Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Bishop Martin Amos Of Davenport; Names Msgr. Thomas Zinkula As Successor; Pope Also Names Rev. John Dolan As Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego

WASHINGTON—PopeFrancis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Martin Amos, 75, from thepastoral governance of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, and has named MonsignorThomas R. Zinkula, to succeed him. Monsignor Zinkula is a priest of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, currentlyserving as rector of St. Pius X Seminary at Loras College in Dubuque.  

Pope Francis has alsonamed Father John P. Dolan as Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego. Father Dolan is apriest of the Diocese of San Diego where he currently serves as Episcopal Vicarfor Clergy and Pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish.  

The resignation andappointments were publicized in Washington, April 19, 2017, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to theUnited States.

Bishop-designate,Msgr. Thomas Zinkula, 60, was born April 19, 1957, in Mount Vernon, Iowa. He attended Catholic University inWashington, DC, where he earned a master's in Theology in 1990. In 1998, he received a licentiate in CanonLaw from St. Paul's University, Ottawa, Canada. He also earned a law degree from the University of Iowa in 1983 and heholds a bachelor's degree in mathematics, economics and business from CornellCollege in Mount Vernon. 

He was ordained tothe priesthood on May 26, 1990, for the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

Assignments afterordination included: assistant pastor, St. Columbkille, Dubuque, 1990-1993; assistant pastor at Joseph theWorker,  Dubuque, 1993-1996; a student ofCanon Law at St. Paul University in Ottawa from 1996-1998; pastor of St. Josephin Rickardsville and sacramental priest for the parishes of St. Francis in Balltown, and SS. Peterand Paul in Sherill from 1998-2002; judgeat the Archdiocesan Tribunal from 1998-2000; judicial vicar, 2000-2010; pastor,Holy Ghost, Dubuque 2005-2011; episcopal vicar for the region of Cedar Rapids,2012-2014; and rector of St. Pius X Seminary in Dubuque, 2014-present.

Bishop Amos wasordained a priest in 1968.  He served as anauxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in the state of Ohio from 2001 to2006, and then as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Davenport since 2006.

The Diocese ofDavenport is comprised of 11,438 square miles in the state of Iowa and has atotal population of 792,199 of which 97,202, or 12 percent, are Catholic.

Auxiliarybishop-designate, Father John Dolan was born in San Diego, June 8, 1962 and wasordained to the priesthood on July 1, 1989 for the Diocese of San Diego.

Fr. Dolan holds aMaster of Arts degree in Liturgy from St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park,California.

Assignments after ordination included: parochial vicar,Saint Michael's Parish, San Diego from 1989-1991; associate pastor, Santa SofiaParish, El Cajon, 1991-1992; director of vocations, 1992-1994; pastor of St.Mary Star of the Sea Parish, Oceanside, 1996-2001; pastor, St. Michael'sParish, San Diego, 2001-2002; pastor, St. Rose of Lima Parish, Chula Vista,2002-2014; pastor, Saint Michael's Church, Poway, 2014-2016; episcopal vicarfor the clergy and pastor, St. John the Evangelist Parish, San Diego2016-present.

The Diocese of SanDiego is comprised of 8,852 square miles in the state of California and has atotal population of 3,285,849 of which 1,012,486 or 30 percent are Catholic.  The Bishop of the San Diego Diocese is Robert W. McElroy.

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Keywords: bishopappointments, Pope Francis, ArchbishopChristophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio tothe United States, Bishop Martin Amos, Bishop-designate Thomas Zinkula, Archdioceseof Davenport, Iowa, Auxiliary bishop designate, Rev. John Dolan, Diocese of SanDiego, Bishop Robert W. McElroy

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