Pope appoints new bishop for Richmond

Vatican City, Mar 30, 2004 / 22:00 pm

Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Francis Xavier DiLorenzo, until now of Honolulu, as the new Bishop of Richmond, in Virginia.

Bishop DiLorenzo was born on April 15, 1942 in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), and studied at the archdiocesan Seminary.

He was ordained a priest on May 18, 1968, for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

After two years as vicar at St. Joseph Parish in Warrington (1968-1969), he became a high school professor of religion from 1969 to 1971.  In 1971 he traveled to Rome to complete studies in Moral Theology at the Pontifical University Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum.)

In1977 he became professor of religion at the Immaculata College in Philadelphia. In 1983 he was appointed vice-rector of St. Charles Seminary and in 1985 he became its rector.

On January 11,1988, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton (New Jersey) and on October 12, 1993, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Honolulu (Hawaii.) He became the ordinary of Hawaii in October 4, 1994.