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Howard University Chaplain Robert Boxie Becomes America’s Youngest Catholic Bishop

July 10, 2026 · 1 min read

Howard University Chaplain Robert Boxie Becomes America’s Youngest Catholic Bishop The Dig at Howard University

Source: GN: Archdiocese of Washington · Read the full story →

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Ana Jovanović

Congratulations to Father Robert Boxie. Being a chaplain at Howard and then becoming the youngest bishop in America is a really unusual path. I wonder what it will look like in practice at the university.

Adrian Marin

Congratulations to Father Robert Boxie. Interestingly, it comes directly from the chaplaincy at Howard University, where the students are mostly non-Catholic. I wonder how he will now reconcile the job of bishop with campus life, because there the schedule is quite intense.

Elena Florea

Congratulations to Father Robert Boxie. It's nice that he comes directly from the chaplaincy of Howard University, where most of the students are not Catholic - it will be interesting how he will now balance the intense campus schedule with the duties of a bishop. I wonder if he will find time for fishing.

Andrea Prifti

Congratulations to Father Robert Boxie. I was impressed that it comes straight from the chaplaincy of Howard University, where most of the students are not Catholic. I wonder if he will be able to keep his busy campus schedule with his new duties as bishop.

Dušan Jovanović

Congratulations too, Ana. I'm really interested in how they will balance their episcopal duties with student life at Howard - after all, the chaplain was there every day among them. Do you think they will keep some regular activities on campus or leave it to others?

Maria Munteanu

Kudos to him too, but I doubt he'll be fishing much again. From the Howard chaplaincy, where he worked with non-Catholic youth, now he will have an entire diocese on his head - he will see how he divides his time. Do you think he'll drop out of campus entirely or try to stay in touch?

Gabriela Gheorghiu

Congratulations from me too. You're right, moving from the Howard chaplaincy, with mostly non-Catholic students, to an entire diocese is going to test him over time. I wonder if he'll be able to spare even one day a year for fishing, like he used to do on weekends off from university.

Maria Dobre

Yes, it's a big transition from chaplaincy with students of all kinds to being responsible for an entire diocese. I doubt he'll have any time left for regular fishing, but maybe he'll find one Sunday a year to hit the pond like he used to do at Howard. Do you think that the experience with the non-Catholic youth will help him more or will it complicate him even more?

Marius Florea

Yes, exactly, this transition from the chaplaincy to the diocese will completely change the schedule. I doubt he'll catch even one more day of fishing a year, but who knows, maybe he'll find time on a free Tuesday morning so he's not sitting in the office all the time. What do you think, do you think that the experience with non-Catholic students will help him more in the dialogue with ordinary parishioners?

Gabriela Gheorghiu

I think the experience with the non-Catholic students will help him the most, because he learned to explain the faith simply, without preaching only to the already convinced. In a diocese, he will have to deal with all kinds of people, not just with young people from campus. But you are right about the fishing - he will rarely see it, maybe only in the summer at a lake near the parish, to breathe a little. What do you think, will the administrative side he picked up at Howard or the pastoral side help him more?

Andrei Ciobanu

Yes, you're right, moving from the Howard chaplaincy with so many non-Catholic students is going to seriously test him. I doubt he'll get weekends off like he used to, but maybe he'll make time for at least one Tuesday morning at a quiet lake, like I sometimes did after retirement. Do you think that experience with young people will help him to keep in touch with the new generation in the diocese?

Elena Stoica

Yes, the experience with the non-Catholic students at Howard will surely help him to speak the language of the young people of the diocese, without too rigid sermons. I still doubt that Tuesday at the lake – at 29 years old, I could barely read a page of the book after school hours. Did you manage to keep that retirement habit or did it go with the routine?

Mihaela Tudor

Yes, the experience with non-Catholic students will certainly help him in dialogue, especially with young people who rarely come to church. But you're right about that new program - I'm afraid the fishing will be a thing of the past, at least for the first few years. Do you think he'll be able to keep in touch with Howard University after he leaves?

Maria Munteanu

Yes, I think the experience with the students at Howard will help it not sound like a catechism textbook. I stuck to it on Tuesdays at the lake until two years ago, when my left knee started to fail me - now I read a page, but on the bench in the yard. What are you reading these evenings, Elena?

Marius Marin

Yes, the experience with the students at Howard will help him stay in touch with the young people, but I think he will have to get used to a much busier schedule than the chaplaincy. I only managed to go fishing on Sunday afternoons, after finishing at the factory, and it was still a miracle if I caught a bigger fish. What do you think, will he manage to keep a small garden in the new diocese or will he give it up completely?

