Paul Francis Anderson

Paul Anderson was born in Roslindale, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, to Philip and Mary Elizabeth Anderson.[1] His father lost his job during the 1919 Boston Police Strike and later became a motorman on the Boston Elevated Railway.[1] After graduating from Winthrop High School in 1935, he enrolled at Boston College but soon transferred to St. John's Seminary in Brighton.[1] He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Richard Cushing on January 6, 1943.[2]

Anderson then served as a curate at Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church in Waltham until 1946, when he accepted an invitation to join the Diocese of Sioux Falls in South Dakota.[3] He served as a curate at Sacred Heart Church in Aberdeen, St. Martin Church in Huron, and Holy Cross Church in Ipswich.[3] From 1947 to 1959, he was administrator of St. Catherine Church in Oldham.[3] During his tenure in Oldham, he built a new church after the original structure was destroyed in a fire.[1] He later served as pastor of St. Patrick Church in Montrose (1959–62), of St. Mary Church in Salem (1962–65), and of St. Martin in Huron (1965–69).[3] During his pastoral work, he became active in the Christian Family Movement.[1]

On July 19, 1968, Anderson was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, and Titular Bishop of Polinianum by Pope Paul VI.[2] He received his episcopal consecration on the following October 17 from Bishop Lambert Anthony Hoch, with Bishops Francis Joseph Schenk and Thomas Joseph Riley serving as co-consecrators.[2] Upon the resignation of Bishop Schenk, Anderson succeeded him as the fifth Bishop of Duluth on April 30, 1969.[2] During his 13-year tenure, he earned a reputation as an advocate for progressive causes, and worked to implement the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.[1] He organized five regional pastoral councils, encouraged charismatic services, and improved Catholic relations with Protestants and Jews.[1] He privately believed in the ordination of women, and appointed one of the first laywomen to serve on a diocesan matrimonial court.[1]

On August 17, 1982, Anderson resigned as Bishop of Duluth; he was appointed the first auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Sioux Falls by Pope John Paul II on the same date.[2] As an auxiliary bishop, he served as diocesan Vicar for Spiritual Renewal.[1] He died from complications following cancer surgery at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, at age 69.[3]