ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Pope Francis has appointed a New York City priest to succeed Bishop Howard Hubbard as the leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn announced Tuesday morning that the pope appointed the Rev. Monsignor Edward Scharfenberger as the Albany diocese’s 10th bishop.
Hubbard was the longest-tenured bishop of a single diocese in the nation when he submitted his resignation on Oct. 31, when he turned 75, the mandatory retirement age for a bishop. He was appointed bishop of Albany in March 1977.
Scharfenberger was ordained a priest in 1973. He has held a number of parish and administrative positions in New York City, including episcopal vicar for Queens.
The Albany diocese has about 330,000 parishioners in 14 counties across upstate New York.
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