This story has been updated.
WASHINGTON — Pope Francis has named Washington Auxiliary Bishop
Barry C. Knestout, 55, as the 13th bishop of Richmond.
He succeeds Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, who was Richmond’s
bishop from 2004 until his death in August at age 75.
The appointment was announced in Washington Dec. 5 by Archbishop
Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Bishop Knestout’s installation Mass will be celebrated Jan. 12 at
the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond.
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge said in a statement, “I offer my
sincere congratulations and prayerful best wishes to Bishop
Knestout on having been appointed by the Holy Father as the 13th Bishop of
the Diocese of Richmond. Having known Bishop Knestout for many years, I
have witnessed personally his pastoral zeal and administrative
skills. All who know him will attest to his faithfulness and love of Our
Lord Jesus and His Church. I look forward to working closely and
collaboratively with him as a brother bishop in the Virginia Catholic
Conference. The VCC will benefit greatly from Bishop
Knestout’s wisdom and expertise, and together we will strive
to provide leadership that will amplify the Catholic faith to the public
square.”
Four hours after Pope Francis named him Richmond’s new shepherd,
Bishop Knestout was introduced to the people of the diocese via a news
conference at the pastoral center. The briefing also was livestreamed from the
center.
After praying the Prayer to the Holy Spirit, the bishop thanked
Pope Francis for naming him to Richmond. This was followed by a heartfelt
expression of gratitude to his 90-year-old mother, Caroline, and his late
father, Thomas, and to his eight siblings.
He went on to recognize the three archbishops of Washington he
has served: Cardinals James A. Hickey, Theodore E. McCarrick and Donald W.
Wuerl, the current head of the Washington Archdiocese.
He compared the 10 years he worked with Cardinal Wuerl as “a
graduate level education” that he said was “replete with a myriad of
experiences.”
Among those experiences were assisting in the hosting of Pope
Benedict XVI in 2008 and Pope Francis in 2015; participating in an archdiocesan
synod and its implementation; and working with a diverse group of people who
serve the church.
Bishop Knestout also acknowledged Msgr. Mark Richard Lane for
“his sensitive and wise pastoral leadership” during the four months
following the death of Bishop DiLorenzo in which he served as Richmond’s
diocesan administrator.
“The faithful of the diocese are profoundly grateful for
your service,” he added.
He also acknowledged Bishop DiLorenzo as one “who served
this diocese with devotion, steadfastness and a pastor’s heart.”
Bishop Knestout, a Maryland native, noted that he was born and
formed in the faith in the Washington area, and “now I’m called … to a
new home, which I embrace with all my heart.”
He said he planned to take to heart Pope Francis’ advice to U.S.
bishops during the pontiff’s 2015 visit to St. Matthew’s Cathedral in the
nation’s capital, when the pontiff encouraged them to “be pastors close to
people.”
Bishop Knestout said he plans to take time to visit and get to
know the people of his new diocese, which covers more than 36,000 square miles.
It is comprised of 74 counties in the southern three-fifths of Virginia. It is
one of two Catholic dioceses in the state; the Arlington Diocese covers
Northern Virginia.
There are just over 222,000 Catholics in the Richmond Diocese, or
4 percent of the total population of more than 5.1 million. It is the nation’s
eighth oldest Catholic diocese and was founded in 1820.
Bishop Knestout noted the division affecting much of the country
today — which was a flashpoint in August in the Richmond Diocese when a white
nationalist rally in Charlottesville erupted in violence. He said he would work
to promote a spirit of unity and charity in the diocese so “that we see
the dignity of each human being … created in the image and likeness of God.”
“Bishop Knestout carries with him the affection, respect and
admiration of all of us with whom he so generously gave his time and
efforts,” Cardinal Wuerl said in a statement.
Bishop Knestout has been an auxiliary of the Washington
Archdiocese since 2008.
“During all of this time, he has demonstrated his pastoral
skills, his commitment to the church and her teaching, and his devoted service
to those entrusted to his care,” the cardinal said.
Bishop Knestout was born in Cheverly, Md., June 11, 1962. He
attended Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., where he earned a master
of divinity degree in 1988 and a master of arts degree in 1989.
He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington June
24, 1989, and after two appointments as associate pastor at Washington area
parishes, he served 10 years (1994-2004) as priest-secretary to Cardinal
Hickey, then head of the archdiocese. He was executive director of the
archdiocesan Office of Youth Ministry from 2001 to 2003, then priest-secretary
to Cardinal McCarrick, from 2003 to 2004.
Other assignments included being archdiocesan secretary for
pastoral life and social concerns (2006-08). He was named a monsignor by St.
John Paul II in 1999, was appointed moderator of the curia in April 2007 and assisted
Cardinal Wuerl in overseeing administrative affairs.
On Nov. 18, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI named him an auxiliary bishop
of Washington.
He has been a member of the Maryland Catholic Conference’s
administrative board and episcopal moderator of the American Catholic
Correctional Chaplains Association.
Contributing to this story were Brian Olszewski in
Richmond and Mark Zimmermann in Washington.
