Robert P. Boxie III was consecrated as a bishop on July 7, 2026, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, marking a historic moment in the American Catholic episcopate. At 45 years old, Boxie is the youngest active Catholic bishop in the United States and the first member of a historically Black college fraternity to be elevated to the episcopacy.

Pope Leo XIV appointed Boxie as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington on May 1, 2026. The appointment culminated a career path that took him from civil litigation to seminary formation and pastoral ministry, including six years serving as Catholic chaplain at Howard University, one of the nation’s premier historically Black institutions.

An Unconventional Journey to the Episcopate

Boxie was born on September 12, 1980, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He graduated from St. Louis Catholic High School in Lake Charles in 1998 and earned a degree in chemical engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2002, where he also pursued a major in music. At Vanderbilt, he was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for Black men, through the Kappa Theta Chapter in 2000.

After university, Boxie spent a year teaching English in France before pursuing legal study. He earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2007 and subsequently worked as a federal law clerk for the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, and as an associate at the law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP.

In 2010, at the age of 30, Boxie entered seminary. He studied at the Pontifical North American College and Gregorian University in Rome, receiving his Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 2017. During his formation in Rome, he deepened his preparation for ordained ministry while maintaining the intellectual rigor that had characterized his earlier professional life.

Ministry at Howard University

Boxie’s tenure as Catholic chaplain at Howard University resulted in a tangible expansion of Catholic life on campus. In 2023, under his leadership, the Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Student Center was established at Howard, providing a dedicated space for Catholic students and ministry. The center bears the name of the pioneering African American Catholic educator and nun who became widely recognized for her witness to faith and racial justice.

His appointment to the episcopacy reflects the Church’s recognition of the importance of pastoral leadership and intellectual formation in service to the Black Catholic community. The appointment also speaks to the broader mission of the Archdiocese of Washington to develop its episcopal leadership for the future.

A Milestone for Black Catholics

Boxie’s consecration represents a significant moment in American Catholic history. His predecessor as a consecrated Black bishop was Roy Edward Campbell Jr., who was consecrated on April 21, 2015. The elevation of Boxie to the episcopacy signals the Church’s ongoing commitment to cultivating leadership from within the African American Catholic community.

The fact that Boxie is the first member of the Divine Nine—the nine historically Black college fraternities and sororities founded between 1906 and 1963—to be appointed to the Catholic episcopacy underscores the role that Black Catholic leadership plays not only within the Church but also within the broader fabric of African American institutional life and witness.

As an auxiliary bishop in the nation’s capital, Boxie joins the leadership of one of the Church’s most prominent and influential archdioceses. His background in law, his years of pastoral formation, and his direct experience serving Black Catholic students position him to address the needs and aspirations of the diverse flock entrusted to his care.