This post was researched and written by CARA Research Assistant Ali Mumbach, M.A.
This month the Archdiocese of Washington celebrated the installation Mass of Bishop Robert Boxie III and Bishop Gary Studniewski. The ordination of Bishop Robert Boxie was of particular recognition as he is the first African American to be ordained a bishop in almost a decade. He is also now the youngest bishop in the United States. Members of the local and national Black Catholic community showed up in numbers for the momentous occasion. With receiving the newest Black bishop, it is appropriate to recall the small but mighty group of Black bishops that he joins.
During the 237 years that Catholic dioceses have existed in the United States, there have been a total of 29 Black bishops. The first African American to be ordained a bishop was Most Reverend James August Healy, brother to Georgetown University President Fr. Patrick Healy S.J., in 1875. As a mixed race person, Bishop Healy was “passé blanc”, meaning that his complexion was light enough that he (and his brothers) passed for white.
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| Bishop James Healy, Portland, ME |
Due to racism in the nation and in the Church, the next Black bishop was not ordained for nearly a century. In New Orleans, LA in 1965, Most Reverend Harold R. Perry, SVD was ordained to the episcopate.
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| Ordination of Bishop Harold Perry, SVD |
Bishop Harold Perry’s ordination began a trend of appointments coming out of Louisiana. The Bayou state far exceeds others with a third of the Black bishops hailing from the state (four Black bishops were born outside the U.S.). Not surprisingly, the areas of the country with the highest concentrations of Black Catholics produced the men that would one day serve as bishops in the Catholic Church, as shown in the map below.
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| Data from Catholic Hierarchy |
Following Vatican II, the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, and the Black Catholic movement of the ’80s and ’90s, there came a noticeable increase in Black priests appointed to bishop. The number of Black bishops doubled in size between 1975 and 1980 (from 3 to 6), and again between 1980 and 1990 (from 6 to 13). Finally having some seats at the table, it was in 1979 that the bishops wrote the first pastoral letter addressing racism in “Brothers and Sisters to Us.” In this letter, the bishops called racism an evil in society and the Church. Throughout the decade of the ’90s, there were a total of 18 Black men that served within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The figure below presents the number of Black bishops throughout the decades.
Since that time, due to a combination of aging members and lack of new appointments, the number of Black bishops has steadily declined. By 2025, there were half as many active Black bishops in the Conference as there were during the peak in 1990. As of 2026, with the retirement of Bishop Roy Campbell and appointment of Bishop Robert Boxie, there are currently five active Black bishops out of 273 total bishops. This represents 2% of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, while Black Catholics make up 5% of adult Catholics in the U.S. The figure below demonstrates the percentage of Black bishops relative to total bishops from 1875 up to present day. As the Catholic church in the U.S. continues to grow in diversity, those who shepherd the faithful should reflect those in the pews, so as to better understand the perspectives and experiences of those under their care.
