Boston Auxiliary to Head Cleveland Diocese

CLEVELAND , Ohio , APRIL 4, 2006 ( Zenit.org ).- Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Bishop Anthony Pilla of Cleveland and appointed Auxiliary Bishop Richard Lennon of Boston as his successor.

Bishop Lennon, 59, is a native of Arlington , Massachusetts . He studied at St. John's Seminary College , Brighton , Massachusetts , and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston in May 1973.

He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Boston in June 2001, and ordained Sept. 14, 2001 .

Bishop Pilla, 73, had been appointed head of the Cleveland Diocese in November 1980 and installed the following January.

He was president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference from 1995 to 1998.

Cleveland is the 15th largest U.S. diocese. It has 802,000 Catholics, 28% of the total eight-county population of 2.85 million.