Bishop Robert Carlson (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

Bishop Robert J. Carlson introduced himself Tuesday as the new head of Archdiocese of St. Louis.

The native Minnesotan, most recently bishop of Saginaw, Mich., took questions from the press at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Shrewsbury, showing himself to be calm, careful, friendly, “homely” in the original sense of the word, as someone who is informal and unpretentious.

We welcome him with all good wishes.

Bishop Carlson (he’ll become “Archbishop Carlson” when he officially is installed later this spring) leads an archdiocese loaded with talent and tradition. He says he is keenly interested in “listening” and no doubt soon will hear much about the challenges facing St. Louis and its 500,000 Catholics — controversies ranging from finance to faith. He immediately received the grand tour of some of the archdiocese’s proudest enterprises. A trip to the St. Patrick’s Center for the homeless, for example, was on his first day’s itinerary.

But Bishop Carlson should consider taking in some sites that might be slightly off the beaten trail but that represent some of the things that the larger community admires most about Catholic life in St. Louis.

Heading north from the New Cathedral, he could stop by to see the Little Sisters of the Poor on West Florissant Avenue. They have been ministering to the needy elderly in St. Louis for 140 years. He also might check in with the Rev. Richard Creason and see the work at Holy Trinity Catholic Church and School on North 14th Street, arguably the archdiocesan parish situated amid the greatest economic poverty.

From there it’s an easy drive to Karen House on Hogan Street, the Catholic Worker house where homeless women and children are offered hospitality.

Bishop Carlson should consider calling on Sister Antona Ebo, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary who marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Selma, Ala., and spent a long career ministering to the sick.

For sure he’ll want to drive a few blocks east on Lindell Boulevard to St. Louis University, one of the most dynamic institutions serving St. Louis. Meeting the Rev. Lawrence Biondi, the president of the Jesuit institution, should be an education in itself.

While in the neighborhood, he could stop by Loyola Academy, a middle school that just celebrated its 10th anniversary. It is geared toward boys capable of college prep work but whose lives are complicated by social conditions in distressed neighborhoods. He’ll want to see nearby Cardinal Ritter High School, one of the archdiocese’s grandest achievements in the last two decades, and visit with the folks at Catholic Charities, who work tirelessly across the region.

Above all, Bishop Carlson should meet with and listen to the ordinary priests, religious women and dedicated lay leaders and teachers who don’t aspire to formal leadership or receive much public attention but who quietly do so much of the good work in St. Louis. They’re not just on his side, but on all of our sides.