Appointments: Vann to diocese of Orange, California
(Vatican Radio) – On Friday Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Kevin W. Vann to the
diocese of Orange, California (U.S.A.). Formerly the Bishop of Fort Worth, he succeeds
Bishop Tod D. Brown.
The diocese of Orange dates back to 1776. It has a total
Catholic population of 1,280,159 with 177 active priests, diocesan and religious,
in 57 parishes spread out over 900 square kilometres along the south California coastline.
Bishop
Vann was born on May 10, 1951 in Springfield, Illinois. The oldest of six children,
he is a graduate of Springfield’s St. Agnes Grade and Griffin High Schools. He attended
Springfield College and earned a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from Millikin
University, Illinois. After working three years as a medical technologist, he entered
the seminary in l976, spending a year at the Immaculate Conception Diocesan Seminary
in Springfield and four years at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, majoring
in theology. After his ordination on May 30, l981, he was assigned to graduate
studies in Canon Law at the Angelicum in Rome. Upon returning to the Diocese of Springfield
in Illinois, Bishop Vann was involved in the work of the Diocesan Tribunal and the
Tribunal of Second Instance in Chicago. He served as pastor of parishes ranging in
size from 35 to 1,300 families, two of which had large schools. He taught Canon Law
at Kenrick Seminary. Before he was named bishop, he was pastor of Blessed Sacrament
Parish in Springfield, Vicar for Priests, and the Diocesan contact for Hispanic Ministry.
He celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination in 2006. Bishop Vann formerly
led the Texas Conference of Bishops and provided leadership for various initiatives
at the national level, including service on ad hoc committee which is assisting the
Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) to guide the incorporation
of Anglican groups into the Catholic Church of the United States, as USSCB Episcopal
Liaison to the Catholic Health Association, as a member of the USCCB Committee on
Migration. Bishop Vann is the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith’s Ecclesiastical
Delegate for the Pastoral Provision in the United States. Bishop Vann collaborates
with Catholic Diocese of Dallas Bishop Kevin Farrell on the annual University of Dallas
Ministry Conference, one of the major ministry conferences in the United States.