In the flurry of activity leading up to his episcopal ordination, Father Alexander Sample dropped everything he was doing and hurried off to the hospital. A parishioner was dying. The man needed to be anointed and his family needed to be consoled.

Under the circumstances, everyone involved would have understood had Father Sample asked another priest to fill in for him. But no one was surprised when he went himself.

Now, following his Jan. 25 ordination Mass, Bishop Sample looks to bring that same spirit to his duties as ordinary of the Diocese of Marquette, Mich. At 45, he’s the youngest bishop in the United States.

He replaces Bishop James Garland, who is retiring after serving the diocese for 13 years.

“We made the announcement on my birthday,” Bishop Garland says. “I told the people that the Holy Father could not have given me a more wonderful birthday gift than to call Father Sample to be our next bishop. I can’t think of anyone more fit to take over this job.”

Bishop Sample looks forward to being shepherd of the diocese he’s called home since the end of high school. In his first message to the people of the diocese, he said: “I promise to do all in my power, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to be a good, faithful and loving shepherd of the flock entrusted to my care. I wish to minister in the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came ‘not to be served, but to serve.’ I beg your prayers for me as I prepare to assume this ministry, and I will count on those prayers throughout my years of service as your bishop.”

At the time of his appointment, Bishop Sample wore an amazing array of other hats in addition to his bishop’s miter. He’s also chancellor of the diocese, director of ministry and priest personnel, director of ongoing formation of priests, defender of the bond and promoter of justice for the diocesan tribunal, vice postulator of the cause for the beatification of Bishop Frederic Baraga and diocesan chaplain of the Knights of Columbus. There’s more, but we only have so much space.

Beneath that stack of titles and to-do’s is a humble priest dedicated to the Eucharist and driven by St. Paul’s words in his second letter to the Corinthians: “[T]he love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died.”

Natural Choice

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Bishop Sample is the 12th bishop of his diocese, because the story of Jesus’ calling of the apostles is foundational to his relationship with Our Lord.

“After prayer, Jesus selected his apostles to carry on his mission in he ministry of salvation,” he says. “He associated them with himself, and they got to know him more intimately. They got to know his heart. I take that seriously. The Lord appointed me; therefore, I must spend time with him and get to know him as master. My heart must become like his heart.”

Those who know Bishop Sample personally say that his appointment as bishop came as no surprise; it was just a matter of time. He’s an energetic, engaging and faithful pastor, they say — a confidante and a friend. However, all agree, it was a delightful surprise that he was installed at such a young age and as bishop of his long-time diocese.

“He’s a very spiritual but at the same time a very intellectual person,” says Steve Gualdoni, who is studying for the permanent deaconate in the Marquette Diocese. “His reverence and devotion are outstanding. He’s a succinct and eloquent speaker. Anybody who has had any contact with him has walked away saying, ‘That man is going to be bishop someday.’”

Kay Dowling, a parishioner of St. Christopher Church in Marquette, Bishop Sample’s former parish, says she’s deepened her faith and matured as a Catholic because of her experience with Bishop Sample. “I’m thrilled he’s staying here,” she adds. “He could have been sent to Rome or to another diocese.”

Beneath his dynamism as a priest and bishop is a warm, caring “regular kind of guy,” his former parishioners agree. For recreation, he bicycles and fishes quite avidly.

Out of Vegas

Born in Montana, Alex Sample moved with his family to Nevada when he was 7. After graduating Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, he moved to Houghton, Mich., where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan Technological University. Soon after, he began to hear God’s call.

“I became very active in my parish during those years,” Bishop Sample recalls. “All throughout, there was a constant tugging toward the priesthood.”

Finally, he could no longer ignore the obvious. In1984, he announced his intention to enter the seminary.

“Some people thought I was nuts,” he says. “But from the moment I spoke it out loud, I had complete peace. And I’ve never regretted it.”

Bishop Sample studied philosophy at the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., and then entered the Pontifical College Josephinum Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, in 1986. He was ordained June 1, 1990, at St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette, Mich., by Bishop Mark Schmitt.

After ordination, he served as associate pastor of St. Peter Cathedral, and then moved on to serve several suburban parishes.

From 1994 to ’96, Bishop Sample was assigned to graduate studies in canon law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum) in Rome. After receiving his licentiate in canon law in 1996, he returned to the Diocese of Marquette.

All along, one thing has remained constant: the loving service he offers his people in the name of Jesus Christ. That day he rushed to the hospital when he had so many other things to do: That wasn’t the ending of a chapter. It was the continuation of a lifelong ministry.

“I speak a special word to my brother priests from whose ranks I have been chosen. I will soon be a father and pastor to you, but I will also always be your brother,” he said after becoming a bishop. “I pledge my concern and support for you as co-workers with me in the vineyard of the Lord. I count especially on your prayers. You are daily in my prayers, and I remember you at the altar of Christ the Lord, where we are one.”

Marge Fenelon writes from

Cudahy, Wisconsin.