Pope Names Bishop of Honolulu, Coadjutor Bishop of Fort Worth
WASHINGTON (May 17, 2005)Pope Benedict XVI appointed Father Clarence Silva, Vicar General of the Diocese of Oakland, as Bishop of Honolulu. He succeeds Most Reverend Francis X. DiLorenzo who was named Bishop of Richmond in March, 2004.
The Pope named Msgr. Kevin W. Vann, Vicar for Clergy and pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church, Springfield, Illinois, as Coadjutor Bishop of Fort Worth, Texas. A Coadjutor Bishop enjoys the right of succession which means he becomes Bishop of the diocese upon the death or retirement of the incumbent bishop.
Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, announced the appointments.
Clarence Silva was born August 6, 1949, in Honolulu. His family moved to California while he was still a child.
He attended St. Joseph College Seminary, Mountain View, California, and St. Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park, and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Oakland on May 2, 1975.
Following ordination, Bishop-designate Silvas assignments included parochial vicar in St. Bernard parish, Oakland, Director of Vocations (1979-1983), parochial vicar, St. Bede parish,
Hayward, pastor of St. Peter Martyr parish, Pittsburg, and pastor of St. Anthony, Oakland. From January to August, 1991, he spent a sabbatical period in Rome.
Upon returning to the United States, he served as pastor of St. John the Baptist parish, El Cerreto, pastor of St. Andrew-St. Joseph, Oakland, and pastor of St. Leonard-St. Paul, Fremont. He was also a member of the Presbyteral Council.
Bishop-designate Silva was made Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia of Oakland in January, 2004.
The Diocese of Honolulu comprises all of the Hawaiian Islands. It has a Catholic population of 234,588 in a total population of approximately 1.2 million.
The newly named Coadjutor Bishop of Fort Worth, Kevin W. Vann, was born May 10, 1951, in Springfield, Illinois.
He attended elementary and high school in Springfield and earned a bachelors degree in medical technology at Milikin University in 1974. After college, he worked for three years at St. Johns Hospital in Springfield.
In 1976 Msgr.Vann entered Immaculate Conception Diocesan Seminary in Springfield for pre-theology studies. He finished his training at Kenrick Seminary, St. Louis, and was ordained for the Diocese of Springfield on May 30, 1981.
He earned a doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, in 1985.
His assignments in the Diocese of Springfield have included pastoral vicar, Blessed Sacrament; judge, defender of the bond, and procurator/advocate in the diocesan tribunal; pastor of St. Benedict, Auburn; and pastor, Our Lady of Lourdes, Decatur (while concurrently serving as parochial administrator in St. Isidore, Bethany, and Sacred Heart, Dalton City).
Bishop-designate Vann was appointed pastor of Blessed Sacrament and Vicar for Clergy in 2001. He has also served as Episcopal Contact for Hispanic Ministry.
Established in 1969 after almost 80 years as part of the Dallas diocese, the Diocese of Fort Worth comprises 28 counties in North Central Texas. It has a Catholic population of over 400,000 in a total population of about two million.
Most Reverend Joseph P. Delaney is Bishop of Fort Worth.