WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Pope Francis has appointed Father James M. Beckman, a priest of the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, to be the bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee. Bishop-designate Beckman, 61, is currently pastor of St. Henry Parish in Nashville. A Tennessee native, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1990. The appointment was publicized in Washington May 7 by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishop-designate Beckman succeeds Bishop Richard F. Stika, who resigned June 27 at age 65, 10 years earlier than bishops are required to submit their resignation to the pope. In a statement sent to media when the pope accepted his resignation, Bishop Stika, who was the longest serving bishop in…