Bishop William E. Koenig, D.D.

December 19, 2023

On April 30, 2021, the Holy See announced that the Reverend Monsignor William Edward Koenig, a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, had been appointed the new bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. At the time of his appointment as Bishop of Wilmington, Bishop William Edward Koenig was the Vicar for Clergy for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York.

Born on August 17, 1956 in Queens, New York, Bishop Koenig grew up in East Meadow, New York where he and his family were parishioners of St. Raphael’s Church. He attended St. Raphael’s Elementary School, St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale, New York, Cathedral College in Douglaston, New York and the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York. After ordination, he also attended Fordham University from which he received a Master of Social Work Degree.

Bishop Koenig was ordained to the Priesthood at St. Agnes Cathedral on May 14, 1983. His first assignment as a priest was to the Parish of St. Edward the Confessor in Syosset, New York. After five years at St. Edward’s, he served for one year in the Parish of St. James in Setauket. In 1989, he was appointed the Diocesan Director of Vocations with Residence at the Cathedral Residence of the Immaculate Conception in Douglaston, New York. As a resident, he assisted the staff of four other priests in helping to form seminarians from the Dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre for the Priesthood as they completed college or Pre-Theology requirements. In 1990, Bishop Koenig was assigned as Diocesan Director of Ministry to Priests while continuing to serve as Diocesan Director of Vocations. Upon the completion of his assignment in 1996 as Directors of Vocations and Ministry to Priests, Bishop Koenig served from 1996 to 2000 as Parochial Vicar at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre, New York. In 2000, he was appointed Pastor of St. William the Abbot in Seaford, New York where he continued to serve until 2009. During his term as Pastor at St. Williams, Bishop Koenig in 2007 was named Chaplain to His Holiness by Pope Benedict XVI. In 2009, he was appointed the Rector of St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre, New York. His service as Rector concluded in 2020 when he was appointed the Vicar for Clergy for the Diocese of Rockville Centre.