Bishop of St. Cloud, Minn., retires; pope names Oregon pastor as successor

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Donald J. Kettler of St. Cloud, Minnesota, and named as his successor Holy Cross Father Patrick Neary, pastor of Holy Redeemer Parish in Portland, Oregon.

Bishop Kettler, who has headed the Diocese of St. Cloud since 2013, turned 78 Nov. 26. Canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope at age 75.

Bishop-designate Neary, 59, has been Holy Redeemer's pastor since 2018. He was district supervisor of East Africa for his religious order, Congregation of Holy Cross, from 2011 to 2018 and before that was director of the McCauley Formation house in Nairobi for a year.

The changes were announced Dec. 15 in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican nuncio to the United States.