Bishop Charron Retiring For Health Reasons

Bishop Joseph Charron of the Des Moines Roman Catholic Diocese is retiring immediately due to health reasons, the diocese announced Tuesday.

Pope Benedict XVI granted Charron's request to retire early, the diocese said in a statement.

The diocesan College of Consultors will meet within eight days to select an administrator who will oversee operations of the diocese pending an appointment of a new bishop.

A news conference was scheduled for later Tuesday. It is customary for bishops to ask the pope to retire when they turn 75.

Bishops may be granted retirement earlier for a variety of reasons.

Charron (pic'd here), 67, wrote a letter to the pope last August, saying he had been diagnosed with an inflammatory disorder and his doctor recommended he consider retirement.

He was diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica, which is characterized by pain and stiffness in the shoulders, neck, upper arms, lower back, thighs and hips.

Charron, who has served the Des Moines diocese for 13 years, was ordained as a priest in 1967. He began his ministry as a teacher at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn.

He holds a doctorate in moral theology. He also served the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for three years.

Charron became a bishop in 1990, serving as auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota.

He was named bishop of Des Moines on Nov. 12, 1993 and was installed as the diocese's eighth bishop on Jan. 21, 1994.

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