Joseph William Tobin was born in Detroit, Michigan, on 3 May 1952, the eldest of thirteen children of Irish immigrant parents, and grew up in the Redemptorist parish of the Most Holy Redeemer. He entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, making first vows on 5 August 1972 and solemn vows on 21 August 1976, and was ordained a priest on 1 June 1978. He served at Holy Redeemer in Detroit, as pastor there from 1984 to 1990, and as pastor of St Alphonsus in Chicago in 1990–1991.
Elected a general consultor of the Redemptorists in 1991, he became superior general on 9 September 1997 and was confirmed in that office on 26 September 2003. On 2 August 2010 Benedict XVI appointed him secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and titular archbishop of Obba; he received episcopal consecration on 9 October 2010. He was appointed Archbishop of Indianapolis on 18 October 2012.
On 7 November 2016 Francis appointed him Archbishop of Newark, and created him cardinal in the consistory of 19 November 2016, assigning him the titular church of Santa Maria delle Grazie a Via Trionfale. In Newark he has been a prominent voice for welcoming immigrants and refugees. He participated as an elector in the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
Consequential Quotes
If you see only problems or threats or statistics, you’ll cross to the other side of the street. But if you see people who share our common humanity, and who, more importantly, are loved by God just as God loves us, then you will respond differently.
I am Joseph, your brother. I am your brother, as a disciple of Jesus. I am your brother, as a sinner who finds mercy with the Lord.
These are people that have not felt welcome in other places. My prayer for them is that they do. Today in the Catholic Church, we read a passage that says you have to be able to give a reason for your hope. And I’m praying that this pilgrimage for them, and really for the whole Church, is a reason for hope.
If we recognize the humanity of a person, we find it much more difficult to treat them inhumanely. And so why I think it’s important religious leaders stand with immigrants is to put a face on them, so people who want to do inhumane things know what they’re doing.
If you’re talking about human beings, statistics are going to rob them of their face.
However, the tweet continues to be widely diffused and has sown some misunderstanding. I want to apologize to the priests and faithful of the Archdiocese of Newark if my carelessness has caused any confusion or embarrassment. I promise to be more careful with future use of media.
Major Works & Initiatives
Superior General of the Redemptorists
Elected superior general of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer on 9 September 1997 and confirmed for a second term on 26 September 2003, leading the order worldwide; also vice-president of the Union of Superiors General from 2003.
Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
Appointed by Benedict XVI on 2 August 2010 to the Vatican office overseeing institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life, serving until his transfer to Indianapolis in 2012.
Oversight of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae
Named by the Vatican in May 2016 to oversee the Peruvian religious community after a Vatican review found it in need of thorough-going reform.
Member of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for Bishops
Named a member on 4 March 2021; the Holy See bio also lists him on the Council for the Economy, the Dicasteries for Institutes of Consecrated Life, for Culture and Education and for Promoting Christian Unity, and the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.
Controversies
The ‘nighty-night, baby’ tweet (2018)
On 22 February 2018 a tweet reading ‘Nighty-night, baby, I love you’ appeared on his public feed. Tobin deleted it and apologized the next day, saying it was a private message to one of his sisters posted by mistake, and promising to be more careful with media. Critics, including groups already opposed to his stances on immigration and other issues, questioned the explanation; the archdiocese said the tweet had gone out inadvertently and that he would not comment beyond the apology.
McCarrick and abuse reports in Newark (2018)
In August 2018 Catholic News Agency reported accounts by six Newark priests alleging sexual misconduct by two priests in the archdiocese’s seminary and ministry; Tobin wrote to his priests the same day saying he had been unaware of the issue and directed media inquiries to the archdiocesan communications office, a response some critics judged insufficient. Days later Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s letter alleged, contestedly, that Tobin’s predecessor Theodore McCarrick had ‘orchestrated’ Tobin’s appointment to Newark; Tobin denounced the letter for ‘factual errors, innuendo and fearful ideology’ and said it could not contribute to the healing of survivors. In 2020 he told his priests in a letter, reported by Catholic News Agency, that he had heard rumors about McCarrick around the time he came to Newark in 2016 but found them ‘incredulous’.
Sources
- Holy See Press Office — biography
- Wikipedia
- Jersey Catholic — Archdiocese begins Lent in solidarity with the suffering
- Catholic News Agency — Newark archdiocese defends welcoming of LGBT pilgrimage
- The Hoya — Newark Archbishop advocates role of Church in immigration debate
- CatholicPhilly (CNS) — Cardinal explains, apologizes for tweet that caused ‘misunderstanding’