'Bootcamp' prepares new bishops

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications 
 
Shortly before his May 1 episcopal ordination, Bishop John Keehner received an invitation to attend a series of classes at the Vatican for new bishops, informally referred to as “Baby Bishop Bootcamp.”
 
“There was a letter that arrived from Cardinal (Robert) Prevost, who was the head of the Dicastery for Bishops, insisting that I attend this (program) as an act of ecclesial union with the College of Bishops and an opportunity to meeting Peter – not knowing of course, that he would be Peter,” Bishop Keehner said of the letter he received from the clerical who would be named Holy Father just a few weeks later.
 
The new bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City said the letter from now-Pope Leo XIV was still on his desk “when the white smoke appeared.”
 
Long days
Bishop Keehner and the other 191 newly-appointed bishops from around the world attended the courses for new bishops from Sept. 3 to 11. The program was hosted by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops and the Dicastery for Evangelization.
 
The visiting bishops started each day with Mass around 6:30 or 7 a.m., followed by breakfast. The bishops were in lecture from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and then from 4 to 7 p.m. Bishop Keehner said they followed the local custom “of taking a ‘reposo,’” or midday break, after lunch.
 
“The heads of the dicasteries would get up and speak to us. They’d hand us a copy of their text, and then they would read it to us,” the bishop recalled. “Most of the talks were in Italian, because it’s the language used in Rome.”
 
He said the translators did a great job relaying the information back to the bishops in their native languages. Bishops could ask questions in their own language and the translators would handle the translations back and forth.
 
Topics covered with practical considerations included handling clergy abuse cases from a presentation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. Other topics included administering a diocese and communications.
 Most of the newly-appointed bishops of the United States gathered for a photo at the Vatican during their 'bootcamp.' (CNS photo/Bishop John Keehner)There was much discussion during the classes of synodality – a practice put in motion by the late Pope Francis with numerous synod listening sessions in dioceses around the world. 
“I’m not afraid of the word anymore,” Bishop Keehner explained. “It basically means walking with people and listening to them. It doesn’t mean that we agree with them. It doesn’t mean that the church agrees with them, but at least we’re willing to listen to them and listen where they are coming from.”
 
Other sessions offered in the week and one half bishops’ program were theologically-based and often emphasized the unity within the Catholic Church.
 
“We’re part of the body, part of the Apostolic College and not to take that lightly but to take it humbly. Some of the very good advice was that we never act in isolation,” the bishop said.
 
Holy Father
The last day of the bishops’ program was time with Pope Leo. The Holy Father spoke to the 192 bishops for about 30 minutes, then he fielded numerous questions from them. Bishop Keehner found him to be a very humble and kind person.
 
“And then he met individually with each and every one of us, which made for a very long morning,” he said. “He was with us three and a half hours.”
 
The bishop pointed out that Pope Leo “had a hand in all of us being named,” either as head of the Dicastery for Bishops or as the Holy Father. Also, the secretary for the dicastery accompanied the 192 bishops throughout their stay and was familiar with each.
 
“The first evening he was meeting us all and he said to me, ‘Oh, Sioux City, yes, May,’” Bishop Keehner said, noting that the secretary remembered his ordination date.
 
All the bishops were abBishops processing to the Confessio to reverence the relics of St. Peter.le to briefly meet the pope and have individual photos taken with Pope Leo after the question and answer session.
 
“I was at the very end and he was visibly tired. So, I was very conscious not to squeeze his hand when I shook it,” Bishop Keehner said. “So, you go up, you shake his hand, you say who you are, where you’re from, and then you turn and face the camera for a photo. As you’re walking away, somebody hands you a rosary from the pope…It’s now in my chapel.”
 
Historic events
Although the bishops spent long days in lecture Monday through Friday, they had some free time on the weekend. On Sept. 6, the bishops were able to concelebrate Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Altar of the Chair of Peter.

 “We walked in procession through the holy doors. We got to touch the holyAt the Altar of the chair doors as we walked through and then processed to the altar of the chair and celebrated Mass there,” Bishop Keehner explained.
 
 After the Mass, the bishops were able to venerate the relics of St. Peter in the Confessio, the space in front of the main altar where the tomb of St. Peter can be viewed from above.
 
“I’d been in the crypt before, but never been able to approach the Confessio,” the bishop said.
 The bishops were bussed in to St. Peter’s Square for the historic canonization Mass for Sts. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati the next day. ​(See related story.)​
 
“I had been at other canonizations or other events in St. Peter’s Square. I was always down in the lower sections,” he said, noting the bishops were in a section by the high altar, in close proximity to the Holy Father.

Another highlight for the bishops was Mass at St. Mary Major, the site of the Pope Francis' tomb.
 
International bishopsBishops at the altar at St. Mary Major just prior to Mass.
As many hours were spent together in lecture halls, the bishops did have time to visit with one another. Bishop Keehner said the best part of the ‘bootcamp’ was meeting the other newly-appointed bishops from around the United States and around the world.
 
“It was an important act of ecclesial union, getting to meet (the bishops) and hearing some of the situations they’re going back to,” the bishop pointed out.
 
In Western Europe, bishops are dealing with secularization, depopulation and growth in the Muslim tradition in their countries.
The group included an auxiliary bishop from Palestine, an auxiliary bishop from Ethiopia where war and famine are prevalent. A bishop from an island nation is returning to a situation where the land is disappearing and residents will need to migrate in a few years.
 
“Others are going back to situations where there’s abject poverty or horrific gang violence or persecution,” Bishop Keehner said.
 
The bishops’ “bootcamp” was a long week with many hours in lecture halls far from their home dioceses. However, Bishop Keehner said it was a worthwhile experience to assist him in his episcopate in northwest Iowa.
 
“It was work. It was not a vacation. But I’m glad I did it,” Bishop Keehner said of the experience.
 
Cover photo: Pope Leo XIV poses for a photo with Bishop John E. Keehner of Sioux City, Sept. 11, 2025, in the atrium of the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

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