John Eric Stowe,

O.F.M. Conv. The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

, (born April 15, 1966) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who has been the Bishop of Lexington in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

since 2015.

Biography

Early life

Stowe was born in

Amherst, Ohio Amherst () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located west of Cleveland. The population was 12,681 at the 2020 census. History The original village, which eventually became known as Amherst, was established/founded by pione ...

, on April 15, 1966 to John and Lucy Stowe and grew up in

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 65 ...

. After graduating from Lorain Catholic High School in 1984, he was admitted as a candidate to the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

of Our Lady of Consolation of the

Order of Friars Minor Conventual The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

. After Stowe completed his

Novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

year and been admitted to the Order, he was sent to study at

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

; he graduated with a

double major A double degree program, sometimes called a dual degree, combined degree, conjoint degree, joint degree or double graduation program, involves a student's working for two university degrees in parallel—either at the same institution or at diffe ...

in history and philosophy. He professed his

solemn vows A solemn vow is a certain vow ("a deliberate and free promise made to God about a possible and better good") taken by an individual during or after novitiate in a Catholic religious institute. It is solemn insofar as the Church recognizes it a ...

in the Order on August 1, 1992. Stowe then pursued his seminary studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. He received the degrees of

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

and a

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theol ...

, specializing in

church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...

Priesthood

Stowe was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

as a priest on September 16, 1995, and was then assigned by his Province to serve in parishes in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. In 2002, Stowe was invited by Bishop Armando Ochoa, bishop of

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

to manage the

diocesan chancery A diocesan chancery is the branch of administration which handles all written documents used in the official government of a Catholic or Anglican diocese. It is in the diocesan chancery that, under the direction of the bishop or his representativ ...

and to serve as his

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

. He was later appointed as the

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the diocese. In 2010, Stowe was elected vicar provincial of his Franciscan province. He was then given the additional responsibilities of

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation The Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation is a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church and a shrine to the Virgin Mary, operated by the Conventual Franciscan Friars. It is located in Carey, a village in Northwest Ohio. It w ...

Carey, Ohio Carey is a village in Wyandot County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,507 at the 2019 census. History The village is near Sheriden Cave, where habitation occurred around 11,000BC. The village of Carey was founded in 1843 when William ...

Bishop of Lexington

On March 12, 2015,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed Stowe bishop of the Diocese of Lexington. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

from Archbishop Joseph Kurtz with Bishops Armando Ochoa and Gabriel Enrique Montero Umaña as co-consecrators on May 5, 2015. In February 2018, Stowe joined the

Pax Christi Pax Christi International is an international Catholic peace movement. The Pax Christi International website declares its mission is "to transform a world shaken by violence, terrorism, deepening inequalities, and global insecurity." History ...

USA Board as their president. In January 2019, Stowe wrote an op-ed that criticized Nick Sandmann and other students from

Covington Catholic High School Covington Catholic High School (abbreviated CCH or CovCath) is a private, Roman Catholic, high school for boys in Park Hills, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Bishop Francis William Howard and Brother George Sauer, and is part ...

for sporting apparel supporting President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

during the 2019

March for Life March for Life may refer to: * March for Life (Washington, D.C.), an annual anti-abortion gathering held in Washington, D.C. * March for Life (Paris), an annual demonstration held in Paris protesting abortion * March for Life (Prague), an annual ...

rally in Washington, D.C. He said the slogan "Make America Great Again" on their clothing "supports a president who denigrates the lives of immigrants, refugees and people from countries that he describes with indecent words and haphazardly endangers with life-threatening policies". In March 2021, Stowe expressed support for the federal Equality Act, proposed legislation that was opposed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He wrote that "As a Catholic bishop, I hate to see any form of harmful discrimination protected by law and it is consistent with our teaching to ensure that LGBTQ people have the protection they need."

References

External links