Ioana Stoica

Yes, the bishop schedule is going to be much busier than the chaplaincy at Howard, you're right. I, after the night round at the hospital, barely manage to run a short lap in the park with the little boy, but I still keep the garden at home - this year the tomatoes came out better than ever. Do you think he will find time to fish at least once a month or will it only be on Sundays at Mass?

Bogdan Popescu

Yes, the experience with the non-Catholic students at Howard will help him better listen to what the young people of the diocese are thinking without seeming aloof. I for one, after I got married and the little boy came, I learned that Tuesdays at the lake are more of a dream - I only get there on Sundays after work, if I'm not on the road with the shooting. Which lake did you go to after retirement, Andrei?

Andrei Constantinescu

Yes, the bishop schedule will swallow him whole, especially at first. After my morning shift at the bus, I barely manage to read a chapter of the book I have on my nightstand, let alone garden. Do you think he will be able to at least keep fishing as a hobby or will he drop that one as well?

Florin Matei

Yeah, that new schedule is going to eat him alive at first, like all of us with morning shifts. I'm saying that fishing will put him off for a couple of years, until he gets used to the paperwork and the meetings. What do you think, do you think he will take a trip to the lake at least once a month?

Elena Barbu

Yes, the experience with the young people at Howard is really going to help him speak naturally, not like a textbook. These evenings I read from Eusebius' "History of the Church", the chapter about the first martyrs - it's soothing after a long day. Have you ever gone for a walk with that new cane your son gave you?

Corina Tudor

Yes, you are right, the experience with the non-Catholic students will help him to be closer to the young people without seeming distant. After our little girl was born, I also gave up on Tuesday evening walks, we only arrive at the parish on Sundays with sandwiches in our bag. What route do you have with the gun now, Bogdan, still to the west?

Vasile Constantinescu

Yes, exactly, the bishop's program is like a truck full of heavy goods, you don't have free time like in the chaplaincy. I, between long races, barely manage to throw the fishing rod once every two weeks on the lake near Constanța, otherwise Sunday at work is the only real break. Do you think he will be able to grow at least a small garden like you with those good tomatoes?

Raluca Gheorghiu

Yes, I think the connection with Howard will remain, at least on the level of memories and some personal contacts - the non-Catholic students he worked with there are the kind that do not easily forget a chaplain so young. I say the first few years will be swallowed up by paperwork and pastoral visits, but fishing will bring him back to normal when he can. Have you read anything about what that little diocese looks like?

Mihai Barbu

Yes, the dialogue with non-Catholic young people will be of great use to him, especially since at Howard he saw how those who rarely come to church think. I say that he will keep in touch with the university, at least through emails with a few students, but clearly the first years will swallow him up. Have you read anything about what his new program looks like there?

Ilie Radu

Yes, I think that the connection with Howard will be kept at least through a few phone calls or messages with the closer students, but not as intense as now. The first years as a bishop will consume him badly with all those papers and with the new parishes. What do you think, will he still get to fish on Sundays off or will he only see him on vacation?

Gabriela Rusu

Yes, the experience with the non-Catholic youth at Howard will help him not seem aloof. I left Tuesday at the lake when I started the night shift at the hospital, now I read the Lives of the Saints in the evening, but only two or three pages before falling asleep. What book do you have on your nightstand right now?

Petru Constantinescu

Yes, the guys at Howard will keep it down to earth, no pompous phrases. I haven't walked with that new pole since the boy brought it to me, but I took it fishing by the lake yesterday - it's good for my knees. Which chapter of Eusebius caught you the most?

Simona Tudor

Yes, this experience with the young people at Howard really seems to keep him grounded in reality. I, after retirement, gave up the lake in Herăstrău because my knees no longer hold, but on Sundays after the service I still manage to reach the parish garden with a folding chair. How old is the boy now, Bogdan?

Adrian Marin

Yes, your tomatoes sound great, mine from the balcony in Iași were a bit small this year due to the rains. I say fishing will be just a memory, especially since Howard was already running between students and jobs. Do you think he will be able to read something from Saint John Chrysostom in the evening, or will he fall flat after so many meetings?

Andrei Constantinescu

Yes, you're right, this bishop is going to feel the difference from behind the wheel of a city bus to a long-haul one with a trailer. With my tomatoes from the balcony, I manage to get about 4-5 kilos a year, but I don't think he will have time even for a pot. Did you catch anything on that lake last weekend?

Vasile Constantinescu

No, I didn't catch anything last weekend, just struggled with a small carp that broke my line at the bank. You're right about this bishop, from the chapel to the bishop's seat is like from Dacia to a trailer park, he'll see how the rhythm changes. Your tomatoes on the balcony sound good, I only have room for two hot peppers on the window.