Episcopal Ordination and Installation of Bishop Mark Beckman

The ordination and installation of Bishop Mark Beckman will take place Friday, July 26 at 2 p.m. at the Knoxville Convention Center, 701 Henley St., Knoxville, TN 37902. Doors to the convention center will open at 11:45 a.m.  The music prelude for the Mass will begin at 1 p.m. and it is asked that all attendees be seated by 1:30 p.m. 

You will need a ticket to attend the Mass. Despite the large space provided by the Knoxville Convention Center, attendance is expected to be high. You must have a ticket. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once you register for a ticket online, you will receive a confirmation via your email address. You will need this confirmation email to enter the Knoxville Convention Center on the day of the Mass.  You can print it or present it on your mobile phone. 

After you register for a ticket online, you should receive a confirmation of your registration via your email address.  You will need this confirmation email to enter the Knoxville Convention Center on the day of the Mass. If you did not receive an email confirmation, you should re-register using an active email address.  

After considering multiple options, the Knoxville Convention Center was selected because its capacity will allow the greatest number of the faithful from the Diocese of Knoxville, the Diocese of Nashville, and beyond to attend this historic event in person. The convention center also offers ample space for the ancillary events and being in the heart of downtown Knoxville, is in close proximity to hotels and restaurants. 

This event is an occasion of joy for the whole Church, and all are invited! The diocese expects attendees from East Tennessee, the Diocese of Nashville, and visiting bishops and dignitaries from around the United States and outside the country. The convention center can accommodate more than 5,000 attendees inside the Level 1 Exhibition Hall, where the Mass will take place. The convention center has hosted all previous bishop ordinations in the diocese, and it will allow for a comfortable, safe, and joyful celebration.  

Yes!  The ordination and installation will be professionally live-streamed on the Diocese of Knoxville's YouTube page, DioKnoxTV. The broadcast will begin at approximately 1 p.m. on July 26.  

The Mass will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and will last approximately 2 1/2 hours. The musical prelude is expected to begin at 1 p.m. Check out the "About the Role of Bishop" section in the FAQs to learn more about what to expect at an episcopal ordination. 

Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre of the Archdiocese of Louisville will be the main consecrator. Bishop J. Mark Spalding of the Diocese of Nashville and Bishop James Vann Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph will be co-consecrators. Additionally, bishops and cardinals from across the United States have been invited to participate in the Mass, as well as priests of the Diocese of Knoxville and Diocese of Nashville. 

Unfortunately, childcare will not be available. Please make plans accordingly. 

The Knoxville Convention Center will open its doors at 11:45 a.m. for general admission at the main entrance on Clinch Ave. Please plan to be seated by 1:30 p.m. for the musical prelude.

Courtesy shuttle buses will operate from 11:15 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. between the 11th Street and White Ave. parking garages and the Convention Center's main entrance. Both garages offer free parking. 

Shuttles will run from the end of the Mass until 5:45 p.m.

Knights of Columbus will be present at each shuttle stop to assist with questions. 

The Locust Street Parking Garage is not free, but is a short walk across the Sky Bridge to the Convention Center. Points of entry for the garage are on Locust Street and Walnut Street. There will not be a shuttle stop at this location. 

Bishops, priests, and VIPs may park at 906 Popular Street near the Convention Center level 2 entrance. Vesting will be on level 2. View map here. 

General admission begins at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, July 26.

Please enter through the main entrance facing Clinch Ave. through the doors according to the letter of your last name. This is where the shuttle buses will drop you off and pick you up. 

Once your ticket has been confirmed, you will be directed to the escalators and to Level 1 where the ordination will take place. You should be seated by 1:30 p.m. 

There are several hotels in Knoxville close to the convention center with special rates for ordination attendees. Click here to book your stay.

Although already ordained a priest and deacon, the bishop-elect will celebrate another degree of the sacrament of holy orders of the Catholic Church, called “the fullness of the priesthood” as it the final ordination he can recieve. He will continue in the vows of ministry he took as a deacon and priest while adding the responsibility of oversight or governance of the diocese.

A bishop is a successor of the apostles, who were chosen by Christ to lead the Church on earth. Selected by the pope, the bishop governs over a local see, or diocese. 

According the Cathecism of the Catholic Church, bishops are "the visible source and foundation of unity in their own particular Churches." They exercise care for the Church "by ruling well their own Churches as portions of the universal Church, and so contributing to the welfare of the whole Mystical Body, which, from another point of view, is a corporate body of Churches. They extend it especially to the poor, to those persecuted for the faith, as well as to missionaries who are working throughout the world" (CCC886)

A new bishop is ordained by at least three other bishops: an ordaining bishop and co-consecrators. There are several distinct moments during an episcopal ordination or consecration:

• The papal nuncio, the Holy Father’s official representative to the United States, will read the declaration from Pope Francis who has appointed this assignment. This declaration represents the formal presentation of the bishop-elect to the ordaining bishop.
• The ordaining bishop will ask the bishop-elect nine questions that pronounce his public commitment to serve as a bishop. 
• The bishop-elect will lie prostrate in front of the altar — as a sign of complete dependence on God — as the faithful pray the Litany of Saints. During the ordination of a bishop, the Litany of the Saints focuses on the intercession of the Apostles since bishops continue the ministry of the Apostles.
• The ordaining bishop lays hands on the head of the bishop-elect and calls down the Holy Spirit upon him. The ordaining bishop then prays the Prayer of Ordination as two deacons hold an open Book of the Gospels over the head of the new bishop, symbolizing the principal task of proclaiming and living the Gospel. It is at this moment the bishop-elect becomes a bishop. 
• The new bishop is anointed with sacred chrism. 
• The new bishop receives the signs and symbols of his office: a Book of the Gospels, a ring, a mitre, and a crozier. 

Bishops wear special symbols of their office:

• A ring, signifying his union with this local Church and his lifetime commitment as a servant of the Lord. 
• A mitre, the tall hat worn at liturgical functions, signifying the wings of the Holy Spirit and represents the bishop's authority.
• A crozier (pastoral staff), which looks like a shepherd’s crook, signifying him as the chief shepherd, protector and guider of Christ’s flock. 

Ecclesiastical heraldry developed in the Church as a way of identifying people and dioceses and to officially mark documents. Every bishop and diocese has a coat of arms that is unique to that person/diocese. 

Every coat of arms includes external elements the identify the rank of the bearer: the low crowned, wide brimmed ecclesiastical hat, commonly the Roman galero indicates rank based on its ornamentation and color (bishop is green, cardinal is red, etc.). With the internal elements, the bishop has the opportunity to depict symbolically various aspects of his own life and/or highlight particular aspects of the faith that are important to him. 

A blazon, derived from medieval French and English terms, is an official description, allowing the appearance and position of each element to be recorded precisely. 

A bishop shows his commitment to the flock he shepherds by combining his personal coat of arms with that of the diocese, in a technique known as impaling. the shield is divided in half vertically. The diocese's coat of arms appears on the viewer's left and the bishop's coat of arms appears on the viewer's right.

Along with a coat of arms, a bishop's shield includes a personal motto, a short phrase as a statement of belief, usually taken from Scripture.