H.Em. Card. William Joseph Levada

H.Em. Card. William Joseph Levada is presently the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, nominated by Pope Benedict XVI May 13th, 2005.

Born in Long Beach, in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, on June 15th, 1936, Msgr. Levada studied for four years in the seminary of the Archdioceses of Los Angeles.
In 1958, he was sent to Rome, to the North American College, to complete his formation, and he graduated from the Pontifical University Gregoriana in Theology, receiving a doctorate magna cum laude in Sacred Theology.

After his priestly ordination in St. Peter’s Basilica on December 20th, 1961, he spent five years working in parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and teaching part-time at a high school. He also exercised his campus ministry after his doctorate, . Msgr. Levada taught Theology at St. John’s Seminary School of Theology of Camarillo, in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In those six years, he was also the first Director of Permanent Education of Clergy of the Archdiocese.

In 1976, he was nominated representative of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican. In the six years of service, he continued to teach part-time at the Pontifical University Gregoriana.

In 1982, he was chosen to be the Executive Director of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of California at Sacramento. During his six years presence, he was nominated Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, and was ordained Titular Bishop of Capri on May 12th, 1983.

In 1984, he returned to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and was the Episcopal Vicar of Contea of Santa Barbara until his nomination as Chancellor and Moderator of the Curia in 1986.

On June 1st, 1986 he was nominated the eighth bishop of Portland, Oregon and was installed on September 21st. In the nine years that he spent in Portland, Archbishop Levada dedicated himself to the promotion of priestly vocations and the valorization of the seminary of Mt. Angel where he taught Ecclesiology.

He was nominated Archbishop Coadjutor of San Francisco on August 17th, 1995, and was installed on October 24th of the same year, replacing the Archbishop John Quinn as the seventh Archbishop of San Francisco on December 27th, 1995.
Ever since his Episcopal Ordination, he was part of many committees of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States, as well as directive councils of the “Catholic University of America”, of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

In 1997 he participated in the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for America, and was subsequently nominated for the Post-Synod Council. From July 1999 to May 2000 he also presided as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Santa Rosa.
In 2000 he was designated Co-President Bishop of the Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue in the United States (ARC-USA). In November, the Vatican announced his nomination as a Member of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.
In November 2003, he became the three-year President of the Committee on the Doctrine of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States.