Bishop Monforton Named Auxiliary Bishop for Archdiocese of Detroit
September 28, 2023—Pope Francis has named Steubenville Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton as the 32nd auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit. He will be welcomed to the Archdiocese of Detroit at a Liturgy of Welcome and Inauguration of Ministry at 2 p.m. Nov. 7, 2023, at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.
As an auxiliary bishop, Bishop Monforton will aid Archbishop of Detroit Allen H. Vigneron in the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Detroit.
“On behalf of the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Archdiocese, I offer a heartfelt ‘welcome home’ to Bishop Monforton,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “This is the local Church in which his priestly vocation was nurtured, and we are blessed to have him be with us once again to help lead our efforts to unleash the Gospel.”
Bishop Monforton (photo | full bio) was born on May 5, 1963, in Detroit to Marc Louis Monforton and Virginia Rose (Ackerman) Monforton. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in 1989 and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit on June 25, 1994, by Archbishop Adam Maida. Following ordination, he ministered for many years in the Archdiocese, including assignments at the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, St. Paul on the Lake in Grosse Pointe Farms, St. Jane Frances de Chantal in Sterling Heights, St. Therese of Lisieux Church in Shelby Township, and St. Andrew in Rochester. He also served as priest-secretary to Cardinal Maida, faculty member at Sacred Heart, and later as the seminary’s rector. On July 3, 2012, then-Msgr. Monforton was named as the fifth bishop of Steubenville. He was ordained and installed as bishop there on September 10, 2012.
“I was pleased to learn of my appointment by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, as Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit,” Bishop Monforton said. “This appointment is bittersweet for me: My hometown is Detroit, and I look forward to ‘going home’ and serving the faithful of Detroit under the leadership of Archbishop Allen Vigneron.
“At the same time, I have come to know and to love the good people of the Diocese of Steubenville, from Carroll County in the north to Lawrence County in the south. It has been my distinct pleasure and profound joy to serve the faithful of this Diocese for 11 years as their shepherd. The people of the Diocese of Steubenville will always remain in my prayers and have a special place in my heart. I kindly ask that you pray for me.”
In the Archdiocese of Detroit, Bishop Monforton joins Auxiliary Bishops Gerard Battersby, Arturo Cepeda, Robert Fisher, and retired Auxiliary Bishops Donald Hanchon, Francis Reiss, and Thomas Gumbleton.
Archbishop Paul Russell, who was appointed auxiliary bishop of Detroit in 2022, is not currently in public ministry during an investigation by the Holy See (Vatican) into an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor dating to his time as a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston.
Archbishop Emeritus Cardinal Adam Maida, who had led the archdiocese since 1990, retired from active ministry in 2009. Archbishop Allen Vigneron serves as chief shepherd for the approximately 907,000 Catholics who reside in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Lapeer, and St. Clair counties.
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