April 8, 2025

Dear Friends,

As many of you know by now, on March 31 our Holy Father Pope Francis appointed me Archbishop of Omaha. I am humbled by this appointment and pledge to do my best in fulfilling the responsibilities of the new assignment.

Today I want to express my thanks to the clergy and faithful of the Belleville Diocese for your support and the ways you have shared your faith with me during the past five years. The spring of 2020 was a challenging time to begin as your bishop, given the pandemic and the restrictions we followed in order to avoid spreading the COVID-19 virus.

Despite the pandemic, the ordination liturgy on July 22, 2020, was joyful, and I was grateful for the presence of so many bishops, priests, deacons and lay faithful.

During these years, I have been blessed by the spirit of hope among our people. I have appreciated the widespread support for the promotion of vocations; the St. Andrew dinners have been a particular joy. The generous commitment and support for our Catholic schools and PSR programs has been a bright light in our parishes. I have always enjoyed visiting our Catholic schools, PSR and OCIA programs. It is so important that we share our Catholic faith with new people.

I have been proud to see the growth of the St. Anne Cradle of Hope in Carbondale. It is edifying to see the number of volunteers and generous donors who support this outreach to assist pregnant women and mothers. I am grateful to all who are actively praying and working to promote a culture of life in southern Illinois.

The Eucharistic Revival in June of 2024 was one of the biggest undertakings during my years with you. The events at St. Augustine in East St. Louis, the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows and the Cathedral of St. Peter during our Emmaus Days have a special place in my heart and my memory. The presence of 1,500 people at the shrine, despite the oppressive summer heat, in order to worship our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament spoke volumes about the deep faith of our people.

I hope that our work in developing a diocesan vision in Servants on Christ’s Mission will help chart a course for the future of the Church in our 28 counties. My prayers to God are filled with gratitude for all of you, and I trust that our Holy Father will send a new bishop to you who will continue to walk together with you on this beautiful journey of faith.

I have enjoyed writing this column for the past five years. I hope it has been a help to you, our readers, in some way. I hope to write one more column before concluding in the Belleville Diocese and moving to Omaha. In the meantime, let us remember one another in prayer.
 In Christ,

Bishop Michael McGovern