Pope Francis names Bishop Shawn McKnight as the fifth archbishop and 12th bishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas

Bishop Shawn McKnight, who is currently serving the Diocese of Jefferson City, was appointed the next archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas by Pope Francis on April 8.

by Leaven staff

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Holy See announced on April 8 that Pope Francis named Bishop Shawn McKnight as the fifth archbishop and 12th bishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

Archbishop-designate McKnight, 56, is the current bishop of the Diocese of Jefferson City. He will succeed Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, 75, who has served as archbishop in northeast Kansas since 2005.

Archbishop Naumann came to northeast Kansas as a coadjutor bishop to the archdiocese in 2003 after serving as auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis.

He submitted his resignation to the pope when he turned 75 on June 4, 2024, as all bishops are required to do under canon law.

The archdiocese will officially welcome Archbishop-designate McKnight during a press conference at the Keleher Conference Center inside Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, Kansas, on April 8 at 1 p.m. The conference will be live-streamed here.

He will become the shepherd for some 185,000 Catholics who live across 12,524 square miles in 21 counties and oversee the archdiocese’s 106 parishes.

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