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Godfrey Mullen

Bishop of Belleville

Bishop

1966

1994

Ordained

2026

Consecrated Bishop

Belleville

Diocese

United States

Country

The Life

Godfrey Mullen was born on January 22, 1966, in Salem, Illinois, and his family moved into the Diocese of Belleville when he was nine months old, so southern Illinois is the Church he has known all his life. He went to Saint Meinrad in Indiana for his formation - a bachelor's degree in history in 1988 and graduate degrees in theology - and stayed to become a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, making his solemn profession on August 15, 1992. He was ordained a priest on June 5, 1994.

His gift was the liturgy: a doctorate in liturgical studies from the Catholic University of America in 2003, years teaching liturgy at Saint Meinrad, and articles and books on the subject. Parish work followed - a year at St. Mary in Huntingburg, then nine years as rector of St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville - before he came home to Belleville in 2022 as rector of the Cathedral of St. Peter, pastor of two more parishes and vicar general. When Archbishop McGovern left for Omaha in 2025 the college of consultors elected him diocesan administrator, and on March 13, 2026, Pope Leo XIV named him the tenth Bishop of Belleville, only the third monk of Saint Meinrad ever made a bishop. Cardinal Cupich consecrated and installed him on May 1, 2026.

Major Works & Initiatives

Doctorate in liturgical studies (Catholic University of America, 2003)

His academic field is the liturgy; he taught liturgy and sacramental theology at Saint Meinrad Seminary and has authored several articles and books on liturgical topics.

Rector of St. Benedict Cathedral, Evansville

Nine years as cathedral rector in the Diocese of Evansville, after a year as pastor of St. Mary, Huntingburg; he also served that diocese as vicar general and moderator of the curia.

Diocesan administrator of Belleville, 2025-2026

Elected by the college of consultors on May 9, 2025, two days after Archbishop McGovern took possession of Omaha; he governed the vacant see for just under a year before Pope Leo XIV appointed him its bishop.

In His Own Words

Thanks be to God for that question I heard when I was 21: 'Have you ever thought of being a monk?' And then, when I was 60, Cardinal (Christophe) Pierre simply said - he didn't ask - 'The Holy Father has appointed you the next Bishop of Belleville.' Thanks to Pope Leo XIV for his courage and confidence in choosing me for this beautiful task.

Closing remarks at his ordination and installation as 10th Bishop of Belleville, Cathedral of St Peter, May 1, 2026 - recalling the three questions of his life, the first at age 11; The Messenger, the diocese's own paper

Thanks to the faithful who keep believing, keep serving, keep envisioning a future full of hope.

Closing remarks at his ordination and installation, May 1, 2026; The Messenger

I am humbled by the presence of cardinals and bishops and abbots who made their way to Belleville, especially Cardinal Cupich.

Closing remarks at his ordination and installation, May 1, 2026 - Cardinal Cupich celebrated and preached; The Messenger

The Old Mass, See by See

Belleville2026-05-01 – presentNo act of his own

What he inheritedHe inherited his own administratorship's status quo: one ICKSP-served Sunday Mass at Holy Family, Cahokia, undisturbed since before Traditionis Custodes, and no diocesan decree on the 1962 Missal at any point in the TC era. On the old Mass, his record so far is the record he inherited.

Since the SSPX decree of 2 July 2026: No statement recorded as of 2026-10-23.

Reviewed 2026-10-23Confidence: medium

Belleville2025-05-09 – 2026-05-01administratorNo act of his own

What he inheritedThe see was vacant from Archbishop McGovern's installation at Omaha on May 7, 2025. Belleville's single traditional Latin Mass, at Holy Family (the Log Church), Cahokia - a Sunday Mass established under Bishop Wilton Gregory a generation ago, long before Traditionis Custodes, and later entrusted to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest - and had passed through the TC era under Bishop McGovern without any published decree or restriction.

2025-07-06The Sunday 9 a.m. traditional Latin Mass at Holy Family, Cahokia was still listed in the bulletin of Sacred Heart parish, Dupo, in July 2025, two months into the administratorship; no change to the arrangement was made or announced. ↗

Since the SSPX decree of 2 July 2026: No statement recorded as of 2026-10-23.

Reviewed 2026-10-23Confidence: medium

Domus Dei’s Verdict

The Bishop & the Mass of Ages

No record of his own yet

It is a striking fact about Belleville that its bishop is a professional liturgist and has so far said nothing public about the old Mass at all. During Mullen's year as diocesan administrator, the diocese's one established traditional Latin Mass - the Sunday 9 a.m. Mass offered by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest at Holy Family (the Log Church) in Cahokia - continued uninterrupted; it was still being announced in a neighbouring parish bulletin in July 2025, two months into his administratorship. Nothing was suppressed, and nothing was added.

As bishop he has issued no decree, statement or restriction touching the 1962 Missal in the first months of his episcopate. On the old Mass, his record so far is the record he inherited: a single Sunday Mass that long predates Traditionis Custodes - established under Bishop Wilton Gregory a generation ago and now served by the Institute of Christ the King - and that Bishops Braxton and McGovern, and now Mullen, have each left undisturbed.

References & Further Reading

Pope Leo XIV Appoints Reverend Godfrey Mullen, OSB as Bishop of Belleville — USCCB · usccb.org · 2026Born January 22, 1966, Salem, Illinois; Saint Meinrad degrees (history 1988, theology 1991, M.Div. 1994); solemn profession August 15, 1992; ordained June 5, 1994; Ph.D. in liturgical studies, Catholic University of America, 2003; diocesan administrator since May 9, 2025; appointed March 13, 2026.

Pope Leo XIV appoints Benedictine Father Godfrey Mullen as Bishop of Belleville, Illinois — Catholic World Report · catholicworldreport.com · 2026Consecration and installation May 1, 2026, by Cardinal Cupich with Archbishops McGovern and Golka as co-consecrators; third monk of Saint Meinrad named a bishop. This piece gives his birthplace as Alton, conflicting with the USCCB and Holy See releases (Salem); see the batch notes.

Church of the Holy Family, Cahokia (parish site) — Holy Family Parish · holyfamily1699.org · 2026States that the traditional Latin Mass is celebrated every Sunday at 9:00 a.m.; the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest has served the parish for years, originally at the invitation of Bishop Edward Braxton (per the parish's Wikipedia-sourced history, retrieved for this batch).

Portrait: Own work / Wikimedia Commons

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