Kevin William Vann (born May 10, 1951) is an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Orange in Southern California since 2012. Vann previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth in Texas from 2005 to 2012. Vann is the ecclesiastical delegate for the

Pastoral Provision The Pastoral Provision is a set of practices and norms in the Catholic Church in the United States, by which bishops are authorized to provide spiritual care for Catholics converting from the Anglican tradition, by establishing parishes for them a ...

for former

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Early life and education

The eldest of six children, Kevin Vann was born on May 10, 1951, in Springfield,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, to William and Theresa (née Jones) Vann. William was a

postal worker A postal worker is one who works for a post office, such as a mail carrier. In the U.S., postal workers are represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL–CIO, National Postal Mail Handlers Union – NPMHU, the National Associ ...

and Theresa a nurse and clinical instructor at St. John's Hospital in Springfield. After graduating from Griffin High School in Springfield, Vann entered Springfield College. In 1974, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in

medical technology Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of liv ...

from

Millikin University Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Millikin was initially esta ...

in Decatur, Illinois. After graduating from Millikin, Vann worked as a medical technologist at St. John's Hospital. In 1976, after deciding to become a priest, Vann entered the Immaculate Conception Diocesan Seminary in Springfield. He then went to Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri one year later, finishing there in 1981

Priesthood

Vann was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois by Bishop Joseph McNicholas at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield on May 30, 1981. After his 1981 ordination, Vann traveled to Rome to the seminary at the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Prie ...

. He was awarded a

Doctor of Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law (, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD or dr.iur.can. (''Iuris Can ...

degree from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome in early 1985. After Vann's return to Springfield in 1985, the diocese assigned him as parochial vicar at Blessed Sacrament Parish. During this time, he served as judge,

defender of the bond A defender of the bond ( or ''defensor matrimonii'') is a Catholic Church official whose duty is to defend the marriage bond in the procedure prescribed for the hearing of matrimonial causes which involve the validity or nullity of a marriage a ...

, and procurator on the diocesan tribunal from 1985 to 1994, also serving on the metropolitan court of appeals for the Province of Chicago. Between 1989 and 1990, Vann was also parochial administrator of St. Mary Parish in

Pittsfield, Illinois Pittsfield is a city in and the county seat of Pike County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,206 at the 2020 census, a decrease from 4,576 in 2010. History Pittsfield was initially settled by settlers from New England. These sett ...

, Holy Redeemer Parish in

Barry, Illinois Barry is a city in Pike County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,303 at the 2020 census. History Barry was previously known as Worcester, which was platted in 1836. In 1839, residents petitioned to establish a post office, but b ...

, and Holy Family Parish in Griggsville, Illinois. Vann was

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of St. Benedict Parish in

Auburn, Illinois Auburn is a city in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,771 at the 2010 census, and 4,681 in 2018. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Auburn was originally platted in 18 ...

(1990–1992) and later of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

(1992–2001). While serving at Our Lady of Lourdes, he was also: *

Judicial vicar In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official () is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court. Although the diocesan bishop can reserve certain cases to himself, ...

for the Inter-diocesan Tribunal of Second Instance for the Province of Chicago (1994–2005) * Parochial administrator of St. Isidore Parish in

Bethany, Illinois Bethany is a village in Moultrie County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,255 at the 2020 census, down from 1,352 in 2010. Geography Bethany is in western Moultrie County along Illinois Route 121, which runs along the northern and ...

, Sacred Heart Parish in Dalton City (1995–1997), and Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Parish in

Mount Zion Mount Zion (, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; , ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City to the south. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David ( ...

(1995) * Dean of the Decatur

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

from 1996 to 2001 * Bishop's contact for the

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

ministry in 1999 Vann also taught canon law at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. Vann became pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in 2001. During his tenure at Blessed Sacrament, he oversaw a $2.2 million capital campaign for refurbishing the church, as part of its 75th anniversary celebration. In addition to his pastoral duties, he was also named

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

for clergy in the

diocesan chancery A diocesan chancery is the branch of administration that handles all written documents used in the official government of a Catholic, Anglican, or Orthodox diocese. It is in the diocesan chancery that, under the direction of the bishop or his r ...

. The Vatican elevated Vann to the rank of honorary chaplain on February 19, 2002.

Coadjutor bishop and Bishop of Fort Worth

On May 17, 2005, Vann was appointed

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of Fort Worth by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

to assist Bishop Joseph Delaney, who was in poor health. Delaney died on July 12, 2005, the day before Vann was to be consecrated as coadjutor bishop. The episcopal ordination went on as scheduled, and on July 13, 2005, Vann was consecrated as Bishop of Fort Worth. Archbishop José Gómez served as his consecrator, with Archbishop Raymond Burke and Bishop

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

serving as co-consecrators, at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth. Vann selected as his episcopal motto ''In Fide Et Dileccione In Christo Iesu'', "In the faith and love in Christ Jesus".

Bishop of Orange

On September 21, 2012,

appointed Vann as Bishop of Orange to succeed the retiring Bishop Tod Brown. Vann was installed on December 10, 2012. In July 2019, Vann dedicated Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. Originally serving as the

Crystal Cathedral Christ Cathedral (Latin: ''Cathedralis Christi''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Catedral de Cristo''; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ''Nhà Thờ Chính Tòa Chúa Kitô''), formerly the Crystal Cathedral, is an American church building in Ga ...

, the diocese purchased the building in early 2012 from the bankrupt

Robert Schuller Robert Harold Schuller (September 16, 1926 – April 2, 2015) was an American Christian televangelist, pastor, motivational speaker, and author. Over five decades, Schuller pastored his church in Garden Grove, California starting in 1955. The ...

ministries. On November 1, 2020, Vann sued the former administrator of the Orange Catholic Foundation. Vann claimed that the administrator had defamed him by suggesting Vann wanted to obtain funds from the foundation for

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

relief, but actually use them for sex abuse claims against the diocese. Vann speaks

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

. Within the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...

(USCCB), Vann has been a member of the committees on marriage, family life, laity and youth, and the subcommittee on marriage and family life.

Viewpoints

Abortion

In 2004, Vann said that he would be "reticent" in giving communion to US Senator

Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Dem ...

( D- IL), a former parishioner at Blessed Sacrament, whose "pro-choice position puts him really outside of communion or unity with the Church's teachings on life". During the

2008 US presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John Mc ...

, Vann and Bishop

Kevin Farrell Kevin Joseph Farrell (born 2 September 1947) is an Irish-born American Catholic prelate who has served as the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life since 2016, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church since 2019, and presiden ...

issued a joint statement in which they declared that

"We cannot make more clear the seriousness of the overriding issue of abortion—while not the only issue—it is the defining moral issue, not only today, but of the last 35 years ... As Catholics we are morally obligated to pray, to act, and to vote to abolish the evil of abortion in America."

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange official website

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vann, Kevin William 1951 births Living people Benedictine University at Springfield alumni Millikin University alumni Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Kenrick–Glennon Seminary alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Springfield in Illinois Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois Religious leaders from Illinois Catholics from Illinois 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre