May 5 | 2024 VOL 33 NO 9
IN THIS ISSUE PATIENTS A5 TAKING St. Mary's Legacy
Clinic expands to St. Alphonsus in Crossville
NEWS FOR B1 ALUMNI A9 ART Notre Dame High School CHRIST'S SAKE Diocesan artists are U.S. exhibit finalists
graduate returns to lead Chattanooga campus
Catholic commentary ....................... A3 Parish news ....................................... B4 Diocesan calendar ............................ B5 Columns ..........................................B6-7 Catholic schools ..........................B9-10 La Cosecha ............................Section C
‘Patterned after the person of our Lord’ Fr. Mark Beckman named diocese’s new bishop By Bill Brewer and Dan McWilliams
An East Tennessee introduction Bishop-elect Mark Beckman speaks during a press conference at the Diocese of Knoxville Chancery on May 7. The Diocese of Nashville priest was formally introduced as the Diocese of Knoxville's fourth bishop. Cathedral debut Bishop-elect Mark Beckman, standing, concelebrated Mass in the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on May 7 shortly after he was introduced as the Diocese of Knoxville's new bishop. It was the bishop-elect's first time in the cathedral, where the chair of the bishop, or the cathedra, is placed. Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, seated center, was the Mass celebrant. Deacon Sean Smith, seated left, served as deacon of the Word.
DAN MCWILLIAMS
Bishop-elect continued on page A12
GABRIELLE NOLAN
P
ope Francis reached into the ranks of Tennessee priests to select the Diocese of Knoxville’s next bishop. Bishop-elect James Mark Beckman was introduced on May 7 as the fourth shepherd of the Church in East Tennessee immediately following an announcement by the Holy Father. Bishop-elect Beckman, 61, is a priest of the Diocese of Nashville who has served as pastor of St. Henry Parish in West Nashville since 2015. He grew up in Lawrenceburg in Middle Tennessee’s Lawrence County, which borders Alabama. When ordained and installed on Friday, July 26, he will be the Diocese of Knoxville’s first bishop from Tennessee. The announcement of Bishop-elect Beckman’s appointment first came from Rome in the early morning hours of May 7, and it was formally announced soon after in Washington, D.C., by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishop-elect Beckman was then formally introduced during a morning press conference at the Diocese of Knoxville Chancery. “I am blessed and honored to accept this appointment from the Holy Father,” Bishop-elect Beckman said. “I am a native Tennessean, and I am grateful that I can continue serving the Church and now the faithful of the Diocese of Knoxville in this region that I know well and love tremendously.” Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre of the Archdiocese of Louisville will continue to lead the Diocese of Knoxville as apostolic administrator until Bishop-elect Beckman’s episcopal ordination and installation. “I have known Bishop-elect Beckman for a
Reaction to bishopelect’s appointment is fast and favorable
By Dan McWilliams
By Bill Brewer
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he 5,000 who attended the ordination of Bishop Anthony J. O’Connell and the formal establishment of the Diocese of Knoxville on Sept. 8, 1988, did not know it, but the fourth bishop of Knoxville was seated among them at the old Knoxville Convention and Exhibition Center as the first bishop was installed. As he introduced himself to the Church in East Tennessee at his opening press conference on May 7 in the Monsignor Mankel Room at the Chancery, Bishop-elect Mark Beckman recalled that day more than 35 years ago. “Back in 1988, this Diocese of Knoxville was created. I think I was a deacon or a seminarian, I can’t remember exactly at what point in the journey I was, but I remember being here for the creation of this diocese,” he said. “What a day of joy it was.” Bishop-elect Beckman could still hear Italy native Archbishop Pio Laghi, apostolic pro-nuncio to the United States and principal consecrator of Bishop O’Connell, read off the 36 counties that make up the Diocese of Knoxville. “I remember the pro-nuncio as he was calling the names of all the counties of this East Tennessee, his very rich accent,” Knoxville’s new bishop said. “And it was a joy to hear how a diocese is created and a joy to be here at its birth. So, I’ve treasured this place all of these years.” Diocese continued on page A13
GABRIELLE NOLAN
Bishop-elect Beckman’s episcopal formation has ties to East Tennessee
Making a connection Bishop-elect Mark Beckman high-fives a young man after Mass on May 7 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Diocese of Knoxville's new bishop-to-be greeted a line of Mass-goers.
ews that Nashville priest Father Mark Beckman will be the Diocese of Knoxville’s fourth bishop was met with an immediate air of familiarity and comfort by many across East Tennessee. Within minutes of Pope Francis announcing early May 7 that Father Beckman will lead the diocese, texts, e-mails, posts, and calls filled the digital landscape as East Tennesseans with connections to the pastor of St. Henry Parish in West Nashville shared the announcement. There may even have been suggestions that it’s the Volunteer State’s version of the six degrees of separation. Messages such as “Small world. ‘Bishop’ Beckman graduated with my wife’s brother,” or “Our friend who introduced us had him at Father Ryan, and he married her and her husband. She LOVES him!” and many others like those greeted Bishop-elect Beckman as he was introduced to East Tennessee as its first shepherd who is a native Tennessean. The connection reaction then took off as it was revealed that: n As a youth living in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., Mark Beckman’s pastor at Sacred Heart Church was then-Father Xavier Mankel, one of the founding priests of the Diocese of Knoxville. Connections continued on page A14