BILL AND THERESA VANN were on their way to see their son, Kevin, installed as bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth.
Sitting behind her husband, who was in the front passenger seat, Theresa leaned forward and, her face next to his and her arms around his shoulders, she whispered:
“This is our little boy. This is his moment.”
Indeed, for the tight-knit Vann clan of Springfield, Ill. – Kevin is the oldest of six children, and the family’s home on Douglas Avenue was a magnet for scores of relatives – the moment was monumental.
The memory still chokes up Nicki Prevou, a communications specialist for the diocese who had the privilege of driving the Vanns and their daughter, Mary Therese (“M.T.”), on that scorching hot July evening to Texas Christian University’s Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
“It was beautiful to see the love and pride his family had in him,” Prevou recalled.
That night – July 13, 2005 –a crowd of more than 5,000 watched as Monsignor Kevin Vann was installed as the third bishop of the sprawling diocese, which encompasses 28 counties and 96 parishes in northern Texas.
This July, Bishop Vann will celebrate his 20th year with that title after spending 7 ½ years in the Fort Worth diocese before Pope Benedict XVI appointed him the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Orange on Sept. 21, 2012.
‘A DAY AT A TIME’
Sadly, Bishop Vann’s parents and sister won’t be there to celebrate this milestone. Theresa died in 2012, followed by Bill in 2014 and M.T., at just 55 years old following an emergency hospitalization, in 2016.
The bishop’s four brothers – Dennis, Les, Gerry and Dave – and members of their large, extended family marked the occasion, along with his longtime friends, colleagues and supporters in the Midwest, as well as those in Fort Worth where he led a diocese whose Catholic population has grown to 1.2 million from 400,000 two decades ago.
Sitting in his office on the 34-acre campus of Christ Cathedral, his beloved white-and-tan cocker spaniel Gracie sitting at his feet, Bishop Vann reflected on his upcoming episcopal anniversary – and the 20 years that have flown by.
“So much has happened since then,” he said of his episcopal consecration in Fort Worth. “What I’ve learned is to take life a day at a time. Don’t think too far ahead. Pray to do the right thing and pray that God’s providence has brought you to where you’re supposed to be and what you’re supposed to do.”
A hot cup of coffee, cream with no sugar, sat untouched.
“I learned earlier that you can’t look back – don’t look back,” he continued. “You’re not in Springfield anymore, you’re not in Fort Worth anymore. This is where you are, this is where God wants you to be, and you’ve got to put your heart and soul into it.”
CHILDHOOD MEMORY
Relatives and former colleagues in Texas praise the bishop as a kind, down-to-earth person whose faith continues to inspire them.
And that faith was apparent at an early age.
JoAnn Owens, a cousin, recalled a typically chaotic family gathering on a warm Sunday afternoon in Springfield.
“I was one of the younger kids and Kevin was the oldest,” she said. “At one point, some of the kids decided it would be fun to open an upstairs window and climb out onto the roof of the front porch.
“When I got to the window, I could see that Kevin was standing nearby. I asked him if I could also go out.
He said: ‘You can, I won’t stop you. But should you? Remember, God is always watching you.’”
JoAnn didn’t go out.
“I can’t tell you how many times those words have made me pause, especially throughout my youth,” she said.
BECOMING A PRIEST
After working for three years as a medical technologist at the Catholic hospital where his mother worked as a maternity nurse, Kevin entered the seminary. He was ordained a priest on May 30, 1981.
He earned a doctoral degree in canon law in 1985 from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, also known as the Angelicum.
Bishop Vann proudly displays a picture of fellow Angelicum students in 1982. Next to him stood Fr. Robert Prevost, the future Pope Leo XIV, whom Bishop Vann will be visiting this August. Fr. Prevost graduated from the Angelicum in 1987, two years after him. Bishop Vann recalled getting the phone call from Bishop George Lucas of Springfield telling the then-pastor of Blessed Sacrament parish that he was heading to Texas after Pope Benedict XVI appointed him coadjutor bishop of Fort Worth to assist Bishop Joseph Delaney, who was in poor health.
“You’re the one for the job,” Bishop Lucas told him.
Pragmatic and humble as usual, he responded: “Your Excellency, I will do whatever the Holy Father wants, but I’m late. I need to get to St. Louis in two hours.”
The then-Msgr. Vann was rushing to a retreat for seminarians.
“I had to be careful I didn’t get a speeding ticket,” he recalled.
BAPTISM BY FIRE
Bishop Delaney died on July 12, 2005 – the day before Msgr. Vann was to be consecrated as coadjutor bishop. The episcopal ordination went on as scheduled.
He had never been to Texas, but his father was born at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, and his grandmother had a child who died at birth who was buried there (Bishop Vann later was able to track down the burial place and mark and bless the grave).
One of the new bishop’s first duties was to bury his predecessor.
Peter Flynn, then vice chancellor for administrative services and finance director of the Diocese of Fort Worth, recalled Bishop Vann’s baptism by fire.
