Bernard Shlesinger
Bernard Edward "Ned" Shlesinger III is an American Catholic prelate who has served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Atlanta in Georgia since 2017.
Biography
Early life
Bernard Shlesinger III was born on December 17, 1960, in Washington, D.C. to Bernard E. “Bill” Shlesinger Jr. and Rita Belmont Shlesinger. Bill Shlesinger was an inventor and attorney. Bernard Shlesinger has two brothers and three sisters.Shlesinger attended Mount [Vernon High School |Mount Vernon High School] in Alexandria, Virginia, then entered Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University also known as Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, with plans to become a farmer. While at Virginia Tech, he started pilot training through the college.
After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural engineering in 1983, Shlesinger entered the US Air Force as a commissioned officer. As a pilot, he flew Lockheed C-130E Hercules air transport planes out of Pope Field in Fayetteville, North Carolina. While in the Air Force, he started serving as a catechist for Reverend Richard Higgins, then a military chaplain.
In 1990, Shlesinger retired from the Air Force with the rank of captain and started studying for the priesthood. He first studied philosophy at the Theological College of Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Shlesinger then went to Rome to reside at the Pontifical North American College while studying there. Shlesinger was awarded a Bachelor of Theology degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1995. He then studied for a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
Priesthood
After returning to North Carolina, Shlesinger was ordained a priest on June 22, 1996, by Bishop Francis Gossman at St. Mark Church in Wilmington, North Carolina, for the Diocese of Raleigh. After Shlesinger's ordination, the diocese assigned him that same year as parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Wilmington. Two years later, in 1998, the diocese appointed him as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Newton Grove, North Carolina, along with the position of assistant director of vocations for the diocese.In 2007, the diocese moved Shlesinger out of Our Lady of Guadalupe to become the director of vocations and seminarian formation. Between 2010 and 2012, he also served as the diocesan administrator of Maria, Reina de las Americas Parish in Mount Olive, North Carolina.
In 2013, Shlesinger left Raleigh to become director of spiritual formation at St. [Charles Borromeo Seminary] in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.
Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta
On May 15, 2017, Pope Francis appointed Shlesinger as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. He was consecrated by Cardinal Wilton Gregory at the Cathedral of [Christ the King |Cathedral of Christ the King] in Atlanta on July 19, 2017, with Bishops Michael Francis Burbidge and Luis Rafael Zarama Pasqualetto serving as co-consecrators.As an auxiliary bishop, Shlesinger is responsible for Region II of the archdiocese.