SEATTLE – Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle since 2017, to be the next bishop of the Diocese of Reno, Nevada.
The appointment was announced July 20. Bishop Mueggenborg, 59, succeeds Bishop Randolph R. Calvo, 69, who has been bishop of Reno since 2006.
In a letter to the people of the Archdiocese of Seattle, Bishop Mueggenborg said he will be leaving Western Washington in early September to prepare for his installation Mass in Reno, scheduled for September 24.
“These past four years have been a blessing for me as I hope they have been for you,” he said. “Please know that I will continue to pray for you, and I ask your continued prayers for me.”
Bishop Mueggenborg was appointed auxiliary bishop of Seattle by Pope Francis on April 6, 2017, and was ordained by Archbishop J. Peter Sartain on May 31, 2017, at St. James Cathedral.
In recent years, Bishop Mueggenborg has led the Archdiocese of Seattle’s Strategic Planning Committee as well as the COVID-19 Rapid Response Team.
Since 2017, he has written the “Ask a Bishop” column in Northwest Catholic, for which he has received three Catholic Press Awards.
He has also published reflections on all the Sunday Gospel readings in the three-year liturgical cycle, which are available free on his website, bishopm.org.
“We are grateful for the ministry Bishop Mueggenborg shared with us during his years as an auxiliary bishop in Seattle,” said Archbishop Paul D. Etienne. “The faithful of Reno are receiving a true shepherd with many gifts who will serve them well.”
The Diocese of Reno, which covers northern Nevada, has 28 parishes serving 80,000 Catholics, according to the diocesan website. The other diocese in the state, the Diocese of Las Vegas, is led by Bishop George Thomas, who was also an auxiliary bishop and priest of the Archdiocese of Seattle.
Daniel Henry Mueggenborg was born April 15, 1962, in Okarche, Oklahoma. He received a degree in geology from Oklahoma State University in 1984, studied pre-theology at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana and earned degrees in theology and biblical theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Tulsa on July 14, 1989, served as pastor of three parishes, held several diocesan leadership positions and was a faculty member of the Pontifical North American College in Rome.