Archbishop Shawn McKnight was born in 1968 in Wichita, KS, and graduated from the University of Dallas in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry.
Following his admission as a seminarian, he graduated from the Pontifical College Josephinum Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, with a Master of Arts in Theology and a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wichita on May 28, 1994, after which he was assigned as associate pastor at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Wichita.
After receiving his Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome in 1999, he successfully defended his dissertation at the Athenaeum in May of 2001 and was awarded a Doctor of Sacred Theology in Sacramental Theology (S.Th.D.).
Following his doctoral studies, he served as a chaplain and visiting scholar at Newman University, Wichita, and pastor of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Colwich, Kansas, and as the Director of the Office of Worship for the diocese.
In July of 2003, he was appointed to the faculty at the Pontifical College Josephinum, where he taught graduate courses in liturgy, homiletics, and
dogma. While on the faculty, he served in the administrative positions of Director of Liturgy, Dean of Students, Director of Formation, and Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations.
In May of 2008, he was appointed pastor once again at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Wichita before his appointment to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in July 2010, serving as the Executive Director of the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, until he was appointed Pastor of Church of the Magdalen in Wichita in July 2015.
On November 21, 2017, Pope Francis named him the fourth Bishop of Jefferson City, and he was ordained and installed on February 6, 2018.
On April 8, 2025, Pope Francis named him the fifth Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas, and he was installed on May 27, 2025.
Chairman, Board of Directors, Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) (2022 – Present)
Member of Board of Trustees of the Pontifical College Josephinum (2022 – 2025), and Chair (2025 – Present)
Board Member for St. John Vianney Center (January 2025 – Present)
Member of the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth (January 2026 – Present)
EQSaints Advisory Board Member (2025 – Present)
Archbishop McKnight is a recognized expert on the permanent diaconate and published author (Understanding the Diaconate: Historical, Theological and Sociological Foundations, Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America
Press, 2018).