In a historic move, Pope Francis has appointed five new auxiliary bishops to the Archdiocese of Chicago, marking the first time he has named such a large number of bishops to a single archdiocese. This decision breaks the Pope’s previous record of appointing four auxiliary bishops to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in July 2023. The five newly appointed bishops are Fathers Timothy O’Malley, Lawrence J. Sullivan, José Maria Garcia Maldonado, Robert Fedek, and John S. Siemianowski.
The episcopal consecration of the five new auxiliary bishops is scheduled to take place at Holy Name Cathedral in early 2025, although the exact date has yet to be announced. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a statement providing background information on each of the newly appointed bishops. The Archdiocese of Chicago, led by Cardinal Blase Cupich, will now have a total of eight active auxiliary bishops, in addition to five retired prelates.
Cardinal Cupich expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for the appointment of the new auxiliary bishops, praising their strong records of pastoral service and fidelity to the Gospel. The Archdiocese of Chicago serves a population of nearly 6 million people, with over 2 million Catholics, covering an area of approximately 3,654 square kilometers in the state of Illinois.