Pope Names Bishop Bernard Hebda Of Gaylord Coadjutor Archbishop Of Newark

WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has named Bishop Bernard Hebda of Gaylord, Michigan, 54, coadjutor archbishop for the Archdiocese of Newark. As coadjutor archbishop, he is in line to succeed Archbishop John Myers of Newark, who is 72, upon his retirement.

The appointment was publicized in Washington, September 24, by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bernard Hebda was born September 3, 1959, in Pittsburgh. He holds a master of arts degree from Harvard University, a doctor of law degree from Columbia University, and a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (The Angelicum), in Rome.

He studied at North American College, Rome, and was ordained for the Diocese of Pittsburgh on April 6, 1989. After ordination to the priesthood, he served in several diocesan positions. He was an official at the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, 1996-2003, and served as undersecretary of the council from 2003 to 2009, when he was named bishop of Gaylord. He was ordained bishop of Gaylord on December 1, 2009.

Archbishop Myers has served as archbishop of Newark since 2001. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois in 1966 and appointed coadjutor bishop of Peoria in 1987, succeeding as bishop in 1990.

The Archdiocese of Newark has 2,859,850 people, of whom 47 percent, or 1,352,000, are Catholic.