December 5, 2017
Pope Francis has named Bishop Barry C. Knestout – up until
now an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington – as Bishop of the
Diocese of Richmond. The announcement was publicized in Washington on December
5 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington
responded with the following statement:
“I offer
my sincere congratulations and prayerful best wishes to Bishop
Knestout on having been appointed by the Holy Father as the 13th Bishop of
the Diocese of Richmond. Having known Bishop Knestout for many
years, I have personally witnessed his pastoral zeal and administrative
skills. All who know him will attest to his faithfulness and love of
Our Lord Jesus and His Church. I look forward to working closely and
collaboratively with him as a brother bishop in the Virginia Catholic
Conference. The VCC will benefit greatly from Bishop
Knestout’s wisdom and expertise, and together we will strive
to provide leadership that will amplify the Catholic faith to the public
square.”
Biography of Bishop
Knestout:
Bishop Barry C.
Knestout was born and raised in Maryland. One of nine children, he grew up in
Bowie, Maryland, where he attended both Catholic and public schools. He
received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Maryland in
December 1984. He began his seminary studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in
Emmitsburg, Maryland in 1985 and was ordained a priest in June 1989.
After ordination to
the priesthood, Bishop Knestout served as a parochial vicar at two parishes,
St. Bartholomew in Bethesda (1989-1993) and St. Peter in Waldorf (1993-1994)
before being named priest-secretary to Cardinal James A. Hickey in 1994. He
continued in that role until the cardinal’s death in 2004, also serving as
priest-secretary to Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick in 2001 and from 2003 to
2004.
Named a Monsignor by
Pope John Paul II in 1999, Bishop Knestout was executive director of the Office
of Youth Ministry/CYO from 2001-2003 and became pastor of St. John the
Evangelist Parish in Silver Spring in 2004. In October 2006, he returned to the
central administration of the archdiocese to serve as Secretary for Pastoral
Ministry and Social Concerns. Less than two years later, in April 2007, he was
named moderator of the curia. In this role, as the “chief of staff” for the
archdiocese’s central offices, he assists Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl in managing
and overseeing all administrative affairs.
He is a Fourth
Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, a member of the Order of Malta and a
member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. He serves on
the Archdiocesan Presbyteral Council, the Archdiocesan Finance Council and the
College of Consultors. In addition, he has been a member of the Archdiocesan
Building Commission since 1991 and the Archdiocesan Sacred Arts Commission
since 1994. He is a member of the Administrative Board of the Maryland Catholic
Conference and the Episcopal Moderator of the American Catholic Correctional
Chaplains Association. He also serves as the Region IV representative on the
USCCB Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, as well as the
Episcopal Liaison to the Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference.
Pope Benedict XVI
named him auxiliary bishop of Washington and titular bishop of Leavenworth on
November 18, 2008. He was ordained a bishop by then-Archbishop Donald Wuerl on
December 29, 2008 with Bishop Francisco González Valer, S.F. and Bishop Martin
David Holley as co-consecrators.