Pope Francis has named Father Michael G. McGovern, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago as Bishop-elect of Belleville, Illinois. He replaces Bishop Edward K. Braxton, 75, who resigned.
Bishop-elect McGovern was born on August 1, 1964, and ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 1994, for the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Father McGovern graduated from Loyola University, Chicago, in 1990, and holds a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology from the University of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois. His assignments in the Archdiocese of Chicago after ordination include: Associate Pastor of Queen of the University Parish (1995-1998) and St. Mary Parish (1998-1999); Associate Chancellor (1998-1999); Vice Chancellor (1999-2000); and Archbishop’s Delegate for Extern and International Priests (2000-2002). Father McGovern has also served as Associate Pastor of St. Juliana Parish (2003-2004), Pastor of St. Mary Parish (2004-2016) and as Dean of one of the deaneries of the archdiocese since 2007. He is currently Pastor of St. Raphael the Archangel Parish where he has served since 2016.
The Diocese of Belleville is comprised of 11,678 square miles in the State of Illinois and has a total population of 841,814 of which 90,968 are Catholic.
Bishop-elect McGovern sent the following video message to the people of Belleville as an alternative to an in-person gathering in light of the coronavirus:
