Abp.-designate McKnight returning to Kansas
To be installed as archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas May 27 — Successor yet to be named for Jefferson City
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Archbishop-designate W. Shawn McKnight harbored a combination of sadness and joy in the weeks following Pope Francis’s invitation for him to be the next archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas.
He will move back to his home state and take up his new role on May 27, while the Jefferson City diocese awaits the announcement of his successor.
“You know, I hate — I HATE — to say goodbye,” he stated during an April 8 press conference in Kansas City, Kansas. “But I do love to say hello.”
The archbishop-designate has been serving this diocese as bishop since 2018.
As news of his new assignment was published by the Vatican on April 8, Archbishop-designate McKnight shared a statement of gratitude to the people here.
“You welcomed me as your bishop over seven years ago, and together we have grown in faith and service to the Lord,” he stated.
“You have been my first flock as a bishop, and that bond will always hold a special place in my heart,” he said.
He offered thanks for the people’s trust, prayers and dedication to living the Gospel in their communities here.
“As I prepare to answer this new call, please know of my abiding affection and prayers for you all,” he stated.
“I am confident that God’s providence will continue to guide and bless you in the days ahead,” he said. “You will always remain in my heart and in my prayers.”
Archbishop-designate McKnight will continue to serve as apostolic administrator of the Jefferson City diocese while preparing to be installed as archbishop in Kansas City on Tuesday, May 27.
After that time, the College of Consultors in this diocese will elect a temporary administrator to serve until a new bishop is installed after being appointed by the pope.
Archbishop-designate McKnight succeeds Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, who led the Kansas City archdiocese for 20 years until submitting to Pope Francis his request for retirement, as is required upon turning 75.
At the April 8 press conference, Archbishop-designate McKnight recalled taking a call from Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Pope’s diplomatic liaison to the United States, shortly before administering the Sacrament of Confirmation in St. Stephen Church in Indian Creek.
“When the nuncio asked me about the pope appointing me to Kansas City and how did I feel about it, I said, ‘Well, it’s my home state. Of course!’” Archbishop-designate McKnight recalled.
“Cardinal Pierre’s call was a graced moment for me, renewing my sense of being on mission, like many who have come before me,” he said.
Yet, a very isolating time for Archbishop-designate McKnight followed that call.
“You really enter into a liminal moment,” he recalled. “For two weeks, I had to keep it all to myself.
“It’s the strangest experience when you know you’ve got the call, you know it’s happening, and you’re not allowed to say anything to anyone, and you just keep going on with things,” he said.
The archbishop-designate is now acutely aware that the transition — “the leaving and the coming” — is under way.
“In this in-between time, I feel a mixture of feelings,” he said. “A homecoming has a very good feeling about it. But it is also bittersweet.”
“Fresh eyes”
Archbishop Naumann, a St. Louis native, described the Kansas City archdiocese as a big family, spread across 21 counties in northeast Kansas, with approximately 200,000 Catholics.
“Together, we’ve had some challenges,” the retiring archbishop stated. “At the same time, there have been miracles of grace happening on a daily basis in our parishes, schools and ministries. God has blessed us abundantly.”
He said a change of leadership is healthy and good.
“It brings fresh eyes to the archdiocese,” he stated. “It will bring about renewed energy. Each bishop brings unique gifts and talents to the Church.”
Archbishop Naumann spoke of Archbishop-designate McKnight’s “keen intelligence, deep faith and love for the Church,” along with his academic credentials and his experience as a Newman Center chaplain, member of a seminary faculty, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of Clergy and Consecrated Life, pastor in the Wichita diocese and bishop of Jefferson City.
“I look forward to seeing what God wants to do through him to enrich the already vibrant faith life of the archdiocese,” said Archbishop Naumann.
A time to plant
Archbishop-designate McKnight was appointed the fourth bishop of Jefferson City in November 2017 and was consecrated as a bishop and installed on Feb. 6, 2018.
In his time here, he ramped up the diocese’s pastoral planning process for parishes and deaneries, assisted in the expansion of Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri and the acquisition of its current headquarters in Jefferson City, instituted a stewardship model for carrying out the work of the parishes and funding the ministries of the diocese, deepened relationships with the overseas dioceses that send missionary priests to serve here, and oversaw the substantial renovation of the Cathedral of St. Joseph.
Archbishop-designate McKnight will now be the fifth archbishop and 12th bishop of what is now the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.
A livestream of the press conference can be found online at:
