Pope names Monsignor William Koenig Bishop of Wilmington

The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has named the Rev. Monsignor William Edward Koenig, vicar for clergy for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, as the 10th Bishop of Wilmington.

The appointment was announced April 30 in Washington, D.C., by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishop-elect Koenig (pronounced Kay-nig) follows the Most Rev. W. Francis Malooly, who has served as bishop of the Catholic community of Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore since 2008.

Born Aug. 17, 1956, in Queens, N.Y., Koenig grew up in East Meadow, N.Y. where he and his family were parishioners of St. Raphael’s Church. He attended St. Raphael’s Elementary School; St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale, N.Y.; Cathedral College in Douglaston, N.Y.; and the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, N.Y. After ordination, he also attended Fordham University, where he received a master of social work degree.

Koenig was ordained to the priesthood by the Most Rev. John R. McGann at St. Agnes Cathedral May 14, 1983. His first assignment as a priest was to the Parish of St. Edward the Confessor in Syosset, N.Y. After five years at St. Edward’s, he served for one year in the Parish of St. James in Setauket, where he also assisted in the Campus Ministry Program at State University of Stony Brook. In 1989, he was appointed the diocesan director of vocations with residence at the Cathedral Residence of the Immaculate Conception in Douglaston, N.Y. As a resident, he assisted the staff of four other priests in helping to form seminarians from the Dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre for the priesthood as they completed college or pre-theology requirements.

In 1990, Koenig was assigned as diocesan director of ministry to priests while continuing to serve as diocesan director of vocations. Next, Koenig served from 1996 to 2000 as parochial vicar at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre. In 2000, he was appointed pastor of St. William the Abbot in Seaford, N.Y., where he continued to serve until 2009. During his term at St. William’s, Koenig in 2007 was named chaplain to his holiness by Pope Benedict XVI.

In 2009, he was appointed rector of St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre. His service as rector concluded in 2020 when he was appointed the vicar for clergy for the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Koenig also has served in a number of roles and on boards in the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Koenig will be ordained to the Order of Bishop and installed as the bishop of Wilmington at a special mass scheduled for Tuesday, July 13, at Saint Elizabeth Church in Wilmington. A webpage has been established to keep the public informed and supply details about the transition. For more information, go to cdow.org/NewBishop.

The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington was established in 1868 and comprises 56 parishes, 18 missions and 27 schools serving the State of Delaware and the nine counties of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. There are over 240,000 Catholics in the diocese.