The consecration of Auxiliary Bishop-elect Robert Boxie III—the first new African-American Catholic prelate in nearly a decade—will take place Tuesday, July 7, the Archdiocese of Washington has announced.
The consecration Mass will take place at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where Boxie is expected to become the nation’s youngest Catholic prelate, at just 45 years old. He will be consecrated alongside another auxiliary bishop-elect, Fr Gary Studniewski.
“This appointment represents something much bigger than me,” Boxie said at a press conference on May 1.
“It is an acknowledgment of the community where I come from, the community that has formed me in the faith, especially my family and my home parish of Sacred Heart,” he added, referring to a historically Black Catholic church in his hometown of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
“It recognizes the community I now serve, especially the students and young people at Howard University and parishioners at Immaculate Conception here in DC; and it underscores the vitality, vibrancy, and diversity of this local Church here in Washington to which I belong.”
Join us for the Episcopal Ordinations of Bishop‑elect Gary Studniewski and Bishop‑elect Robert Boxie on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at 2 p.m. @MarysShrine.
— Catholic Standard (@CathStandard) May 8, 2026
See our updated article: https://t.co/7ui5GjNqFv
Boxie, a former attorney, was ordained as a priest in 2016 and has served since 2020 as the Catholic chaplain for Howard University, one of the region’s HBCUs. Upon his appointment, he was feted by a number of national organizations as well as a fellow Louisiana native in the episcopacy.
“[This appointment] is a profound gift to our stateside Church,” said Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, an African American who was himself the youngest U.S. Catholic prelate when he was made Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans in 2007.
“As a fellow native son of Louisiana, I believe this appointment draws on Bishop-elect Boxie’s ‘priestly heart’ and his background in pastoral and social ministry with particular emphasis on vocations, young adults, and campus ministry.”
Boxie helped guide HU Bison Catholic through the COVID-19 pandemic, and his larger efforts to grow the Church’s ministry at the school have come alongside a forceful witness for social justice, which has turned heads since news broke of his appointment as a bishop.
He is one of several socially conscious priests appointed to the American episcopate since the election of Pope Leo XIV, an American who served as a close ally of Pope Francis and headed the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops before the 2025 conclave.
In an interview with OSV News last fall, Boxie lamented the ongoing scourge of racism in the United States, including segregation and the federal administration’s attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
“In a lot of ways we have made great progress, but in so many ways, I feel like we’re regressing,” Boxie said.
“It’s really frustrating—especially this moment that we’re living in… I think at its core, [DEI] what America is all about. We are a diverse nation with people from all over the world. Diversity is a good thing. Diversity is of God.”
Kimberley Heatherington
The OSV News article, published in August, reflected on the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which as of this month has been gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court via its conservative supermajority, a fruit of the first administration of President Donald Trump.
It is believed by many that the new U.S. episcopal appointments by Pope Leo XIV are a response to the need for Church leaders committed to Catholic social teaching and unmoored from the culture wars of a former era.
In a statement congratulating him on his appointment, the National Black Sisters’ Conference pointed to Boxie’s social witness as an indicator of his “deep devotion to the Gospel.”
“[He] has become a compassionate and prophetic voice within the Church through his unwavering commitment to youth outreach, racial justice, and the dignity of God's people.”
Boxie is also filling an episcopal slot in the Archdiocese of Washington that has been unofficially reserved for African Americans since the 1970s—the product of Black Catholic activism after centuries of Black men being banned from U.S. seminaries and later passed over for bishop openings. Boxie will be the fifth consecutive Black auxiliary bishop in Washington, save for brief gaps beginning in 1988 and 2016.
As such, he is effectively succeeding Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., who was appointed in 2017; his retirement was made official the same day as Boxie’s appointment. Campbell will continue to serve until July as pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Largo, Maryland—where Boxie served under his tutelage early on in his priesthood—and as president of the National Black Catholic Congress, completing a term he began in 2019.
“I saw Fr. Boxie easily learn and relate to the needs of people of the parish. He strove to become familiar with the cultural heritages of the diverse congregation of St. Joseph, with many parishioners hailing from America, the Caribbean and African nations,” said Campbell in a statement.
“Fr. Boxie worked well with the youth of the parish, organizing events, both spiritual and recreational, while engaging them in living their faith. He has developed and led the Catholic student community at Howard University into a vibrant group that prays together, centering their love of their faith at the Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Student Center.”
A member of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, Boxie has been an active promoter of African-American ministry even outside of Howard, including as a speaker at revivals and annual cultural Masses. He has promoted Black vocations with the National Black Catholic Congress, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and other groups. He is also active in pro-life causes, including the March for Life, and has advocated for the Church’s holistic “consistent life ethic.”
Ahead of his episcopal consecration, Boxie has asked the wider community for prayers as he prepares to officially step into his new role this summer.
“I pray every day—and I ask you to pray with me—that I live up to the full responsibility of this sacred duty now entrusted to me with wisdom, pastoral charity, and zeal, always relying on the help of God,” he said at this month’s press conference, while also giving a nod to his local community.
“I look forward to working with you, Cardinal McElroy, my brother bishops, my brother priests, archdiocesan staff, religious women and men, and all the lay faithful as together we bring the Good News of the Gospel and the hope of the risen Christ to all throughout the Archdiocese of Washington and beyond.”
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
