WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of
Bishop Richard G. Lennon from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of
Cleveland and has named Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo as the Apostolic
Administrator of the diocese until the installation of a new bishop.

The resignation and appointment was publicized in
Washington, December 28, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to
the United States.

Bishop Lennon was installed as the 10th Bishop
of the Diocese of Cleveland on May 15, 2006. His Holiness Pope Benedict
XVI, appointed Bishop Lennon on April 4, 2006.

A
native of the Boston area, Bishop Lennon was ordained to the priesthood in May,
1973 in the Archdiocese of Boston where he served as a parish priest, Fire
Department Chaplain, an Assistant for Canonical Affairs, and Rector of St.
John’s Seminary. Ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Boston
on September 14, 2001, he was also called upon to serve as Apostolic
Administrator for the Archdiocese from December of 2002 to July of 2003.

The Diocese of Cleveland comprises 3,414 square miles
that include eight counties in the north-central part of the state of Ohio. It
has a total population of 2,774,113 people of which 682,948 or 24 percent, are
Catholic.
——

Keywords: Pope Francis, U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops, USCCB, Bishop Richard G. Lennon, Diocese of Cleveland, Archdiocese of
Boston, Bishop Daniel Thomas, Diocese of Toledo.

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Source:: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops