Bishop of Boise City
Peter Forsyth Christensen was born on December 24, 1952, in Pasadena, California. After elementary school, he attended Palos Verdes High School, followed by one year at the College of the Redwoods in Eureka and another year at the University of Montana in Missoula. He studied and worked as a drafter and graphic artist before entering the seminary. He pursued his philosophical studies at Saint John Vianney College Seminary (University of Saint Thomas) and completed his theological studies at Saint Paul Seminary in Saint Paul, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1985. He was ordained a priest on May 25, 1985, for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Following his ordination, he held the following positions: parochial vicar at Saint Olaf Parish in Minneapolis (1985–1989); Spiritual Director (1989–1992) and Rector (1992–1999) of Saint John Vianney College Seminary; and pastor of The Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Saint Paul (1999–2007). Appointed Bishop of Superior on June 28, 2007, he received episcopal ordination on September 14 of that year. Within the Bishops' Conference, he serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions and as a member of the Committee on Catholic Education, the National Collections Committee, and the Subcommittee on Native American Affairs.