The Holy See Press Office announced that Father James Mark Beckman, 61, will be installed as the new bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, following former Bishop Richard Stika’s resignation last year. The installation will occur in July.
The bishopric since June 2023 has been under the care of Louisville Archbishop Shelton Fabre, who has served as apostolic administrator following Stika’s departure that month.
Beckman, a Tennessee native, has been a priest with the Diocese of Nashville since his ordination on 13 July 1990. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from St. Ambrose College in 1984 and a master’s degree in religious studies from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium in 1988.
Since his ordination to the priesthood, Beckman has served in a variety of pastoral and educational roles in the Nashville Diocese.
He was assigned as associate pastor of Holy Rosary Church near Nashville and taught at the city’s Father Ryan High School, where he served as associate principal for pastoral affairs.
He subsequently served at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Springfield and St. Michael Mission Church in Cedar Hill. For several years he also served as director of the Diocesan Youth Office.
Beckman’s appointment comes after a tumultuous few years in the eastern Tennessee diocese.