Pope Benedict XVI appointed Vigneron Archbishop of Detroit on January 5, 2009, replacing longtime incumbent Cardinal Maida. Installed on January 28, 2009, Vigneron is the first metropolitan Detroit native named Archbishop of Detroit. He was elected chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America on June 9, 2009. He received the pallium from Benedict XVI on June 29, 2009, in a ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica. On April 21, 2011, as Archbishop of Detroit, he participated in an interfaith vigil held at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan.