Bishop-elect Caggianelli is a nearly 30-year veteran of the United States Air Force and has been a priest for more than 22 years. His pontifical appointment brings to five the total number of auxiliary bishops serving under Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services, and current president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). His episcopal ordination will take place at a time and place to be set by Archbishop Broglio within the next few weeks.
In accepting his new role, Bishop-elect Caggianelli said, “I am most humbled and grateful to Pope Francis for this appointment.”
“As I begin this new journey, I look forward to assisting Archbishop Broglio and the other bishops, chaplains and good people who serve the Archdiocese for the Military Services. Most of all, I look forward to giving my life in service of our Lord in the care of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, coastguardsmen, guardians, veterans and diplomats throughout the world,” said Bishop-elect Caggianelli.
He also shared, “Since I was a little boy, there have only been two things I have wanted to do in life. At age eleven, I started thinking of being a priest and at age fourteen I had a great desire to serve in the military. Since 1986, I have had the honor of wearing the uniform in one capacity or the other, and as a priest, serving as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves, has been a life-giving experience that has been filled with joy.”
Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami and Chancellor of SVDP, remembers working with Bishop-elect Caggianelli while he served at SouthComm in Miami, “He will be able to smoothly transition into his new position as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military.”
“We at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary are honored that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has chosen our alumnus and dedicated priest for this important role, where he will assist Archbishop Broglio in the care of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, the largest diocese in the world,” said Father Alfredo I. Hernández, Rector/President of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary.
Bishop Gregory Parkes, Bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of SVDP, said, “Father Caggianelli has served the St. Vincent de Paul Seminary community well during his time on faculty. We congratulate him on this appointment to now serve the spiritual needs of the brave men and women of the Military Services.”
Father Caggianelli was born on August 2, 1968, in Kingston, New York. He received a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan (1990), and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton (1994). He studied at Saint Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, earning a master’s degree in theology in 2001 and a master’s degree in divinity in 2002. Bishop-elect Caggianelli also earned a doctorate of ministry in homiletics from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in Saint Louis, Missouri, in 2020. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2002.
Bishop-elect Caggianelli’s assignments after ordination include: parochial vicar, Incarnation Parish in Sarasota (2002-2010); associate director of vocations and seminary formation for the Diocese of Venice (2006-2007); director of vocations and seminary formation for the Diocese of Venice (2007-2010); and administrator of Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Fort Myers (2010-2013). Since 2013 he has served as vice rector at Saint Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach.
Bishop-elect Caggianelli served in the United States Air Force on active duty (1991-1996). He currently serves at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Archdiocese for the Military Services, based in Washington, serves U.S. Catholics in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Department of Veterans Affairs and those in government service outside the United States. Worldwide, an estimated 1.8 million Catholics depend on the military archdiocese to meet their spiritual and sacramental needs.