Priest in Belleville Catholic diocese thought his elevation to Kentucky bishop was a joke
Pope Francis is elevating the Rev. John Iffert, pastor of St. Stephen Catholic Church in Caseyville, from priest to bishop and sending him to lead the Catholic Diocese of Covington in Kentucky.
Iffert, 53, will replace Bishop Roger Foys, who submitted his resignation last July, when he turned 75, which is mandatory for bishops in the Catholic church. Foys has led the diocese for 19 years.
Iffert’s appointment was announced Tuesday in Catholic publications and at a news conference in Covington.
Iffert will be ordained and installed in late September, according to a news release from the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, where he has served all but five years since 1997.
“I am astounded and deeply grateful that Pope Francis has elected me to serve as the eleventh Bishop of Covington, Kentucky,” Iffert wrote in a letter to Catholics in Southern Illinois.
“I am inspired by Pope Francis’ vision of a Church so deeply rooted in a relationship with Christ that we accompany the outcast, tend the wounded, mourn with the brokenhearted and rejoice and give thanks in every circumstance, and so carry out Jesus’ mission of evangelization.”
Iffert told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he thought a friend was playing a joke on him two weeks ago, when he got a call asking if he’d like to become the new bishop of Covington.
The newspaper noted that Iffert will face the same challenges as other bishops across the country, including a priest shortage, declining Mass attendance and fallout from a decades-long clergy abuse scandal. He told reporters his first goal is getting to know the diocese and its people.
Iffert has been leading St. Stephen for about six months.
“Our parishioners really like him, although he’s only been here a short time,” said Carol Donahue, 69, church secretary for eight years. “He’s very caring and very outgoing. He’s an excellent priest.”
Iffert became vicar general for the Belleville diocese last year. That made him top assistant to Bishop Michael McGovern, 57, a former Chicago-area priest installed a year ago.
The Covington diocese covers 3,359 square miles in northern Kentucky with a population of 532,567 people, including 91,895 Catholics, according to The Messenger, the Belleville diocese’s newspaper.
Iffert’s ordination and installation is scheduled for Sept. 30 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington.
“Bishop-elect Iffert has been an excellent priest and a dedicated pastor, and he is widely respected in our diocese,” McGovern said Tuesday in a statement. “With his strong faith and many talents, I believe (he) will be an excellent shepherd for the people of northern Kentucky.”
Iffert grew up on a farm in rural Du Quoin, the youngest of three children of John and Mary Iffert. He attended Sacred Heart Catholic School and Du Quoin High School.
Iffert went on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Illinois State University. He entered Mundelein Seminary at University of St. Mary of the Lake near Chicago in 1992, earning a bachelor’s in sacred theology and master of divinity degree.
Iffert was ordained a priest in 1997 by former Belleville Bishop Wilton Gregory, who was elevated last year from archbishop of Washington, D.C., to cardinal by Pope Francis.
Iffert served as parochial vicar at Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville from 1997 to 2000 and pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Columbia from 2000 to 2003.
“In August 2003, he entered the novitiate of the Order of Preachers, Province of St. Albert the Great, USA (Dominican, Central Province),” The Messenger reported. “He professed simple vows as a Dominican in 2004 which he renewed in 2006.
“From 2007-2008, he served as parochial vicar of St. Thomas Catholic Center at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Father Iffert left the Dominicans in 2008 and returned to the Diocese of Belleville.”
Iffert was administrator of St. Mary Immaculate Conception in Mt. Vernon from 2008 to 2010, administrator of St. Theresa of Avila in Salem and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Kinmundy from 2009 to 2010, pastor of St. Mary from 2010 to 2020 and pastor of its sister parish, St. Barbara in Scheller, from 2014 to 2020.
Iffert began leading St. Stephen Catholic Church in January. He replaced the Rev. James Nall, who continues as pastor of its sister parish, Holy Trinity in Fairview Heights.
“(Father Iffert is) going to be a fabulous bishop,” Donahue said. “But he will be very, very missed by our parish.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
