RIP: Catherine M. Waynick, retired Indianapolis bishop, dies at 76

The Rt. Rev. Catherine M. Waynick served the Diocese of Indianapolis for 20 years. Photo: Diocese of Indianapolis

[Episcopal News Service/Diocese of Indianapolis] The Rt. Rev. Catherine M. Waynick, who served as the 10th bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis, died on Oct. 30 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was 76. 

“On this Feast of All Saints, we give thanks for Bishop Cate’s faithful ministry and steadfast love for the Church. We ask your prayers for her husband, Larry, for their family, and for all who mourn her passing,” said Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, in an email to the diocese announcing Waynick’s death. 

Waynick served as bishop of the Indianapolis diocese from 1997 to 2017, guiding it through two decades of growth, inclusion, and evolving mission in The Episcopal Church. She was the seventh woman to be consecrated bishop in The Episcopal Church and the 10th woman bishop in the Anglican Communion.



Her 20-year episcopate was marked by a commitment to inclusion, theological depth and steady leadership through times of transition. She encouraged the diocese to strengthen lay and clergy formation, expand community partnerships and embody a church that welcomed all people. She was especially committed to identifying, calling and forming deacons for ministry in the diocese and churchwide. She also initiated a unique three-way partnership in mission between the Diocese of Indianapolis, the Diocese of Bor in South Sudan and the Diocese of Brasília.

Upon her retirement in 2017, she was elected and served two years as provisional bishop, providing pastoral and administrative guidance during a period of transition and renewal, in what was then the Diocese of Eastern Michigan, now part of the Diocese of the Great Lakes. 

She began her ordained ministry in the Diocese of Michigan, serving Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills and All Saints in Pontiac before being elected bishop coadjutor in January 1997.  She was consecrated in June, and in September, she was installed as diocesan bishop. In addition to her ministry in Indianapolis, Waynick served on several General Convention legislative committees, on the abundance committee of the Church Pension Fund and on the task force to revise Title IV disciplinary canons. She served as president of the disciplinary board for bishops and as a governor of the Anglican Centre in Rome.

General Theological Seminary in New York awarded Waynick an honorary Doctor of Divinity in 1998 for her contributions to theological education and ecclesial leadership. She was known for her intellect, pastoral sensibility and clear-eyed commitment to the mission of the church. She cherished ecumenical and interfaith relationships, working closely with Christian and Jewish laity and clergy throughout her ministry. 

Waynick was born in Jackson, Michigan, on Nov. 13, 1948. She met her husband, Larry Waynick, when they were both students at Central Michigan University. They sang in a folk trio together that performed in coffee houses and even opened once for Joni Mitchell in her early days. 

She is survived by her husband, their two children and grandchildren. 

A service will be held at St. Paul’s in Indianapolis at noon on Friday, Dec. 12. Private internment will follow at St. Paul’s columbarium.