Francis Joseph Christian

Christian was born on born October 8, 1942, in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He attended primary school in the Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District, graduating from Conant High School in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.[1]

Christian studied at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, for two years before entering Saint Paul Seminary in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1962. In 1964, he graduated from Saint Paul with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from the University of Ottawa in 1964.[1]

On June 28, 1968, Christian was ordained into the priesthood for the Diocese of Manchester by Bishop Ernest Primeau at Saint Patrick Church in Jaffrey.[2]

After his ordination, Christian served three years as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Merrimack, New Hampshire, then a year with the same position at Saint Joseph Cathedral Parish.[1] In 1975, Christian entered the American College at the University of Louvain in Belgium, earning a Master of Theology degree in 1975.[1]

In March 1975, Christian returned to Manchester to be assistant chancellor of the Diocese of Manchester. He was promoted to chancellor in June 1977. In 1986, Pope John Paul II named Christian a prelate of honor, which includes the title "monsignor,".[1]

On April 2, 1996, Pope John Paul II appointed Christian as the auxiliary bishop of Manchester and titular bishop of Quincy. He was consecrated by Bishop Leo O’Neil on May 14, 1996, at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Manchester.[2]In 2003, Christian was appointed pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Nashua, New Hampshire in addition to his duties as auxiliary bishop.[3]