Bishop Koenig’s Christmas schedule includes Masses at two churches Dec. 24 and two on Christmas Day.
It will be the bishop’s first Christmas as shepherd of the more than 240,000 Catholics who live in Delaware and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
On Friday, Dec. 24, Bishop Koenig will preside at the 4 p.m. Christmas Vigil Mass at the Church of the Holy Cross, 631 South State Street in Dover. At 8 p.m., he will preside at the Christmas Eve liturgy with parishioners at Mary, Mother of Peace, 30839 Mt. Joy Road in Millsboro, Delaware.
Christmas Day, Saturday, Dec. 25, Bishop Koenig will celebrate the Nativity of the Lord at the 8:30 a.m. Mass at St. Jude the Apostle Church, 152 Tulip Drive in Lewes. He will then join parishioners for the 11:00 a.m. Mass at St. John the Apostle Church, 506 Seabury Avenue, Milford, Delaware.
Photo courtesy John Walton
Additionally, Bishop W. Francis Malooly, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Wilmington, will preside at the 6 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass at St. Mary Magdalen Church, 7 Sharpley Road in Wilmington. Bishop Malooly will also be the celebrant at 10 a.m. Mass on Christmas Day at Holy Cross is Dover.
Bishop Koenig was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., on May 14, 1983. On April 30, 2021, the Holy See announced that Pope Francis had appointed him bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, succeeding Bishop Malooly. Bishop Koenig was ordained a bishop and installed as the 10th Bishop of Wilmington on July 13, 2021.
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. Information about the diocese is available at www.cdow.org.
