Most. Rev. Robert C. Morlino

4th Bishop of Madison

Robert Morlino was born December 31, 1946, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. An only child, his father, Charles, died while he was in high school, his mother, Albertina, in 1980. He was raised in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, graduating from the Jesuit-run Scranton Preparatory High School.  He entered seminary for the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, and was ordained to the priesthood for that Jesuit Province on June 1, 1974.

His education includes a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Fordham University, a master's degree in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, the Master of Divinity Degree from the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., and a doctorate in Moral Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, with specialization in fundamental moral theology and bioethics.

Father Morlino taught Philosophy at Loyola College in Baltimore, St. Joseph University in Philadelphia, Boston College, the University of Notre Dame and St. Mary's College, in Indiana. He also served as an instructor in continuing education for priests, religious and laity and as director of parish renewal programs. 

In 1981, Father Morlino became a priest of the Diocese of Kalamazoo and served there as Vicar for Spiritual Development, Executive Assistant and Theological Consultant to the Bishop, as Moderator of the Curia, and as the Promoter of Justice in the Diocesan Tribunal. He served as administrator of a number of parishes, and as rector of St. Augustine Cathedral in Kalamazoo.

Father Morlino was scheduled to begin a full-time faculty appointment as professor of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit when, on July 6, 1999, Pope John Paul II appointed him the Ninth Bishop of Helena.  Bishop Morlino was appointed the Fourth Bishop of Madison on May 23, 2003 and installed on August 1, 2003. 

Bishop Morlino has served as chairman of two committees within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) - the Bishops’ Committee on the Diaconate, and the Ad Hoc Committee on Health Care Issues and the Church. He has also served on the USCCB Bishops’ and Presidents’ Committee, which seeks to encourage the Catholic identity of institutions of higher education.

Since 2005, Bishop Morlino has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) which conducts research, consultation, publishing and education to promote human dignity in health care and the life sciences.  Until 2009, he also served as Chairman of the Board of Visitors for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC).  This board is a federal advisory committee created by congress to maintain independent review, observation and recommendation regarding operations of the institute.  For his service to the United States of America and his promotion of human rights education, the bishop was honored by the Department of the Army in 2009.  In 2006, the national Alliance for Marriage joined with the Congress of Racial Equality to present Bishop Morlino with their Lifetime Achievement Award, for his promotion of the fundamental rights of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion.   In 2008, for his work in defense of the dignity of the human person, Bishop Morlino was awarded Human Life International’s Cardinal von Galen Award, named after the famous German bishop who worked actively against the Nazis.  That same year, he also received the St. Edmund’s Medal of Honor, awarded to Catholics who have used their God-given talents in promoting the common good.