Mariann Budde
Mariann Edgar Budde is an American Episcopal prelate who has served as Bishop of Washington since 2011. She is the first woman elected to the position of bishop in the diocese.
Budde was ordained as a deacon in 1988 and as a priest in 1989. She served as rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 1993 until she became the bishop of Washington in 2011. In 2017, she oversaw the removal of Washington National Cathedral's stained-glass windows honoring Confederate generals, which were replaced in 2023 with windows representing the civil rights movement. In 2018, she presided over the internment of the ashes of Matthew Shepard, a murdered gay man, at the cathedral.
She delivered a benediction at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Budde delivered the homily at the January 2025 interfaith prayer service following Donald Trump's second presidential inauguration. Her sermon called for compassion and mercy toward marginalized groups. Trump and some of his supporters criticized her remarks, while other public figures and faith leaders praised her message.
Budde was ordained as a deacon in 1988 and as a priest in 1989. She served as rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 1993 until she became the bishop of Washington in 2011. In 2017, she oversaw the removal of Washington National Cathedral's stained-glass windows honoring Confederate generals, which were replaced in 2023 with windows representing the civil rights movement. In 2018, she presided over the internment of the ashes of Matthew Shepard, a murdered gay man, at the cathedral.
She delivered a benediction at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Budde delivered the homily at the January 2025 interfaith prayer service following Donald Trump's second presidential inauguration. Her sermon called for compassion and mercy toward marginalized groups. Trump and some of his supporters criticized her remarks, while other public figures and faith leaders praised her message.
