Bishop Richard E. Pates was born February 12, 1943 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. After attending Nazareth Hall Seminary in Saint Paul, MN, he attended and graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Latin from the St. Paul Seminary, Saint Paul. He attended graduate school at the North American College in Rome, holds a License in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, and was ordained a priest by Bishop Francis E. Reh on December 20, 1968 at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome.

Following his priestly ordination, then-Father Pates served as Associate Pastor of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Saint Paul, Minnesota from 1969 to 1970. From 1970 to 1974, he served as Vocation Director of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and as Weekend Associate Pastor at the Church of the Annunciation, Minneapolis. From 1973-1975, he also served as Secretary to Archbishop Leo C. Byrne, Coadjutor Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, and as Vice Chancellor of the Archdiocese.

From 1975-1981, Pates served as Secretary to the Apostolic Delegation (Vatican Representation in the United States) in Washington, D.C., and as a weekend assisting priest at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Chevy Chase, Maryland. In 1979, he was appointed a Papal Chaplain to Pope John Paul II, receiving the title of Reverend Monsignor. From 1981-1987, he served as Rector of St. John Vianney Seminary, Saint Paul, and from 1981-1990 as Chaplain of the Serra Club of Midway in Saint Paul. From 1987-1990 Pates served the Archdiocese as Vicar for Seminaries, and in 1990 was appointed Pastor of the Church of Saint Kevin, Minneapolis and the Church of the Resurrection, Minneapolis. In 1991, the Church of Saint Kevin and the Church of the Resurrection merged to form the Church of Our Lady of Peace, Minneapolis, where then-Msgr. Pates continued on as Pastor until 1998. During this period, he was also Moderator for Minneapolis Deaneries Council of Catholic Women from 1990 to 1998. From 1998-2001, Pates served as Pastor of the Church of Saint Ambrose of Woodbury.

On December 22, 2000, then-Msgr. Pates was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. On March 26, 2001, he was ordained Bishop at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, Saint Paul. Bishop Pates currently assists Archbishop Harry J. Flynn, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, in serving the approximately 650,000 Roman Catholics of the Archdiocese. in this capacity he was Vicar General, Vicar for Clergy, Vicar for Youth and Young Adults, and Vicar for Evangelization. Bishop Pates has been a member of the following committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Committee on Education
Committee on Evangelization
Committee on Pastoral Practices
Committee on Women in Society and in the Church
Committee on World Mission

He served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the North American College in Rome.

Bishop Pates currently is on the following Boards:
St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity
St. Paul Outreach (President)
Catholic Community Foundation
Catholic Senior Services, Inc (Chair)
St. Therese Home, Inc.
Academy of the Holy Angels
Saint Bernard's School
National Advisory Board, center for the Study of Church Management, Villanova University

He is the Episcopal Moderator of DISC - Diocesan Information Systems Conference

On April 10, 2008, His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Pates as the Ninth Bishop of Des Moines, Iowa.

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