Special to The Message
Editor’s Note: OSV News and The Message Staff contributed to this report.
VATICAN CITY (OSV News) — On March 13, the Vatican announced Pope Leo XIV’s appointment of Father Godfrey Mullen, a Benedictine monk, as the new bishop of Belleville, Illinois. Bishop-elect Mullen will become the 10th bishop of the Diocese of Belleville.
The see of the Diocese of Belleville has been vacant since its former bishop, now-Archbishop Michael G. McGovern, was installed as archbishop of Omaha, Nebraska, in May 2025.
Bishop-elect Mullen, 60, is a monk of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana and current administrator of the Diocese of Belleville.
Before returning to the Diocese of Belleville, his home diocese, in 2022, Bishop-elect Mullen served the Diocese of Evansville for 10 years, with nine of those years as rector of St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville.
Bishop Joseph M. Siegel and the people of the Diocese of Evansville offer their heartfelt congratulations and prayerful best wishes to Bishop-elect Godfrey Mullen, former rector of St. Benedict Cathedral, on his appointment by Pope Leo XIV to shepherd the Diocese of Belleville.
“We pray that the Lord will richly bless him and his ministry in that local Church,” Bishop Siegel said.
During his time with the Diocese of Evansville, Bishop-elect Mullen served as rector of St. Benedict Cathedral for nine years. He also served as pastor of St. Mary Church in Huntingburg; priest delegate to Reitz Memorial High School in Evansville; Dean of the South Deanery; administrator of St. Clement Parish in Boonville; and administrator, Pro Tempore of Resurrection Parish in Evansville.
Bishop-elect Mullen was born Jan. 22, 1966, in Salem, Illinois. He studied at St. Meinrad, where he received a bachelor’s degree in history (1988), a master’s degree in theology (1991), and a master of divinity (1994); and he received a doctorate in liturgical studies from The Catholic University of America in Washington (2003). Bishop-elect Mullen made his solemn monastic profession with the Order of Saint Benedict Aug. 15, 1992, and he was ordained to the priesthood June 5, 1994.
Bishop-elect Mullen will be the third monk in St. Meinrad’s 172-year history to be named a bishop, according to St. Meinrad Archabbey.
Bishop-elect Mullen’s pastoral assignments outside of the Diocese of Evansville include: professor of liturgy at St. Meinrad College in Indiana; rector of St. Peter Cathedral in Belleville, Illinois; pastor of Blessed Sacrament parish, and of Queen of Peace parish in Belleville, Illinois. He has also served as vicar general of the Diocese of Belleville and as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Belleville since May 9, 2025. Bishop-elect Mullen has authored several articles and books about liturgy.
The Diocese of Belleville was established in 1887 and is comprised of 11,678 square miles in the State of Illinois. With a total population of 860,000 people, 70,000 are Catholic.