Vivian Jones Steib

Bishop Steib was born in Vacherie, Louisiana, the oldest of five children born to Rosemond and Vivian Jones Steib.

He received his Theological Degree from Divine Word Seminary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in 1967 and his Master of Arts Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Xavier University, New Orleans in 1973.

He was ordained to the priesthood on January 6, 1967 by Archbishop Phillip M. Hannan in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.He is a priest of the Society of the Divine Word, an international congregation of Catholic missionary priests and Brothers founded in 1875.

Following ordination, he served as Assistant Dean of Students at Divine Word Seminary, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi until 1969.He also served as a professor at St. Stanislaus High School in Bay St. Louis from 1967 to 1976.

In 1976, Bishop Steib was elected to the first of three terms as the Provincial Superior of Divine Word Missionaries, Southern Province.He was also elected Vice President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men.

On February 10, 1984, he was ordained Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri and Titular Bishop of Fallaba in St. Louis, Missouri by Archbishop Hannan.

Bishop Steib was installed as the fourth Bishop of Memphis on May 5, 1993 by Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly in the presence of the Most Reverend Agostino Cacciavillan, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio.He currently serves as a member of the U.S.C.C.B. Committee on Evangelization, the Committee of Hispanic Affairs, and as Chairperson for the Committee for Consecrated Life.He also serves as a member on the Board of Directors for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and as a member on the Board of Directors for the Catholic Extension Society.

"When Bishop Steib was provincial of the Divine Word Missionaries' Southern Province in the 1970s, his vision for the community was always one of inclusion.I recall his commitment to assisting young Brothers in the province to further their education and become active participants in the province's apostolates," said Brother Dennis Newton, S.V.D., Mission Director for the Society of the Divine Word."His years as Bishop have demonstrated that this commitment to inclusion extends to every sphere."

"I never dreamed I would be where I am today.Sometimes it seems like strange avenues I walked along, yet I always discovered that God's grace was sufficient to help me get there," said Bishop Steib.

Bishop Steib was born in Vacherie, Louisiana, the oldest of five children born to Rosemond and Vivian Jones Steib.

He received his Theological Degree from Divine Word Seminary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in 1967 and his Master of Arts Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Xavier University, New Orleans in 1973.

He was ordained to the priesthood on January 6, 1967 by Archbishop Phillip M. Hannan in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.He is a priest of the Society of the Divine Word, an international congregation of Catholic missionary priests and Brothers founded in 1875.

Following ordination, he served as Assistant Dean of Students at Divine Word Seminary, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi until 1969.He also served as a professor at St. Stanislaus High School in Bay St. Louis from 1967 to 1976.

In 1976, Bishop Steib was elected to the first of three terms as the Provincial Superior of Divine Word Missionaries, Southern Province.He was also elected Vice President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men.

On February 10, 1984, he was ordained Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri and Titular Bishop of Fallaba in St. Louis, Missouri by Archbishop Hannan.

Bishop Steib was installed as the fourth Bishop of Memphis on May 5, 1993 by Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly in the presence of the Most Reverend Agostino Cacciavillan, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio.He currently serves as a member of the U.S.C.C.B. Committee on Evangelization, the Committee of Hispanic Affairs, and as Chairperson for the Committee for Consecrated Life.He also serves as a member on the Board of Directors for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and as a member on the Board of Directors for the Catholic Extension Society.

"When Bishop Steib was provincial of the Divine Word Missionaries' Southern Province in the 1970s, his vision for the community was always one of inclusion.I recall his commitment to assisting young Brothers in the province to further their education and become active participants in the province's apostolates," said Brother Dennis Newton, S.V.D., Mission Director for the Society of the Divine Word."His years as Bishop have demonstrated that this commitment to inclusion extends to every sphere."

"I never dreamed I would be where I am today.Sometimes it seems like strange avenues I walked along, yet I always discovered that God's grace was sufficient to help me get there," said Bishop Steib.

