VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has named Springfield, Massachusetts Bishop Mitchell Rozanski as the next archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri, a diocese long associated with the conservative wing of the U.S. church.
Rozanski replaces Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 last year and submitted his resignation to the pope. The Vatican said Wednesday that Francis had accepted it and named Rozanski to succeed him.
Rozanski, 61, is considered a moderate and is taking over an archdiocese that has long been led by conservatives: Prior to Carlson, St. Louis was headed by now-Cardinal Raymond Burke, a leading point of reference for conservatives in the U.S. and beyond.
And prior to Burke, St. Louis was headed by now-Cardinal Justin Rigali, who went onto head the archdiocese of Philadelphia.
In a tweet, Carlson said: “I am confident in the future of God’s strong Church in St. Louis with Archbishop-elect Rozanski as its shepherd. Welcome to @archstl, Bishop Rozanski."
Rozanski was an auxiliary bishop in his hometown of Baltimore before being named to lead the Springfield diocese in 2014. Coincidentally, in another appointment Wednesday, Francis named a new auxiliary bishop for Baltimore, Bruce Lewandowski of the Redemptorist religious order.
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