James Patrick Powers

James Patrick Powers is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Superior in Wisconsin since 2016.

Biography

Early life

James Powers was born in Baldwin, Wisconsin, on February 6, 1953. His parents, Thomas and Frances Roberta Powers, ran a farm in Hammond, Wisconsin. James Powers had six siblings. He attended grade school and St. Croix Central High School in Hammond.
After his high school graduation, Powers attended Holy Redeemer College in Waterford, Wisconsin, the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and St. John Vianney Seminary in St. Paul where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in theology. He then attended Saint Paul Seminary in Minnesota for his Master of Divinity.

Priesthood

Powers was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Superior on May 20, 1990, at Immaculate Conception Church in Hammond by Bishop Raphael Michael Fliss. After his ordination, the diocese assigned Powers to positions in the following Wisconsin parishes:

Associate pastor of St. Joseph in Rice Lake
Parochial administrator of St. Bridget in River Falls, of St. John the Baptist in Webster, Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Crescent Lake and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Danbury
Pastor of St. Bridget in River Falls

In 1996, Powers left St. Bridget to enter Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Canada, where he was awarded his Licentiate of Canon Law. Returning to Wisconsin in 1998, he served as pastor of the following three parishes:

St. Pius X in Solon Springs
St. Mary in Minong
of St. Anthony of Padua in Gordon

Powers then served as pastor of St. Joseph for 11 years. At the end of this period, three other parishes were clustered with St. Joseph, with Powers as pastor of the cluster. Powers also served as spiritual director for Teens Encounter Christ, as a member of the St. Pius priest fund board and a member of the priest personnel placement board and the presbyteral council. In 1998, Bishop Raphael Michael Fliss appointed Powers as adjutant judicial vicar and in 2010 as vicar general.

Bishop of Superior

Powers was appointed by Pope Francis as bishop of Superior on December 15, 2015. He was consecrated on February 18, 2016, at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Superior, Wisconsin, by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki, with Bishop Peter F. Christensen and Archbishop Paul D. Etienne serving as co-consecrators.