John Stowe

Bishop John Stowe

Bishop John Stowe of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington Kentucky

His Excellency, The Most Reverend John Eric Stowe O.F.M. Conv.
Bishop of Lexington
Archdiocese	Louisville
Diocese	Lexington
Appointed	March 12, 2015
Installed	May 5, 2015
Predecessor	Ronald William Gainer
Orders
Ordination	September 16, 1995 by Alexander James Quinn
Consecration	May 5, 2015 by Joseph Edward Kurtz, Armando Xavier Ochoa, and Gabriel Enrique Montero Umaña
Personal details
Born	(1966-04-15) April 15, 1966 Amherst, Ohio
Nationality	American
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Parents	John & Lucy Stowe
Alma mater	Saint Louis University Jesuit School of Theology
Motto	"ANNUNTIAMUS VERBUM VITAE" (We Announce the Word of Life)

Styles of John Eric Stowe
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

John Eric Stowe, O.F.M. Conv., (born April 15, 1966) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church currently serving as the third Bishop of the Diocese of Lexington in Kentucky.

Biography

Stowe was born in Amherst, Ohio, on April 15, 1966 to John and Lucy Stowe and grew up in Lorain, Ohio. After graduating from Lorain Catholic High School in 1984, he was admitted as a candidate to the Province of Our Lady of Consolation of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, founded by St. Francis of Assisi. When he had completed his Novitiate year and been admitted to the Order, he was sent to study at Saint Louis University in Missouri for his higher studies, from which he graduated with a double major in both history and philosophy. He was then allowed to profess solemn vows in the Order on August 1, 1992.

Stowe then chose to pursue his seminary studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California. He received the degrees of Master of Divinity and a Licentiate of Sacred Theology, having emphasized in the study of Church history. He was then ordained as a priest on September 16, 1995. After this, he was assigned by his Province to serve in parishes in El Paso, Texas.

In 2002, Stowe was invited by the Bishop of El Paso to manage the Diocesan Chancery and to serve as his Vicar General. He was later appointed as the Chancellor of the Diocese. In 2010, he was elected to serve his Province as the Vicar Provincial. He was soon also named Rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio, which is administered by the Friars of the Province.

Bishop of Lexington

On March 12, 2015, Pope Francis appointed Stowe bishop of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky. He was installed as Ordinary of the Diocese at the Cathedral of Christ the King on May 5, 2015. He received his Episcopal Consecration from Archbishop Joseph Kurtz with Bishops Armando Ochoa and Gabriel Enrique Montero Umaña serving as Co-Consecrators.

In February, 2018, Bishop Stowe joined the Pax Christi USA Board as their Episcopal President.

Bishop Stowe immediately and publicly condemned Nick Sandmann for racism during the 2019 March for Life rally in Washington, D.C. While other Catholic leaders quickly apologized for their erroneous rush to judgment and retracted their comments after full videos emerged that showed that Mr. Sandmann had not acted inappropriately, media sources state that Bishop Stowe issued an apology. Mr. Sandmann settled multi-million dollar defamation cases against CNN and the Washington Post connected with the incident.

See also

• Catholic Church hierarchy
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• List of Catholic bishops of the United States
• Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington Official Site