Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Reverend David R. Choby as Bishop of Nashville

Washington D.C., Dec 19, 2005 / 22:00 pm

Nashville-born Father Choby was appointed today as the new Bishop of Nashville by Pope Benedict XVI. He succeeds Bishop Edward U. Kmiec who was appointed Bishop of Buffalo, August 12, 2004.

The announcement was made today by Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. Father Choby was elected by the College of Consultors as Diocesan Administrator of Nashville on November 2, 2004.

“I am truly honored and humbled by this appointment,” Rev. Choby said. “I will do my best to respond to the confidence that Pope Benedict places in me.”

David Choby was born in Nashville, January 17, 1947. Father Choby, 58, is a native of Nashville and is currently serving as the Administrator of the Diocese of Nashville and pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Gallatin.

He attended St. Patrick, St. Edward, and Cathedral Catholic elementary schools in Nashville, as well as Father Ryan High School, also in that city. He later studied at St. Ambrose College, Davenport, the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, where he finished his licentiate in Canon Law.

Bishop-designate Choby was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Nashville on September 6, 1974.

Following ordination, Bishop-designate Choby held a variety of pastoral and administrative assignments. He was on the faculty of the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, from 1984 to 1989. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the College.

Bishop-designate Choby was appointed Pastor, St. John Vianney, Gallatin, Tennessee, and Dean, Northeast Deanery, in 1989. He was a Member, Third Presbyteral Council/College of Consultors from 1993 to 1998, and a member of the Fourth Council and College from 1998 to 2003.

Established in 1837, the Diocese of Nashville comprises 38 counties in the State of Tennessee. It has a Catholic population of about 72,250 in a total population of 2.1 million.