My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 

June 22, 2025, marks the 15^th anniversary of my Installation as the Ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. I will celebrate the 10 o’clock Mass at our Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield that morning, which will include our Corpus Christi Procession after Mass, followed by a reception in our Cathedral Atrium. All are invited.  

If I were asked to name my most memorable highlights of the past 15 years, I would definitely put at the top of my list the fact that I have ordained 40 priests for our diocese! To put that in perspective, we currently have 99 priests ordained for our diocese, 75 of whom are assigned to parishes or specialized ministries, 22 are senior priests, and two are on leave of absence. Not only is the number of men ordained significant, but also it must be noted that they are very fine priests. This ratio is about the same as when I came in 2010, which means that we have kept pace with deaths and retirements.

Another highlight of the past 15 years was our Fourth Diocesan Synod that we held in 2017, truly an experience of synodality, as this year-long consultation included representatives from each of our 129 parishes in our diocese. At this Diocesan Synod, we adopted our current mission statement, which says that the “mission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is to build a fervent community of intentional and dedicated missionary disciples of the Risen Lord and steadfast stewards of God’s creation who seek to become saints. Accordingly, the community of Catholic faithful in this diocese is committed to the discipleship and stewardship way of life as commanded by Christ Our Savior and as revealed by Sacred Scripture and Tradition.” To further this mission, the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is committed to implementing the Four Pillars of Discipleship and Stewardship, namely, hospitality, prayer, formation, and service.

Our Diocesan Eucharistic Congress with 5,000 people at the Convention Center in Springfield in October 2023 was a noteworthy historical event. Then in the summer of 2024, the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage came through our diocese on its way to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July 2024.

While I cannot list all of the Masses I celebrated for confirmation and first holy Communion, as well as the many parishes’ pastoral visits I made, these are momentous occasions that have a special place in my heart as well. Over the years, I also enjoyed teaching as an adjunct professor at Loyola University School of Law in Chicago, Notre Dame Law School in South Bend, Ind., Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Fla., and the Oakley School of Business at Quincy University in Quincy.

Looking to the future, I hope that I will be able to serve the Church in various ways even after I turn 75 in 2027. I look forward to celebrating several special anniversaries in 2028: the 175^th anniversary of our diocese, the 100^th anniversary of our Cathedral, the 50^th anniversary of my ordination as a priest, and the 25^th anniversary of my ordination as a bishop!

Recently I was given an additional task as President Donald Trump appointed me to serve as a member of the Religious Leaders Advisory Board for the President’s Religious Liberty Commission. Joining me on this advisory board are Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco,  Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, and Father Thomas Ferguson, a parish priest at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Alexandria, Va., who has a doctorate in government, along with leaders of other faith traditions. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York and Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota were appointed to serve on the commission itself.

According to President Trump’s Executive Order establishing the Religious Liberty Commission on May 1, 2025, “The Commission shall produce a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America, the impact of religious liberty on American society, current threats to domestic religious liberty, strategies to preserve and enhance religious liberty protections for future generations, and programs to increase awareness of and celebrate America’s peaceful religious pluralism. … The Commission shall advise the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council on religious liberty policies of the United States.” Members appointed to the Commission shall serve one term ending on July 4, 2026, which marks the 250^th anniversary of American Independence. 

The need for such a commission to protect religious liberty can be seen in the recent failed attempt of the State of Wisconsin to deny tax-exempt status to the Catholic Charities Bureau of the Diocese of Superior, claiming that they were not sufficiently religious in purpose. Fortunately, the United States Supreme Court on June 5  in a unanimous decision overturned the Wisconsin Supreme Court, thus restoring tax-exempt status to the Catholic Charities Bureau of the Diocese of Superior. In the Supreme Court’s 9-0 decision, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that Wisconsin violated the Constitution by “impos[ing] a denominational preference by differentiating between religions based on theological choices.”

While this decision of the United States Supreme and the new Religious Liberty Commission are important steps to protecting religious liberty, we must remain vigilant to protect the free exercise of religion.

May God give us this grace. Amen.