At the end of the Mass for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity at St. Joseph Parish in Largo, Maryland on May 31, parishioners lined the center aisle waiting to greet Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., their pastor for the past 16 years.
Some embraced him. Others lingered for conversation. Many spoke about him less as an administrator or bishop and more as someone who had walked with them through illness, grief, conversion and family milestones.
“He has a heart of gold,” said parishioner Vanetta Wallace, who has known Bishop Campbell since he was a layman at St. Gabriel Parish in Washington. “He’s always been the same humble, caring person, whether he was a priest or a bishop.”
On May 1, Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Campbell from the office of auxiliary bishop of Washington. Bishop Campbell, who is now 78, had submitted his resignation to the pope in 2022 when he turned 75. Following his ordination as an auxiliary bishop of Washington in 2017, he remained as the pastor of St. Joseph Parish, where he began serving in 2010. While retiring from his role as an auxiliary bishop, he is continuing to serve as the pastor of St. Joseph Parish.
During his homily, Bishop Campbell reflected on the unity of the Holy Trinity and God’s desire to draw humanity into divine life through Jesus Christ.
“God wants us to be with Him, to be united, to be one with the Holy Trinity,” he said.
Preaching on the Gospel reading from John 3:16-18, Bishop Campbell spoke about suffering, love and Christian witness.
“Today we proclaim our faith in Christ by how we live our lives, by the compassion, the charity and the love that we show to each other,” he said. “Those actions will proclaim the Gospel to those who seek the true divine God more than any words we can speak.”
For many parishioners, those themes reflected the way they have experienced his priesthood.
Cassie Perry, who entered the Catholic Church at St. Joseph in 2017, said Bishop Campbell accompanied her family through her husband’s terminal illness and later helped guide her through grief after his death.
“He is my spiritual father,” Perry said.
A former Baptist, Perry said she had planned to return to her original church before what she described as a moment of prayer and discernment changed her path.
“I can’t say that I decided,” she said. “I can say that God put it in my heart. He directed me.”
After the death of her husband, Melvin Griffin Perry, she said Bishop Campbell twice encouraged her to join the parish bereavement ministry.
“And I have to tell you in truth, that’s when I started to heal in my grief,” Perry said. “That’s when I really started to heal.”
Melodie Atkinson, a parishioner for nearly 30 years, said Bishop Campbell arrived at St. Joseph during a painful moment in the parish’s history following the death of the previous pastor.
“He was very open, very comforting to the people who were here,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson recalled that three years ago, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, Bishop Campbell offered to anoint her before surgery. The anointing took place after Mass on the Feast of the Visitation surrounded by members of the parish Sodality.
“I had no idea they were coming,” she said. “It was just so beautiful.”
Now cancer free, Atkinson called him “a wonderful pastor.”
Longtime parishioner Margaret Abney, who has belonged to St. Joseph, since she was in the third or fourth grade, said Bishop Campbell became woven into the life of the parish.
“It’s going to be different when he leaves,” Abney said. “Because he’s part of the woodwork here.”
Katia Howell said Bishop Campbell played a central role in her family’s conversion to Catholicism after years of conversations with him as pastor.
“He brought me into the religion,” Howell said.
Originally from Panama, Howell said Bishop Campbell had been present for Baptisms, Confirmations and major moments in her family’s life.
“I would never want him to retire,” she said. “But I’m happy he happened in my life.”
Stephen Joy, who grew up with Bishop Campbell, recalled how the pair rode bikes and motorcycles together as children and teenagers.
“We knew he was religious growing up,” Joy said. “But when he decided, ‘I’m going to the priesthood,’ it was like, ‘Yeah, that makes sense.’”
Joy said Bishop Campbell helped shape the parish into the welcoming community it is today by encouraging wider participation in parish life and helping bring together parishioners from different backgrounds.
He pointed to the parish’s music ministry and the sense of community that developed under Bishop Campbell’s leadership.
“A lot of changes that needed to happen here, he helped make them happen,” Joy said.
Vanetta Wallace said Bishop Campbell also had a gift for recognizing potential in people before they saw it in themselves. She recalled that he chose her to chair the parish’s 100th anniversary celebration, something she said she never imagined herself capable of leading.
“And he trusted me, and I loved that,” Wallace said.
During his homily, Bishop Campbell reflected on the meaning of Christian community and the call to share in God’s life together.
“True love exists only when we share ourselves with each other,” he said.
For many at St. Joseph, that kind of love is the ministry they said Bishop Campbell has shown to them, teaching from the altar and living beside them in parish life.
