(LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis on Monday appointed Bishop Michael McGovern of Belleville, Illinois, to lead the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska.
McGovern, who has served most of his priesthood in Chicago, will be installed as Archbishop of Omaha in the Cathedral of St. Cecilia on May 7. He will be replacing Archbishop George Lucas, whose resignation was accepted by Francis when he turned 75 in June 2024, as is customary.
The Chicago native was among the 68 bishops who implored the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in a 2021 letter not to discuss prohibiting pro-abortion self-identified Catholics in public life from receiving Holy Communion.
The letter urged “that all Conference wide discussion and committee work on the topic of Eucharistic worthiness…be postponed until the full body of bishops is able to meet in person.” The bishops cited a need for “substantial unity” on the issue, and suggested that a “high standard of consensus” among the American bishops was “far from being achieved” at the moment.
Echoing Cupich and Francis, McGovern gave up his archbishop’s mansion residence in 2022 to live in more modest living quarters.
Cardinal Christopher Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, and Cardinal Blase Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago will be present at McGovern’s installation liturgy. When Francis appointed McGovern a bishop in 2020, assigned to Belleville, Cupich was McGovern’s principal consecrator.
McGovern was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, and subsequently served in Chicago parishes, with an interim period as vice chancellor and as the archbishop’s delegate for extern and international priests.
On Wednesday, McGovern made remarks thanking Francis, Pierre, and Cupich:
I am grateful to our Holy Father for the confidence Pope Francis has placed in me and I renew my promise of obedience and respect to him who is the successor of St. Peter the Apostle and the visible sign of unity of the Church as well as the College of Bishops. I invite everyone to continue to pray for Pope Francis and ask God to restore him to full health.
I am grateful as well to Cardinal Christopher Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States for his tireless service in support of the Holy Father and the Church. Cardinal Pierre, who was the one who called me and notified me of the Pope’s decision to appoint me to Omaha, has made a great impression upon me during the five years I have served as Bishop of Belleville.
I also thank Cardinal Blase Cupich, a native son of Omaha, who has been a great support to me during my years as a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago and while I have served as a bishop in southern Illinois.
