Diocese of Sts. Joseph & George
Bishop Linda Pilato
Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Sts. Joseph and George and Associate Pastor of Saint Marguerite Faith Community.
Auxiliary Bishop · Associate Pastor
Linda describes herself as “unique, unconventional and spirited.” Her ministry asks what happens when Catholic tradition and a genuinely open welcome are allowed to belong together.
“I understand God less but know God better.”
A nonlinear journey
Linda’s path includes a UCC baptism, Lutheran confirmation, time in different churches, Jewish and Jehovah’s Witness relatives, and years of independent reading. She describes faith now as experience with God—something lived, questioned, and encountered rather than reduced to a checklist.
She is also a retired electrician with an interest in quantum physics. When she connects ideas from quantum entanglement with spiritual connectedness, this page presents that as Linda’s theological understanding and personal lens—not as a claim about what physics proves.
Faith and science can grow together
Linda writes that she and her sister grew up in a home where faith and science were not opposites. Her training as an electrician and her interest in quantum physics have not created a conflict; they have helped her see that our understanding of God can deepen and change as we learn and grow.
She connects quantum entanglement with the mystery she experiences in Eucharistic consecration. This is Linda’s personal theological lens—not a claim about what physics proves. “My faith is the same but my belief became greater.”
That same openness shapes her full acceptance of transgender people and the way they identify: “It’s not my place to tell God what to do or not do.”
Leadership that makes room
Linda describes Saint Marguerite as traditional in worship while progressive and welcoming in outlook. For her, “open and affirming” is something a community practices: she is a woman bishop, James is a gay bishop, and people who have been left out are genuinely invited in.
Pastoral care also means people are not pressured to “tough it out” through material that is painful or triggering. Linda’s hope is simple: that people find her approachable enough to want to meet her—and to meet Saint Marguerite.