The Fourth Bishop of Knoxville is Appointed

Pope Francis has appointed Father James Mark Beckman, 61, a priest of the Diocese of Nashville for more than three decades, as the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville. The appointment was announced in Washington, D.C., on May 7, 2024, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. “I am blessed and honored to accept this appointment from the Holy Father,” Bishop-elect Beckman said. “I am a native Tennessean, and I am grateful that I can continue serving the Church and now the faithful of the Diocese of Knoxville in this region that I know well and love tremendously.” Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre will continue to lead the Diocese of Knoxville as apostolic administrator until Bishop-elect Beckman’s episcopal ordination in late July. “I have known Bishop-elect Beckman for a long time,” Archbishop Fabre said. “We were seminarians together at the Catholic University in Louvain, Belgium many years ago. I believe in my heart that he will be a good shepherd for the faithful of the Diocese of Knoxville.” Read more....from the Diocese of Knoxville.