Very Reverend Godfrey Mullen, OSB, appointed 10th bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, IL
Friday, March 13, 2026Pope Leo XIV appointed Very Reverend Godfrey Mullen, OSB, as the 10th bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, IL, on March 13, 2026.
Pope Leo XIV appointed Very Reverend Godfrey Mullen, OSB, as the 10th bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, IL, on March 13, 2026. His ordination is scheduled for May 1, 2026.
Bishop-elect Father Godfrey has led the Diocese of Belleville as diocesan administrator since May 9, 2025, after Archbishop Michael McGovern was appointed as sixth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Omaha, NE, by the late Pope Francis on March 31, 2025.
Father Godfrey was raised in the Diocese of Belleville in the town of Salem, IL. He attended Saint Meinrad College, earning a BA degree in history in 1988. He professed his vows as a Benedictine monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey on August 6, 1989.
After completing his priesthood studies at Saint Meinrad School of Theology in 1994, he was ordained a priest on June 5, 1994. He earned a Ph.D. in liturgical studies with a focus on liturgical catechesis in 2003 from The Catholic University of America.
Father Godfrey served as associate pastor of St. Benedict Parish (now Cathedral) in Evansville, IN, in 1994-95. He then became dean of lay ministry and associate director of supervised ministry at Saint Meinrad School of Theology.
Other school assignments have included director of supervised ministry, director of continuing education and the Church Leadership Center, director of the Permanent Deacon Formation Program, director of Group Accommodations, director of liturgy, associate formation dean, director of sabbaticals, and vice rector.
In 2012, he began 10 years of pastoral service in the Diocese of Evansville, IN, first as pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Huntingburg, IN, until 2013, and then as rector of St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville.
In 2022, he was appointed rector of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville, IL, his home diocese. Along with that role, he serves as diocesan administrator, director of the Office of Worship, pastor of Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady Queen of Peace Parishes, and moderator of the Curia. He served briefly as the vicar general of the Diocese in 2025.
Bishop-elect Father Godfrey will be the third monk in Saint Meinrad’s 172-year history to be named a bishop.