Bishop Abel is the third child of William and Violet Abel, both deceased, of Fort Madison, Iowa. He was raised and educated in the Roman Catholic Church.

Bishop Abel began his priestly training while attending the Seminary for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport, Iowa at Saint Ambrose University where he received his Bachelors of Arts Degree in History in 1975. Bishop Abel left the Seminary and began his career in the secular world in the field of Human Resources.

Bishop Abel re-entered the Seminary of Saint Francis of Assisi; the Seminary of the Old Roman Catholic Church, English Rite, receiving his (STL) Letters in Sacred Theology degree in January of 1995 just prior to his ordination as a Priest by Archbishop Floyd A. Kortenhof, Primate, Metropolitan, of the Old Roman Catholic Church, English Rite at Saint Peters Episcopal Church, Chicago, Illinois.

Upon ordination, as a newly ordained Priest, Bishop Abel served as the founding Pastor of Saint Mary Magdalene Parish in Lombard, Illinois, at the facilities of Calvary Episcopal Church for five years, a post he held until he relocated to San Diego in 2000.

Upon his arrival to San Diego in June of 2000, Bishop Abel became the founding Pastor of All Saints Parish. At its founding, All Saints parish began using the facilities of Saint Michael’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Carlsbad, California. All Saint's Parish used the original building (the Chapel) of Saint Michael's, a structure dating from the 1800's. In 2003 (the then) Monsieur Abel received a Mandate form Archbishop Kortenhof to the episcopate. Bishop-elect Abel was consecrated (press here for pictures of the Consecration) on May 24th of 2003 by Archbishop Kortenhof assisted by Archbishop Karl Barwin of the Evangelical Catholic Church and Bishop Robert Collier of the American Catholic Church-Reformed and Missionary Chaplains, at Saint Michael's By-the-Sea. Bishop Abel continued to serve as Pastor of All Saints Parish, Vicar General of the Church, and Auxiliary Bishop of the Vicariate of Saint Mary Magdalene of the Old Roman Catholic Church, English Rite, with offices located in Elmwood Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, under the leadership of Archbishop Floyd A. Kortenhof.

In July of 2004 Bishop Abel agreed to ordain the the Sacred Priesthood, the first female Priest of the Church and the current pastor of All Saints Parish; The Very Reverend Canon Janine C. Stock, JD. At that time, All Saints Parish came under the jurisdiction of the Old Roman Catholic Church Diocese of San Diego with Bishop Abel as the Bishop of the Diocese. The name of the Church was changed in May of 2006 to the Catholic Church of America to reflect a broader view of the church in line with its mission in the world.

In January of 2008, the Catholic Catholic of America merged with the American Catholic Church Diocese of California. Bishop Abel was elected by the College of Bishops, Clergy and Laity Representatives at the Annual Synod General Conference of the American Catholic Church Diocese of California and immediately became the Third Presiding President of the American Catholic Church Diocese of California.

His Excellency, Bishop Abel’s Coat of Arms shown at the left represents, in the upper right quarter of the shield, Saint Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa, where Bishop received his preliminary training in the Seminary and under graduate degree.

The bottom right quarter of the Shield represents the Dutch heritage of the Old Catholic Church from the Archdiocese of Utrecht in The Netherlands. The upper left quarter of the shield represents Bishop Abel’s German ancestry. The bottom left quarter of the shield represents the Church in San Diego and the American Catholic Church Diocese of California; by the waves of the Ocean caped by the Paschal Lamb; our Lord Jesus Christ.

The motto in Latin Adoramus Te Christe is translated in English as; "We Adore Thee Oh Christ."