Bishop Thomas Hennen processes up the center aisle during his ordination and installation Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Bend, Ore., Sept. 29.
By Dan Russo
The Catholic Messenger
BEND, Oregon — Bishop Thomas Hennen praised God and thanked the Blessed Mother after becoming the youngest bishop overseeing a diocese in the United States Sept. 29 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Bend.
At the close of his ordination and installation Mass, the 47-year-old Ottumwa native also thanked many others who have helped him on his journey from becoming a priest for the Diocese of Davenport to his latest role as the chief shepherd for a flock in Northern Oregon.
“Many are undoubtedly wondering ‘what kind of bishop will I be?’” said Bishop Hennen while speaking to the assembly. “I don’t know yet. I’ve never done this before. But I suspect I will be a bishop as I was a priest. I hope to be wise, gentle, courageous and loving. Obviously, I am a young bishop, but in the grand scheme of things, that doesn’t matter much next to God and next to the church for all children, and wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
Bishop Hennen then addressed some of the divisions among the faithful.
“But will I be a liberal or a conservative; a progressive or a traditionalist?” he asked. “If I may be blunt, I don’t have time for any of it. Jesus does not think in these categories and neither should we. I’m first and foremost a child of God, a Catholic Christian, a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth. And as such, I don’t have the luxury of cultivating my own preferred flock and saying in so many ways and words, ‘to heck with the rest.’ No, as Christians, we want everybody because Jesus wants everybody.”
The Vatican announced his appointment as Bishop of the Diocese of Baker, Oregon, in July. The diocese, geographically, is larger than the state of Iowa but with a small Catholic population of 12,500 households in 36 parishes and 23 missions. Bishop Hennen was ordained and installed at a Mass that included prelates from dioceses around the nation, including Bishop Dennis Walsh, Davenport’s current leader, and Archbishop Thomas Zinkula, the Archbishop of Dubuque, who led Davenport from 2017-2023. Bishop Hennen pledged to serve the people of the Diocese of Baker to the best of his ability.
“I promise to be faithful,” said Bishop Hennen. “I promise to love you. I promise to pray for you, to teach, govern, and to lead you in the ways of holiness as best I can. Very aware that I hold this pressure as we heard in the second reading today, in an earthly vessel. And please pray for me and may God Bless you all. Praise be Jesus Christ.”
During Mass, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read Pope Leo XIV’s official decree appointing the new bishop before it was shown to the congregation. Bishop Hennen was born in Ottumwa, the youngest of 11 children of the late John and Jo’An Hennen. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, then earned a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome while living at the Pontifical North American College. The cardinal elicited some laughs from the crowd when he noticed how many of the Hennen family were at the event.
“It’s a big family. You know that?” Cardinal Pierre said, looking toward the pews. “How many seats are you occupying today?”
Bishop Hennen succeeds Bishop Liam S. Cary, who served the diocese for 13 years. Bishop Cary, 77, submitted his resignation on Aug. 21, 2022, when he turned 75, the age at which canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope.
Bishop-elect Thom Hennen processes down the aisle following a Vespers Service Sept. 28 in Oregon.
“In a special way you are blessed in your ministry as bishop during this jubilee, which professes a moment of genuine personal encounter with the Lord Jesus,” the cardinal said.
Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of Portland delivered the homily at the ordination and installation.
“Each of us is a unique and irreplaceable treasure in the heart of God,” said Archbishop Sample. “I hope each and every one of you know that … You are a unique and irreplaceable treasure in the heart of God and He delights in us. Bishop-elect Hennen, the father delights in you always, but in a very special way today.”
Archbishop Sample led the other bishops in attendance in the laying of hands on Bishop Hennen. As part of the sacrament, the new bishop also recited a profession of faith and oath of fidelity. Archbishop Sample anointed Bishop Hennen with Chrism oil. He was also given a crozier (shepherd’s staff), ring and mitre — all symbols of his office.
Ordained to the priesthood in 2004 by Bishop William Franklin at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport, Bishop Hennen served in several parishes in the Diocese of Davenport and spent much of his priesthood working with young people as part-time campus minister at the Newman Catholic Student Center in Iowa City from 2010-11; as a teacher at Assumption High School in Davenport from 2014-17; and as chaplain and director of campus ministry at his alma mater St. Ambrose from 2017-2021. Then-Father Hennen served as diocesan director of vocations, and then associate director of vocations, from 2011-2021. In 2020, he was appointed vicar general, and in 2021, pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral. He was a member of the Gender Committee formed by Bishop Thomas Zinkula in 2021 that drafted pastoral guidance regarding gender and sexual identity, published in October 2023, to help guide Catholic schools, parishes and others in their interactions with transgender persons and their families.
(Lindsay Steele, diocesan reporter for The Catholic Messenger, contributed to this article. More coverage of Bishop Hennen’s ordination and installation will be in next week’s issue and at catholicmessenger.net. A recording of the ordination and installation Mass can be seen at https://www.dioceseofbaker.org/bishop-thomas-hennen)
