WASHINGTON – Pope Francis has appointed the Rev. Michael G. Woost as auxiliary bishop of Cleveland. Bishop-elect Woost is a priest of the Diocese of Cleveland and currently serves as assistant professor of sacramental and liturgical theology at Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Wickliffe, Ohio, and as interim director of the diocese’s Office of Worship. The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 9, 2022, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Father Woost was born September 17, 1958. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Borromeo Seminary in Wickliffe (1980). He studied at Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Wickliffe where he earned a Master of Divinity (1984) and Master of Arts in systematic theology (1986). He earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. (2000). He was ordained to the priesthood on June 9, 1984.

Bishop-elect Woost’s assignments after ordination include: parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception parish in Madison (1984-1989); he served as director of vocations for the Diocese of Cleveland from 1989-1995, while in residence at the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Cleveland. From 1995-2000, Father Woost pursued advanced studies in liturgy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and earned his licentiate in sacred theology. Since his return to the Diocese of Cleveland in 2000, he has been a faculty member and assistant professor of sacramental and liturgical theology at Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Wickliffe. Additionally, since 2022, he has been serving as interim director of the diocese’s Office of Worship.

The Diocese of Cleveland is comprised of 3,414 square miles in the State of Ohio and has a total population of 2,758,656, of which 633,492 are Catholic.

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