Pope Francis appoints 5 auxiliary bishops, experienced as pastors, for Chicago

CHICAGO (OSV News) -- The number of active auxiliary bishops in the Archdiocese of Chicago has more than doubled with Pope Francis' appointment of five Chicago-area priests to the position. All of the bishops-designate have experience pastoring a parish, and nearly all of them are current pastors.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced the new assignments Dec. 20, the same day Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio to the U.S., made them public.

The Chicago Archdiocese said in a statement the five will be ordained to the episcopacy in early 2025 at a date to be announced later. They include: Bishop-designate Timothy J. O'Malley, pastor of Most Blessed Trinity Parish in Waukegan, north of Chicago; Bishop-designate Lawrence J. Sullivan, pastor of Christ the King Parish on Chicago's Southside; Bishop-designate José María Garcia-Maldonado, pastor of St. Jose Sanchez del Rio Parish on Chicago's Northwest Side; Bishop-designate John S. Siemianowski, pastor of St. Juliana Parish on Chicago's Northside; and Bishop-designate Robert M. Fedek, administrative secretary to Chicago Cardinal Cupich.

In a statement, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Chicago's archbishop, expressed gratitude to Pope Francis for the "gift of these new auxiliary bishops."

"Each has a solid and notable record of pastoral service rooted in their shared fidelity to the Gospel and their generosity in using their unique gifts for the good of the church and society," he said.

Bishop-designate O'Malley, 65, was an accountant and then a lawyer for a total of seven years before entering Mundelein Seminary in the Chicago suburbs in 1992. He was ordained a priest of the archdiocese in 1997 and has served in five parishes both in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. Last year Cardinal Cupich cited Father O'Malley, who has 10 living brothers and sisters, for helping to lead a gun buy-back program in the Chicago area that netted 166 guns including an Uzi.

Bishop-designate Sullivan received a bachelor's in political science from the now-closed Niles College Seminary at Loyola University in Chicago and a master's in theology at Mundelein Seminary. He has a Master of Science in ecclesial management from The Catholic University of America in Washington. He serves as interim episcopal vicar of the archdiocese's Vicariate VI, while temporarily heading Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

In April 2021, Father Sullivan was asked to step aside from priestly duties after a woman accused him and another young man, when he was 18, of attacking her with the intent of sexually assaulting her about 40 years ago. The woman made the claims in a TikTok video, saying she was 17 at the time.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, the priest -- now 58 -- sent an email to parishioners at Christ the King admitting he made "unwelcome verbal comments" to a young woman who was a restaurant worker in 1984, when he was 18 and about to enter seminary. But he denied any physical assault or interaction took place. The priest wrote that he was "ashamed (then and now) and deeply sorry" for what he said to the woman, and had informed the archdiocese about the video.

About a month later, Cardinal Cupich reinstated Father Sullivan saying the allegations could not be substantiated after an investigator made "multiple unsuccessful attempts to obtain information from the accuser" in an investigation that was "thoroughly reviewed" by the archdiocese. The cardinal also noted that Father Sullivan both "fully cooperated with the investigation" and "steadfastly reaffirmed the imperative for us as a Church to keep the protection and safety of our children as our priority."

Bishop-designate Garcia-Maldonado, 45, was born in a town in Jalisco, Mexico, where he attended minor seminary. In 2001 he emigrated to the U.S. and a year later joined the now-suspended Casa Jesus program of the Chicago Archdiocese, which was designed to recruit men from Latin American countries who were discerning the priesthood. (Cardinal Cupich halted the program in 2016 following a local TV investigative report on allegations about inappropriate relationships between men and allegedly lax enforcement of living celibacy with moral integrity.)

Bishop-designate Garcia-Maldonado received a Master of Divinity from Mundelein Seminary. He was ordained in 2008. Among his multiple assignments in the diocese, Father Garcia-Maldonado was director of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Illinois, from 2010-2011, and administrator of Our Lady of Tepayac in Chicago in 2018.

Bishop-designate Siemianowski was a Catholic school teacher for two years before entering Mundelein Seminary. He completed a Masters in Divinity and was ordained in 1989. A Chicago native, the 64-year-old has been a priest with the diocese for 35 years. His pastoral assignments have been in Chicago and both its northern and southern suburbs. One assignment at St. Agnes Parish in the south suburb of Chicago Heights lasted nearly 25 years, where he received a standing ovation from his parishioners at his last Mass.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Father Siemianowski ultimately took a new assignment at St. Juliana Parish, when he recognized that St. Agnes -- which was set to combine with two other predominantly Spanish-speaking churches -- now needed a parish priest capable of counseling them in their primary language.

Bishop-designate Fedek, a native of Poland, attended the Krakow Archdiocese's theological seminary from 1998 to 2001. After that, he continued his studies at Bishop Abramowicz Seminary in Chicago for Polish men discerning the priesthood. He completed his Master of Divinity at Mundelein Seminary in 2005, when he was ordained to the priesthood. Father Fedek, 45, had three pastoral assignments -- including 10 years as a pastor -- in Chicago and the suburb of Mundelein. He is in residence at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.

Only three of the Chicago Archdiocese's six vicariates are currently filled by active auxiliary bishops. Auxiliary bishops are appointed by the pope to head those vicariates.

On Nov. 4, the Vatican announced Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey S. Grob of Chicago's Northside and nearby suburbs -- and a Wisconsin native -- was appointed archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He will be installed archbishop Jan. 14.

The Chicago Archdiocese said in a news release the five bishops-designate will remain in their present assignments until it announces the specific changes in their archdiocesan roles.