Office of the Vicars General

Father David Boettner, Vicar General

Father David Boettner was appointed Vicar General of the Diocese of Knoxville by Bishop Stika in 2011.

He is also rector and pastor of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville.

Father David was one of three original seminarians from the Diocese of Knoxville.  He received his holy orders in 1994,  and since his ordination he has served as a priest, associate pastor, and pastor at various parishes in the diocese.

Father David was appointed pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Athens in 2000.

In 2002,  Father David was appointed pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle in Lenoir City and while there he oversaw the rapid growth of the parish and initiated campaigns to build a new church and a parish family life center.

In 2010,  Father David was named pastor and rector at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville and lead the parish campaign to build the new cathedral, which was dedicated in 2018.

Father David is an East Tennessee native.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana and a Master of Divinity degree from St. Mary of the Lake University and Mundelein Seminary near Chicago.

Father David can be reached at dboettner@dioknox.org

Father Douglas Owens, Vicar General/Moderator of the Curia

Father Douglas Owens was appointed a vicar general and the moderator of the curia for the Diocese of Knoxville by Bishop Richard Stika on July 21, 2017.  He is currently pastor of All Saints Parish in Knoxville.

Before that, Father Owens served as associate pastor at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Farragut, Tenn., and as pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City, Tenn. He was ordained a priest at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville on May 28, 2011– seven years after converting to the Roman Catholic faith.

Father Owens’ appointment as a vicar general for the diocese came after the death of Monsignor Francis X. Mankel, who passed away on June 21, 2017.  Monsignor Mankel, a Knoxville native, faithfully served the Diocese of Knoxville, as a priest, educator, and administrator. He was instrumental in the foundation and development of the diocese after it was created by Pope St. John Paul II in 1988.

Father Owens can be reached at fatherdougowens@gmail.com.