John Stowe

John Eric Stowe, O.F.M. Conv., (born April 15, 1966) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church currently serving as the third Bishop of the Diocese of Lexington in Kentucky.

Stowe was born in Amherst, Ohio, on April 15, 1966 to John and Lucy Stowe and grew up in Lorain, Ohio. After graduating from high school, in 1985 he was admitted as a candidate to the Province of Our Lady of Consolation of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, founded by St. Francis of Assisi. When he had completed his Novitiate year and been admitted to the Order, he was sent to study at Saint Louis University in Missouri for his higher studies, from which he graduated with a double major in both history and philosophy. He was then allowed to profess solemn vows in the Order on August 1, 1992.

Stowe then chose to pursue his seminary studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California. He received the degrees of Master of Divinity and a Licentiate of Sacred Theology, having emphasized in the study of Church history. He was then ordained as a priest on September 16, 1995. After this, he was assigned by his Province to serve in parishes in El Paso, Texas.

In 2002, Stowe was invited by the Bishop of El Paso to manage the Diocesan Chancery and to serve as his Vicar General. He was later appointed as the Chancellor of the Diocese. In 2010, he was elected to serve his Province as the Vicar Provincial. He was soon also named Rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio, which is administered by the Friars of the Province.

On March 12, 2015, Pope Francis appointed Stowe bishop of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky. He was installed as Ordinary of the Diocese at the Cathedral of Christ the King on May 5, 2015. He received his Episcopal Consecration from Archbishop Joseph Kurtz with Bishops Armando Ochoa and Gabriel Enrique Montero Umaña serving as Co-Consecrators.