Pope Leo XIV has appointed Father Godfrey Mullen, O.S.B., a Benedictine monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey and current diocesan administrator of the same diocese, as the new bishop of Belleville, in the state of Illinois (United States). The appointment was announced this Friday by the Holy See Bulletin and made public simultaneously in Washington by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio in the United States.
The diocese had been vacant since March 2025, when the then-bishop Michael McGovern was appointed archbishop of Omaha. Since May 9 of that same year, Mullen had been designated diocesan administrator to guide the diocese during the period of sede vacante.
Academic Formation and Benedictine Vocation
Godfrey Mullen was born on January 22, 1966, in Salem, Illinois. He completed his studies at Saint Meinrad College in Indiana, where he earned a degree in History in 1988, a master’s in Theology in 1991, and a Master of Divinity in 1994. He later completed his academic formation with a doctorate in liturgical studies from the Catholic University of America in 2003.
Mullen made his solemn monastic profession in the Order of Saint Benedict on August 15, 1992, and was ordained a priest on June 5, 1994. Throughout his career, he has maintained a special dedication to the study and teaching of liturgy.
Pastoral and Academic Trajectory
During his priestly ministry, he has held responsibilities in both pastoral and academic fields. He has been a professor of liturgy at Saint Meinrad College and later assumed various pastoral tasks in several dioceses in the American Midwest.
Among his responsibilities are his service as rector of St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville and later rector of St. Peter Cathedral in Belleville. He has also been pastor of the parishes of Blessed Sacrament and Queen of Peace in Belleville, in addition to serving as vicar general of the diocese.
The new bishop has also published various articles and books dedicated to the study of liturgy.
From Diocesan Administrator to Titular Bishop
Since May 2025, he has served as diocesan administrator of Belleville, tasked with provisionally directing the diocese during the period of sede vacante. With the pontifical appointment, he now fully assumes the pastoral governance of the local Church as its bishop.
The Diocese of Belleville, located in southern Illinois, covers a territory of more than 11,000 square miles and is part of the ecclesiastical province of Saint Louis.
Reactions Following the Appointment
After the Vatican announcement became known, Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, publicly congratulated the new bishop through the social network X. “We congratulate Bishop-elect Mullen on his appointment to the Diocese of Belleville by our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV. He has distinguished himself as a university professor, capable administrator, and proven pastor, serving the People of God and the Church with humility and devotion for more than 30 years,” he wrote.
Cupich added that he trusts Mullen will be “a strong and compassionate leader for the Diocese of Belleville,” and expressed his desire to collaborate with him in the future.