Pope Leo XIV names local priests Father Gary Studniewski and Father Robert Boxie new Auxiliary Bishops of Washington
The Holy Father has accepted Bishop Roy E. Campbell, Jr.’s resignation and appointed Bishop Evelio Menjivar to West Virginia diocese
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, is pleased to announce that the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has named two priests of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington as new Auxiliary Bishops: Father Gary Studniewski, currently serving as Pastor of Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Washington, DC, and Father Robert Boxie III, currently serving as the Catholic chaplain at the Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Student Center at Howard University in Washington, DC.
Bishop-Elect Studniewski and Bishop-Elect Boxie will join Auxiliary Bishop Juan Esposito in serving the Catholic Church in Maryland and Washington alongside Cardinal McElroy. Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell, Jr. is retiring and Bishop Evelio Menjivar has been named by Pope Leo XIV today as Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, which comprises the entire State of West Virginia.
Cardinal McElroy will hold a press conference today, May 1, at 10 a.m. to welcome the two new auxiliary bishops, both of whom will be in attendance. Media are asked to please RSVP to [email protected] if they wish to attend.
Introduction of two new Auxiliary Bishops Friday, May 1, 2026 | 10 a.m. ET
Pastoral Center of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington
5001 Eastern Avenue
Hyattsville, Maryland
Watch a livestream of the press conference here.
Bishop-Elect Studniewski brings an immensely rich and varied life of accomplishment and service to his new role in the Church. A native of Toledo, Ohio, the Bishop-Elect was ordained for the Archdiocese in 1995 and has served as a parochial vicar; a distinguished chaplain in the United States Army rising to the rank of Colonel; and pastor of both Saint Peter’s Parish on Capitol Hill and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. As a dean, member of the presbyteral council and mentor to our newly ordained, he has shown the Christ-like love and priestliness that are emblematic of our presbyterate. In each of these roles, he has demonstrated profound faith, collaborative leadership, pastoral sensitivity, initiative and zeal, making him an ideal candidate for the
episcopacy.
Bishop-Elect Boxie was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana. After graduating from Vanderbilt and Harvard Law School, he came to Washington to clerk for a federal judge and then work in a law firm, and during those years felt an ever-deepening confirmation of the call to the priesthood that had come to him earlier in life. He was ordained for the Archdiocese in 2016 and received his first assignment as parochial vicar at Saint Joseph in Largo under the tutelage of Bishop Roy Campbell, who was a wonderful mentor to him. Presently, Bishop-Elect Boxie is the Catholic chaplain for Howard University, where he has deeply enhanced the ministry and community there, while building a chapel and dramatically renewing the Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Student Center. He has a priestly heart and keen intelligence, as well as the prayerful compassion and evangelizing core that will be a great gift to our local church in deepening our outreach to all and helping particularly to enrich our black communities.
Bishop Roy E. Campbell, Jr.
Bishop Evelio Menjivar
Biographies of Bishop Campbell and Bishop Menjivar are available here.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is home to more than 655,000 Catholics, 140 parishes and 90 Catholic schools, located in Washington, D.C., and five Maryland counties: Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s.
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