The Archdiocese of Cincinnati is welcoming Most Reverend Robert Gerald Casey, currently Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, as its 11th bishop and 10th Metropolitan Archbishop. Pope Francis announced the appointment on February 12, 2025, after accepting the resignation of Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, who has held the position since 2009. A priest for more than 30 years, Archbishop-designate Casey has served in multiple pastoral and leadership roles.

Born on September 23, 1967, Casey is the son of Michael A. Casey, a meat cutter from County Wicklow, Ireland, and Margaret A. Carmody Casey, a registered nurse from southwest Michigan. The fourth of five children (two brothers and two sisters) raised in the village of Alsip of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, he said he has “been blessed with a wonderful family” and received much encouragement from his parents and grandparents in pursuing his vocation (Profiles in Catholicism, Dec. 10, 2018).

Raised in the faith, Casey was an altar server in his childhood at St. Terrence Parish. A product of public elementary schools, he continued his Catholic education at Marist High School, graduating in 1985. The diocesan newspaper Chicago Catholic reported that, while in high school, he helped found his parish’s teen club and assisted with teaching CCD classes. His junior year, Casey interviewed his parish priest for a religion class assignment. During this interview, his pastor asked Casey if he had considered a vocation to the priesthood. His answer at the time was “No,” but the encounter sparked his discernment process.
While on retreat the following year, Casey revealed to his parents in a letter that he may have a call to the priesthood, which did not surprise his family. He continued to discern this call while attending Niles College Seminary of Loyola University Chicago, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1989.

The following year, Casey entered Mundelein Seminary in the Archdiocese of Chicago and earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1994. While ministering to the archdiocese’s Hispanic community as a seminarian, he became fluent in Spanish. He grew to love the Hispanic people and their culture, which influenced his pastoral ministry and fostered a deep devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Oblate Sisters of Jesus the Priest, founded in Mexico, also significantly influenced and strengthened his vocation during these years.

On May 21, 1994, Casey was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin at Holy Name Cathedral. His first assignment was as associate pastor of St. Ita Parish in Chicago, where he remained until 1999. In 1998, Casey was named the associate director of Casa Jesus, a priestly discernment program for Hispanic men, and became its full-time director in 1999.

After completing his work with Casa Jesus in 2003, Casey seized the opportunity to embark on a 40-day pilgrimage walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. He described his experience as “life-changing” and felt his call to discipleship strengthen. Upon returning from Spain, Casey served as pastor of Our Lady of Tepeyac Parish in Chicago.
With sponsorship from the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, in 2008, Casey co-founded Taller de José, a non-profit organization that offers companionship to those in need and connects them to social service resources.

He was appointed pastor at St. Barbara Parish in Brookfield, Illinois, in 2009, then pastor of St. Bede the Venerable Parish in Chicago in 2016. While here, Casey served on the archdiocese’s priest placement board and the priest steering committee for Renew My Church, an initiative led by Cardinal Cupich to revitalize the archdiocese. This project included restructuring parishes in a process similar to that of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Beacons of Light.

In 2018, Casey was appointed auxiliary bishop of Chicago and Vicar for Vicariate III, overseeing approximately 60 of the archdioceses parishes. He was ordained a bishop by his Eminence Blase J. Cupich, Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago. He began serving as the Vicar General in 2020, a position he maintains until his installation as the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

In his spare time, Archbishop-designate Casey enjoys long-distance running and completed five marathons in his forties between 2012 and 2018. With a friend’s encouragement, Casey is stepping back in for a marathon this October, at age 58.

In a press conference following the announcement of his new role as the Archbishop of Cincinnati, Casey provided his insight on current issues. Regarding immigration, he emphasized the need to uphold the human dignity of our immigrant brothers and sisters while practicing faithful citizenship for the common good. Echoing the Holy Father’s call to synodality, he accented the need for our Church to build bridges, to dialog and to listen.

In Archbishop-designate Casey’s episcopal motto, “Into Your Hands,” we hear the words of Jesus from the cross. These words first resonated with Casey as a young seminarian, trusting in God’s plan for his life, and they remain with him as he begins his ministry as archbishop in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. They are the same words prayed every night by the faithful across the globe as part of the breviary prayers: “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.”