Pope Leo XIV on March 13 appointed Father Godfrey Mullen, a Benedictine monk of Indiana-based Saint Meinrad Archabbey, as bishop of Belleville, Illinois.
Bishop-elect Mullen has been serving as the diocesan administrator of Belleville since May 2025, according to the Holy See Press Office.
The archabbey issued a statement offering congratulations “with great joy” to Bishop-elect Mullen. In a separate statement, the group said he will be the third monk in St. Meinrad’s history to be named a bishop.
He has been serving as rector of the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Belleville – his home diocese – since 2022. His ordination is set for May 1.
In a statement, Bishop-elect Mullen expressed thanks to Pope Leo, who is also from Illinois, “for his confidence in calling me to shepherd this beautiful flock.”
Bishop-elect Mullen also shared that he learned about his appointment after initially missing two calls from Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who this month retired as apostolic nuncio to the U.S. Bishop-elect Mullen was hearing confessions at a parish mission in Eudora, Kansas, when the calls came in.
“The phone said ‘Apostolic Nuncio.’ I saw those missed calls after confessions and before the Vigil Mass,” Bishop-elect Mullen said. “I went on with Mass, admittedly distractedly, and returned the call after I left church that evening. I congratulated Cardinal Pierre on the announcement of his coming resignation. Then he informed me that the Holy Father had appointed me the tenth Bishop of Belleville.”
Bishop-elect Mullen said he accepts the appointment as God’s plan, but also explained that it came as a surprise to him. He said it is uncommon for a diocesan administrator to be appointed bishop of the same diocese, even though in the past 10 months he has grown more familiar with the duties of a bishop.
“As I told Cardinal Pierre, I have accepted many assignments from Abbots and Bishops under whom I have served and have nearly always grown to love those assignments. I trust that pattern will continue,” he said.
A Belleville diocese native, Bishop-elect Mullen has described himself as a son of the diocese. He expressed deep appreciation for the local Catholic communities, which he knew on a smaller scale as a young person and has lately become more widely familiar with since becoming diocesan administrator.
“The past ten months have taken me to towns in Southern Illinois where I’d never been before and in every place, there have been warm welcomes and exquisitely visible, living faith,” he said. “You all are my people. All my life, I have loved you.”
Bishop-elect Mullen has written several books and articles about the liturgy, according to a press release from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In 2003, he earned a doctorate in liturgical studies from the Catholic University of America. Before this, he earned a bachelor’s degree in history, a master’s degree in theology, and a master of divinity from St. Meinrad College in Indiana.
“My fundamental hope, after assuring the vibrancy of our central work of worshiping God in the Eucharist, is to welcome the power of the Holy Spirit again into our lives and into our parishes,” Bishop-elect Mullen said, “so that instead of fearing our future, we might be passionately focused on how we, as joyful Disciples of our Savior Jesus, can build His Kingdom in this place and thrive to His glory and honor.”