memphis (2004-2012); pastor of St. Francis of Assisi parish in Cordova (2012-2017); and parochial administrator of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Memphis (2017-2019). Since 2019, Bishop-elect Marshall has served as vicar general for the Diocese of Memphis and pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

The Diocese of Alexandria comprises 11,108 square miles with a total population of 389,837 of which 35,402 are Catholic.