Bishop J. Terry Steib, S.V.D. was born in Vacherie, Louisiana, the oldest of five children born to Rosemond and Vivian Jones Steib.
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Bishop Steib received his Theological Degree from Divine Word Seminary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in 1967 and his Master of Arts Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Xavier University, New Orleans in 1973.

He was ordained to the Priesthood on January 6, 1967 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.Following his ordination, he was assigned as Assistant Dean of Students at Divine Word Seminary, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi from 1967 until 1969.He also served as a professor at St. Stanislaus High School in Bay St. Louis from 1967 to 1976.

In 1976 Bishop Steib was elected to the first of three terms (1976-1983) as the Provincial Superior of Divine Word Missionaries, Southern Province.He was also elected Vice President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (1979-1983).

On February 10, 1984, he was ordained Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri and Titular Bishop of Fallaba in St. Louis, Missouri by Archbishop John L. May.

Bishop Steib was installed as the fourth Bishop of Memphis on May 5, 1993 by the Most Reverend Agostino Cacciavillan, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio.He is currently the Consultant for the African American Catholics Committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and serves as a member of many Boards of Directors: The Catholic Extension Society, Catholic University of America, Catholic Relief Services.

BISHOP'S COAT OF ARMS SIGNIFICANCE

The arms of Bishop Steib appear on the right side of the shield, joined with those of the Diocese of Memphis and surrounded by the Bishop's motto and the heraldic symbols of his office.

The colors of the diocesan arms, a red field with white and blue accents, are taken from the State Flag of Tennessee; in heraldry, however, white is always shown as metallic silver.The principal charge, a silver pyramid crowned with the Christian cross, recalls the ancient city of Memphis, the capital of Egypt in the pharaonic age, from which the city takes its name.The cross, the sign of faith, is indicative of the Christianity of modern Memphis.The blue wavy bars on the upper division of the shield symbolize the two rivers that constitute the boundaries of the diocese, the Tennessee and the Mississippi.The small mountain - "montini" in Italian - are a play on the family name of Pope Paul VI, who established the diocese in 1971; they are also reminiscent of the mountains of Tennessee.

The arms of Bishop Steib feature a tri-colored field - black, red, and green - which recalls the Flag of the Black Liberation Movement; this in turn is based on the Flag of the nation-state of Ghana, whose independence in 1957 gave rise to the general decolonization of the African continent.The colors represent, respectively, the great people that has sprung from this land, the blood shed in its defense, and the green plains of Africa.

The principal charge is taken from the arms of the Society of the Divine Word, of which Congregation the Bishop is a member.These arms display a cross standing on a rocky mound, which in the arms of Bishop Steib has been modified into a heraldic trimount, while the simple cross has been enriched by the addition of fleur-de-lis on each of the upper extremities.The fleur-de-lis, which like the cross and trimount are shown in gold, are taken from the arms of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, for whose service Bishop Steib was ordained to the episcopacy in 1984.

Bishop J. Terry Steib, S.V.D. was born in Vacherie, Louisiana, the oldest of five children born to Rosemond and Vivian Jones Steib.
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Bishop Steib received his Theological Degree from Divine Word Seminary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in 1967 and his Master of Arts Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Xavier University, New Orleans in 1973.He was ordained to the Priesthood on January 6, 1967 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.Following his ordination, he was assigned as Assistant Dean of Students at Divine Word Seminary, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi from 1967 until 1969.He also served as a professor at St. Stanislaus High School in Bay St. Louis from 1967 to 1976. In 1976 Bishop Steib was elected to the first of three terms (1976-1983) as the Provincial Superior of Divine Word Missionaries, Southern Province.He was also elected Vice President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (1979-1983).On February 10, 1984, he was ordained Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri and Titular Bishop of Fallaba in St. Louis, Missouri by Archbishop John L. May.Bishop Steib was installed as the fourth Bishop of Memphis on May 5, 1993 by the Most Reverend Agostino Cacciavillan, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio.He is currently the Consultant for the African American Catholics Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and serves as a member of many Boards of Directors: The Catholic Extension Society, Catholic University of America, Catholic Relief Services.