“He had to adjust himself to become the bishop, but he was very calm and collected,” recalled Flynn, whom Bishop Vann soon named chief financial officer and vice chancellor. The two became close colleagues and friends.
He had a lot going on,” Flynn recalled. “A lot of times when new bishops come in, they make adjustments. But that didn’t happen immediately. He listened and learned, and that was very helpful to us.”
Sr. Yolanda Cruz was the director of the office of Children’s Catechesis and Catechist Formation at the time.
“I really felt for him because the people of the diocese were mourning the death of a beloved bishop while welcoming a new one,” she said. “He struck me as a humble man from the get-go, and he ended up handling the complexities of diocesan business with a lot of pastoral grace and wisdom.”
Bishop Vann soon named Sr. Yolanda, of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur, vice chancellor and delegate for Women Religious.
“He leads with humility and listens well, and he embodies the whole pastoral spirit of what a bishop should be,” Sr. Yolanda said. “His commitment to serving the community is in his pores.”
ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN TEXAS
Bishop Vann’s accomplishments in Fort Worth were numerous.
He oversaw construction of one of the largest Catholic churches in the nation to serve a Vietnamese congregation, Vietnamese Martyrs in Arlington.
He was an advocate for immigration reform and oversaw several sexual abuse settlements.
He established a new Catholic school in Frisco, grew the number of seminarians to a record 30, and oversaw restoration of the historic St. Patrick Cathedral Rectory in Fort Worth and construction of the first St. Patrick Pastoral Center.
“He was an extremely outgoing bishop who loved to be out in the community,” Prevou recalled.
Sr. Yolanda said Bishop Vann frequently visited her congregation’s regional house in Fort Worth, where he would join them for meals, celebrate Mass frequently, provide pastoral care to elderly sisters and play Christmas carols on his beloved piano while the sisters sang.
“It was amazing,” Sr. Yolanda said. “We miss him still every Christmas. He remains a dear friend to all of us.”
Bishop Vann said his pastoral experience in Springfield helped guide him as bishop.
“And my father always told me to do the right thing,” he added. “So, I did what my dad taught me.”
In perhaps what was a hint at what would come 7 ½ year later, Bishop Vann bought cowboy boots in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District, where twice-daily cattle drives are held.
The black boots are embroidered with the image of the Virgin Mary, the patron saint of the Diocese of Orange.
Bishop Vann got the call he would be coming to Orange County when he was at a picnic in Cleburne, Texas, with a visiting priest from Springfield.
He recently had visited the Christ Cathedral campus for a tour.
“Boy, this is beautiful,” he recalled at the time. “But this is going to be a ot of work for the next bishop.”
A DISNEY FAN
Geographically, Orange County is more than 30-times smaller than the Diocese of Fort Worth. But both dioceses are similar in the fast pace of their growth and diversity.
As a child, Kevin dreamed of someday coming to Orange County after growing up watching “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color.”
When he was installed as bishop here, he bought a pass to Disneyland.
He has led the Diocese of Orange – the 11th largest diocese in the country and the second-largest west of the Mississippi – in its multicultural mission to meet the social, economic and spiritual needs of the region’s increasingly diverse Catholic population.
Bishop Vann led the historic effort to transform the former Crystal Cathedral from a world-renowned center of Protestant worship into the West Coast’s most visible center of Catholicism. Christ Cathedral was dedicated on July 17, 2019, and its transformation was completed last October with the dedication and blessing of the St. Callistus Chapel and Crypts in the undercroft of the cathedral.
Other major projects completed under Bishop Vann’s leadership here include the opening of the new St. Michael Abbey’s in Silverado Canyon and the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine on the Christ Cathedral campus – both in 2021.
PROUD RELATIVES
Bishop Vann loves working with students and has made guest appearances in several high school productions in Orange County.
When he was installed as bishop in Fort Worth, a lot of youth were in attendance – some driving three hours from parishes in rural pockets of the diocese.
At the time, Prevou’s husband (also named Kevin) was director of youth ministry and adolescent catechesis for the diocese, and he helped create a very connected youth ministry network.
“It was a very intergenerational crowd,” Prevou recalled, “and Bishop Vann’s family and friends were surprised by the huge youth representation.”
Of his time in both Fort Worth and Orange, “I have no complaints and no regrets,” he said.
David Vann was the baby of the family and Kevin’s junior by 20 years, but he fondly recalls Kevin taking him to see Disney movies and out for Chinese food when he was a kid.
“All of us are so very proud of him,” David said.
Patti Dial, a cousin, said the bishop has remained the same over all these decades.
“He’s still always ‘Kevin’ no matter how many amazing things he does, how many people’s lives he touches, how many blessings he gives, or sermons he works on, degrees he gets or places he goes,” Dial said.
“He will always be the same loving, caring Kevin he’s always been, and I couldn’t be prouder to be his cousin.”