Kevin Vann

Kevin William Vann (born May 10, 1951) is an American Catholic prelate serving as Bishop of Orange in California since 2012. Vann previously served as Bishop of Fort Worth in Texas from 2005 to 2012.

Vann is the ecclesiastical delegate for the Pastoral Provision for former Anglican priests.

Early life and education The eldest of six children, Kevin William Vann was born on May 10, 1951, in Springfield, Illinois, to William and Theresa (née Jones) Vann.

Priesthood Vann was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois by Bishop Joseph McNicholas at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield on May 30, 1981. After his 1981 ordination, Vann traveled to Rome to resided at the Pontifical North American College while studying in that city. He was awarded a Doctor of Canon Law degree from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome in early 1985.

After Vann's return to Springfield in 1985, the diocese assigned him as parochial vicar at Blessed Sacrament Parish.

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Fort Worth

On May 17, 2005, Vann was appointed coadjutor bishop of Fort Worth by Pope Benedict XVI to assist Bishop Joseph Delaney, who was in poor health.

In July 2019, Vann dedicated Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. Originally serving as the Crystal Cathedral, the diocese purchased the building in early 2012 from the bankrupt Robert Schuller ministries. On November 1, 2020, Vann sued the former administrator of the Orange Catholic Foundation. Vann claimed that the administrator had defamed him by suggesting Vann wanted to obtain funds from the foundation for COVID-19 pandemic relief, but actually use them for sex abuse claims against the diocese.

Vann speaks Spanish and Vietnamese. Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Vann has been a member of the committees on marriage, family life, laity and youth, and the subcommittee on marriage and family life.

Viewpoints

Abortion In 2004, Vann said that he would be "reticent" in giving communion to US Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a former parishioner at Blessed Sacrament, whose "pro-choice position puts him really outside of communion or unity with the Church's teachings on life".

During the 2008 US presidential election, Vann and Bishop Kevin Farrell issued a joint statement in which they declared that"We cannot make more clear the seriousness of the overriding issue of abortion—while not the only issue—it is the defining moral issue, not only today, but of the last 35 years ... As Catholics we are morally obligated to pray, to act, and to vote to abolish the evil of abortion in America."