Francis Krebs

Last updated September 24, 2024

Francis Krebs (born December 12, 1946) is an American Bishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion who is currently serving as Presiding Bishop. He took office September 18, 2015 replacing Bishop Peter Elder Hickman, founding Bishop and Presiding Bishop from 2003-2015. With his election, the Office of Presiding Bishop moved to St. Louis, MO.^[1]

Biography

Early life and education

Krebs was born in Brentwood, Missouri on December 12, 1946. He grew up Roman Catholic in St. Mary Magdalene Parish and attended St. Louis University High School run by the Jesuits. Krebs received his bachelor's degree from Cardinal Glennon College and received his seminary training at Kenrick Seminary, both in St. Louis.^[2] He was ordained into the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1972.^[1]

Ministry in the Roman Catholic Church

Krebs served as a Roman Catholic priest for 18 years as a parish pastor at St. Ann, Pius the Fifth and Sts. Peter & Paul.^[3]

Leaving the Roman Catholic Priesthood

Krebs left ministry in the Roman Catholic Church in 1990. He worked for a St. Louis based behavioral health firm as a management consultant. During this time, Frank met and married his partner. As a married gay man, he could not return to the Roman Catholic priesthood, but Krebs desired to return to priestly ministry.^[1]

Joining the Ecumenical Catholic Communion

In 2005, Krebs and about 20 others started a church calling itself Sts. Clare & Francis.^[4] In the early years of formation, the parish became a member community in the Ecumenical Catholic Communion and Krebs was incardinated as an Ecumenical Catholic Communion priest. As of 2015, the parish had 125 registered members.^[1]

Krebs was appointed by then Presiding Bishop, Peter E. Hickman, as vicar of the midwest region from 2008-2010. In October 2010, Krebs was elected as President of the House of Pastors in the Ecumenical Catholic Communion and served in that position until 2013. He also served as Co-Chair on the National Council of Church's Racial Justice Working Group from 2011-2013. During that time the Ecumenical Catholic Communion was not a member of the National Council of Churches (NCC). Krebs was invited by the Ecumenical Catholic Communion's partner, Bishop Chuck Leigh of the Apostolic Catholic Church, a member church of the NCC.^[2] Today the Ecumenical Catholic Communion is an official member of the NCC.^[3]

Episcopal Election

Krebs was nominated for Presiding Bishop ^[5] and then elected to that post at the 2014 Synod of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion in Denver, CO.^[3] His commissioning was held at Eden Theological Seminary on September 18, 2015.^[3]

Related Research Articles

The Continuing Anglican movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion.

The Polish National Catholic Church is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish-Americans.

James Francis Stafford is an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as major penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary from 2003 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John L. May</span> American clergyman

John Lawrence May was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Mobile (1969–1980) and Archbishop of St. Louis (1980–1992).

Kilian Caspar Flasch was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse in Wisconsin from 1881 until his death in 1891.

John Joseph Cardinal Carberry was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1968 to 1979. He was created a cardinal in 1969. He served as Bishop of Lafayette in Indiana from 1957 to 1965 and Bishop of Columbus from 1965 to 1968.

Edward Kenneth Braxton is an American Catholic prelate who served Bishop of Belleville from 2005 to 2020. Braxton previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis from 1995 to 2000 and Bishop of Lake Charles from 2000 to 2005.

Herbert W. Chilstrom was an American religious leader, who served as the first Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He was re-elected to a four-year term at the 1991 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Orlando, Florida. He served as bishop of the Minnesota Synod of the Lutheran Church in America, one of the three church bodies which merged to form the ELCA on Jan. 1, 1988.

John Raymond Gaydos is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Jefferson City in Missouri from 1997 to 2017.

Michael John Sheridan was an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs in Colorado from 2003 to 2021. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis in Missouri from 1997 to 2003.

Richard John Sklba is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee from 1979 to 2010.

Ignatius Anthony Catanello was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. From 1994 to 2010 he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Mitchell Thomas Rozanski is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of St. Louis since 2020. He previously served as Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts from 2014 to 2020 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore from 2004 to 2014.

The Ecumenical Catholic Communion (ECC) is an Independent Catholic church based within the United States. Its members understand themselves as following the Catholic tradition without being in communion with the Bishop of Rome. The ECC is a confederation of independent communities based in the United States and Europe. The membership of the ECC is about 10,000, including seven bishops, and more than 50 communities across 20 states. In 2009, the Ecumenical Anglican Church (EAC), an independent church, joined the ECC. The ECC is a member of the National Council of Churches (NCC).

Leo Thomas Maher was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Santa Rosa in California (1962–1969) and as bishop of the Diocese of San Diego in California (1969–1990).

John Michael Fearns was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1957 to 1972.

Carl Christopher Epting is a bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. He served the Diocese of Iowa as coadjutor bishop and diocesan bishop from 1988 to 2001, and as the Deputy for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations for the Episcopal Church from 2001 to 2009. He then served as the Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago from November 2011 through December 2015 before retiring. Since 2021, Bishop Epting and his wife, Susanne, have resided in Englewood, Colorado.

The Saint Paul Lutheran Community of Faith, formerly known as St. Paul's English Evangelical Lutheran Church is a historic church at 1600 Grant Street in Denver, Colorado, United States. It was built in a Gothic Revival style and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

James Massa is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn in New York City since 2015 and as rector of St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, New York since 2020.

Jeffrey Scott Grob is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois since 2020.

References

1 2 3 4 Phillips, Nicholas. "An Independent "Catholic" Church Is Moving its Headquarters to St. Louis". River Front Times. River Front Times. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
1 2 Krebs, Francis. "CURRICULUM VITAE" (PDF). Ecumenical Catholic Communion. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
1 2 3 4 "Eden to Host Commissioning Ceremony for the Reverend Frank Krebs". Eden Theological Seminary. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
↑ "Our Story". Sts. Clare & Francis. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
↑ Puchalski, Tomasz (January 9, 2014). "Two nominees for the position of next Presiding Bishop". Ecumenical Catholic Communion Europe. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2015.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 Phillips, Nicholas. "An Independent "Catholic" Church Is Moving its Headquarters to St. Louis". River Front Times. River Front Times. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.

[:1-2] 1 2 Krebs, Francis. "CURRICULUM VITAE" (PDF). Ecumenical Catholic Communion. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2015.

[:2-3] 1 2 3 4 "Eden to Host Commissioning Ceremony for the Reverend Frank Krebs". Eden Theological Seminary. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.

[4] "Our Story". Sts. Clare & Francis. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.

[5] Puchalski, Tomasz (January 9, 2014). "Two nominees for the position of next Presiding Bishop". Ecumenical Catholic Communion Europe. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]