Saint Meinrad Monk Named 10th Bishop of Diocese of Belleville

Pope Leo XIV appointed Very Reverend Godfrey Mullen, O.S.B., a Benedictine monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, as the 10th bishop of the Diocese of Belleville on March 13, making him only the third monk in the archabbey's 172-year history to be named a bishop. Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, publicized the appointment in Washington, D.C. Episcopal ordination is scheduled for May 1, 2026.

Mullen, 60, brings an unusual combination of credentials to the role: a doctorate in liturgical studies from The Catholic University of America, nearly a decade as rector of a cathedral, and active leadership of the Diocese of Belleville as its administrator since May 9, 2025. He has simultaneously served as director of the Office of Worship, pastor of both Blessed Sacrament Parish and Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, and moderator of the Curia, along with a brief tenure as vicar general in 2025.

The bishop-elect is a local son of the diocese he will now lead. He grew up in Salem, Illinois, within the Diocese of Belleville, before traveling north to Saint Meinrad to earn a bachelor's degree in history in 1988. He professed his vows as a Benedictine monk on August 6, 1989, completed his priesthood studies at Saint Meinrad School of Theology, and was ordained a priest on June 5, 1994. His doctorate, awarded in 2003, focused specifically on liturgical catechesis.

Before returning to Belleville in 2022 as rector of the Cathedral of St. Peter, Mullen spent roughly a decade in the Diocese of Evansville, nine of those years as rector of St. Benedict Cathedral. He also served as pastor of St. Mary Church in Huntingburg, priest delegate to Reitz Memorial High School, dean of the South Deanery, and administrator of St. Clement Parish in Boonville.

Bishop Joseph M. Siegel of the Diocese of Evansville offered his congratulations following the announcement. "We pray that the Lord will richly bless him and his ministry in that local Church," Siegel said.

Mullen stepped into the diocesan administrator role after Archbishop Michael McGovern was appointed sixth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, on March 31, 2025, leaving the Diocese of Belleville vacant. With the May 1 ordination, Mullen will formally close that vacancy, returning episcopal leadership to a diocese he has known since childhood.