Bishop of Mendi
Donald Lippert, O.F.M. Cap., was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, on June 12, 1957. After completing his primary and secondary education in Pittsburgh, he earned a degree in Philosophy from St. Fidelis College in Herman, Pennsylvania, in 1979. In August of that same year, he began the formation program with the Capuchin Friars of the Province of St. Augustine in Pennsylvania. In 1984, he obtained a Master of Arts degree from the Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C. He made his perpetual vows on August 20, 1983, and was ordained a priest on June 8, 1985. He was subsequently sent by the Capuchin Friars to Belgium, where he earned a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the Catholic University of Leuven (1994–1995). Following his priestly ordination, he held the following positions: 1985–1986: Member of the St. Michael Capuchin Friars Community in Pittsburgh and Director of Vocations Promotion; 1986–1989: Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Peace Parish in Conway, Pennsylvania (USA); 1989–1994: Member of the Sacred Heart Capuchin Community in Washington (USA); 1989–1992: Coordinator of the program for Hispanic candidates; 1992–1994: Coordinator of the program for Hispanic candidates, co-founder of the Latino Civil Rights Task Force and the Multicultural Task Force in Washington, and member of the Board of Directors of Carroll Publishing; 1994–1997: Member of the St. Paul Capuchin Community in Cleveland, Ohio (USA); 1994–1995: Studies at Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, USA) and in Leuven, Belgium, to obtain a Master’s degree in Philosophy; 1995–1998: Formator at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and Philosophy instructor at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio (USA); 1996–1997: Vicar and First Councilor of the Saint Augustine Province of the Capuchin Friars in the United States; 1997–2002: Member of the St. Felix Capuchin Community in Wickliffe, Ohio (USA); 1997–1998: Guardian of the Capuchin Community in Wickliffe; 1998–2002: Guardian and Director of Formation for the Capuchin Friars, Philosophy Lecturer at John Carroll University (residing at Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Cleveland), Member of the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of Cleveland, and Presbyteral Moderator of the same diocese; 2002–2004: Member of the Capuchin Community at Capuchin College in Washington, D.C.; 2002–2005: Director of the Hispanic Catholic Center and Deputy Director of the Padre Pio House for Capuchin candidates in Washington, D.C.; appointed to the Human Rights Commission by the Mayor of Washington, D.C.; 2004–2007: Member of the St. Augustine Capuchin Community in Pittsburgh, Provincial Vicar and Administrative Secretary of the St. Augustine Capuchin Province, Local Vicar for the Development Advisory Board, and Member of the Board of Directors of the Seraphic Mass Association (SMA); 2007–2010: Sent as a missionary to Papua New Guinea (orientation at Queen of the Friars Minor Parish in Kagua); Guardian and Director of Formation at the Capuchin Friars College in Bomana and Lecturer at the Catholic Theological Institute (CTI). Since 2010: First Councilor of the Capuchin Friars Vice-Province in Papua New Guinea.