Pope Leo Appoints New Auxiliary Bishops In Washington DC

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Early yesterday at a press conference at the Pastoral Center of the Archdiocese of Washington, Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, announced that the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has named two priests of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington as new Auxiliary Bishops: Father Gary Studniewski, currently serving as Pastor of Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Washington, DC and Father Robert Boxie III, currently serving as the Catholic chaplain at the Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Student Center at Howard University in Washington, DC.

“I am delighted to share with you the news that today Pope Leo has appointed Father Gary Studniewski and Father Robert Boxie to be Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of Washington,” Cardinal McElroy wrote in announcing the news earlier today. “Both are exemplary leaders in our local church, and they will provide great wisdom, counsel and collaboration to me and selfless priestly service to the entire People of God in the District and the five Maryland counties.”

The Cardinal also thanked Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell, Jr., whose resignation from the Office of Auxiliary Bishop was also accepted today by the Holy Father, and Bishop Evelio Menjivar, named by Pope Leo XIV today as Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, which comprises the entire State of West Virginia.

“Today the Holy Father has also announced the appointment of Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala to be the new bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia. All of you understand how great a loss this is for the Archdiocese. Bishop Menjivar’s pastoral love and zeal, as well as his passion for justice and sensitive care for the Hispanic and immigrant communities of our Archdiocese have planted seeds of grace that will yield a harvest here for decades to come.”

In thanking Bishop Campbell for his service as Auxiliary Bishop, the Cardinal said: “His wisdom, prudence, and love for Our Lord and Our Lady, combined with a keen mind for administration and a caring heart for the poor and the marginalized to provide for us a magnificent leader for the life of our Archdiocese. And his particular care for the black communities of our Archdiocese is an immense grace to our local church.”

To read the full text of the Cardinal’s statement and those of Cardinals Wuerl and Gregory, as well as Bishops-elect Studniewski and Boxie and Bishop Juan Esposito, click here.

A livestream of the press conference was recorded. The video can be viewed here.

Bishop-Elect Studniewski brings an immensely rich and varied life of accomplishment and service to his new role in the Church. A native of Toledo, Ohio, the Bishop-Elect was ordained for the Archdiocese in 1995 and has served as a parochial vicar; a distinguished chaplain in the United States Army rising to the rank of Colonel; and pastor of both Saint Peter’s Parish on Capitol Hill and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. As a dean, member of the presbyteral council and mentor to our newly ordained, he has shown the Christ-like love and priestliness that are emblematic of our presbyterate. In each of these roles, he has demonstrated profound faith, collaborative leadership, pastoral sensitivity, initiative and zeal, making him an ideal candidate for the episcopacy.

Bishop-Elect Boxie was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana. After graduating from Vanderbilt and Harvard Law School, he came to Washington to clerk for a federal judge and then work in a law firm, and during those years felt an ever-deepening confirmation of the call to the priesthood that had come to him earlier in life. He was ordained for the Archdiocese in 2016 and received his first assignment as parochial vicar at Saint Joseph in Largo under the tutelage of Bishop Roy Campbell, who was a wonderful mentor to him. Presently, Bishop-Elect Boxie is the Catholic chaplain for Howard University, where he has deeply enhanced the ministry and community there, while building a chapel and dramatically renewing the Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Student Center. He has a priestly heart and keen intelligence, as well as the prayerful compassion and evangelizing core that will be a great gift to our local church in deepening our outreach to all and helping particularly to enrich our black communities.