.Jesuit Father Patrick J. Conroy, retiring chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives, is pictured in a May 8, 2017, photo. Retired Rear Adm. Margaret G. Kibben will replace him as next House chaplain and will be the first female chaplain for either chamber. (CNS photo/Rhina Guidos)
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WASHINGTON (CNS) With the year-end announcement that Jesuit Father Pat Conroy would be retiring as chaplain of the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that for the first time, a woman will take over the post.
In a Dec. 31, 2020, press release, Pelosi announced that Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben would replace Father Conroy, who has served as the 60th House chaplain since 2011.
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By CNSNews.com Staff | December 31, 2020 | 4:16pm EST
(Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais-Pool/Getty Images)
(CNSNews.com) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) announced today that she was naming Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben to replace Father Pat Conroy, who is retiring, as the chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Kibben, who is a Presbyterian minister, will be the first woman to serve as the chaplain of the House.
“It is my honor to announce the appointment of Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben to serve as Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives: the first woman to serve in this historic position, which has been enshrined in our Democracy since the First Congress in 1789,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Rear Adm. Margaret Grun Kibben named as first woman to serve as House chaplain
A Presbyterian minister and longtime chaplain will be the first woman to serve as House chaplain. Rear Adm. Margaret Grun Kibben preaches at Washington National Cathedral on Nov. 10, 2019. Video screengrab via Cathedral.org
December 31, 2020
(RNS) A longtime military officer and minister has been named the new chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday (Dec. 31).
Rear Adm. Margaret Grun Kibben will be the first woman to serve as chaplain of either chamber of Congress, according to Pelosi’s announcement. Kibben, an ordained Presbyterian Church (USA) minister, has previously serviced as the U.S. Navy’s chief chaplain and chaplain of the Marine Corps.