Just hours after they were named by Pope Leo XIV on May 1 as new auxiliary bishops for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, Bishop-elect Gary R. Studniewski and Bishop-elect Robert P. Boxie III expressed their surprise and their gratitude at their appointments.
Also on May 1, it was announced that Pope Leo had appointed Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar as the new bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, which serves the entire state of West Virginia; and the pope accepted the resignation of Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr. from the office of auxiliary bishop of Washington. Bishop Campbell, who is now 78, as required by canon law had submitted his resignation to the pope in 2022 when he turned 75.
Speaking at a press conference at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in Hyattsville, Maryland, Bishop-elect Studniewski said, “My first love has always been this Church … (and) I certainly accept this office humbly,” adding that he was eager to support Cardinal McElroy and “my brother priests” in service to the people of this archdiocese.
Bishop-elect Boxie said he was “overwhelmed and deeply humbled but grateful” for his appointment and added that “to say this is unexpected is an understatement.”
Both new bishops are priests of the Archdiocese of Washington. Bishop-elect Studniewski serves as the pastor at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C. Bishop-elect Boxie serves as the Catholic chaplain at Howard University in Washington.
They were joined at the press conference by Washington Cardinal Robert W. McElroy; Auxiliary Bishop Juan Esposito-Garcia, the Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington; and Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr.
Offering congratulations to the new auxiliary bishops, Cardinal McElroy called the appointments “a great day of joy for the Archdiocese of Washington.”
He said the appointments show “the Holy Father’s continuing provision, care and love for this local Church.”
“The pope has given us two wonderful, wonderful leaders for our local Church,” Cardinal McElroy said, adding the new bishops “will serve as collaborators with me and servants to the people of this local Church.”
Speaking to the new bishops directly, the cardinal told them that “for the people of Washington as a whole, the two of you will be a grace.”
The cardinal praised Bishop-elect Studniewski’s “pastoral skills and energy,” and called him “a man of faith … who has accomplished great things.”
“He stands for what the priesthood should be, and I am very, very grateful to have him by my side,” Cardinal McElroy said.
Bishop-elect Boxie, Cardinal McElroy said, “stands among us as a voice of faith and proclamation of the Gospel, with evangelizing zeal.” He said the new auxiliary bishop “brings the gift of outreach to youth, which there is no greater need in this archdiocese.”
Calling Bishop-elect Boxie a leader of renewal and enhancement of our Black (Catholic) community,” Cardinal McElroy told him that “God will do great things to you and through you.”
Speaking of his 18-year service as a chaplain in the U.S. Army – he retired from the military in 2014 with the rank of colonel – Bishop-elect Studniewski told those at the press conference that “ my miliary experience has taught me how to follow orders.”
“There is a prayer I love: ‘Holy Spirit, tell me what I should do. Give me your orders.’ A military man likes that,” Bishop-elect Studniewski said “I want to follow the lead of the Spirit.”
Bishop-elect Studniewski, a native of Toledo, Ohio said that it was while working in the District that “I fell in love with the Church of Washington in 1987.”
“I was blessed to encounter the diversity of the Church in Washington,” he said, adding that “I relished meeting this diverse population so united in love of the Church.”
Bishop-elect Studniewski said he has also taken inspiration from 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection.”
“‘My grace is enough for you’ I have taken as my episcopal motto,” the bishop-elect said. “Time after time, when the Lord calls me, I don’t always understand, but I always say ‘yes,’ and the grace follows.”
Asked about one of the Archdiocese of Washington’s goals for pastoral action that resonates with him, Bishop-elect Studniewski said that as a bishop, he is especially interested in inspiring the faithful to be “missionary disciples” who have a calling “not only to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but also to bring others into that relationship.”
“It is not just about personal faith. Christ has a body – the Church, ” Bishop-elect Studniewski said. “Many people go to Mass faithfully, but they do not realize that they are sent on mission. We are trying to create a shift in understanding: we are all called to be leaders, to evangelize, and to help others encounter Christ.”
Bishop-elect Boxie also said he looks forward to “working with Cardinal McElroy, my brother bishops, my brother priests, archdiocesan staff, religious women and men, and all the lay faithful as together we bring the Good News of the Gospel and the hope of the Risen Christ to all throughout the Archdiocese of Washington and beyond.”
He added that his appointment is “an acknowledgement of the community that I come from and that has formed me in the faith, especially my family and my home parish; it recognizes the community I now serve, especially the students and young people at Howard University and parishioners at Immaculate Conception here in D.C.; and it underscores the vitality, vibrancy, and diversity of this local Church here in Washington to which I belong.”
Bishop-elect Boxie who has served as the Catholic chaplain at Howard University since 2020, said that his experience there will guide him in his ministry as a bishop.
“This is one of our pastoral priorities for the archdiocese – to reach out to our young people and young adults,” Bishop-elect Boxie said. “I have been at the intersection of that these past several years at Howard, and it has made me very sensitive to the needs and concerns of young people.”
He said it will be a priority of his ministry to address the questions of “How does the message of the Church speak to young people in this generation today? How do we make the Church relevant to their lives today?”
He said his message to young people is that “they belong in the Church – in all aspects of the Church.”
“In leadership roles, in religious life, in the priesthood, in lay leadership, in our schools, in our parishes, there is a place for our young people everywhere,” Bishop-elect Boxie said. “This is not just the Church for bishops. This is not just the Church for archdiocesan officials. This is not just a Church for those in Rome. This is the Church for everybody. And our young people are an integral part of it.”
The appointments of the new auxiliary bishops was met with “tremendous joy and elation” by Bishop Campbell after the pope accepted his resignation from the office of auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington.
Bishop Campbell, the longtime pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Largo, Maryland, noted that as a newly ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Washington from 2017-2020, the future Bishop Boxie served as a parochial vicar with him there. He added that he also has worked with Bishop-elect Studniewski over the years, including celebrating Confirmations at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, where the new bishop has served as pastor since 2022.
“I have seen your ministry and how much people love you,” Bishop Campbell told the new auxiliary bishops. “You could not have two better men called to serve as bishops.”
