The Holy Father appointed Msgr. Timothy Doherty as bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette, Indiana on Wednesday, while simultaneously accepting the resignation of the current bishop of the diocese. Bishop-elect Doherty, 59, will succeed Bishop William Higi, who is retiring at the age of 76.
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced the appointment in Washington D.C. on May 12.
Msgr. Doherty was born in 1950 in Rockford, Illinois. After attending St. Mary's Minor Seminary in Illinois and then St. Ambrose College in Iowa, he went to Rome, studying at Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Lateran University, where he eventually earned a licentiate in Sacred Theology.
He was ordained a priest in 1976 and earned a Ph.D. in Christian ethics in 1995.
Msgr. Doherty primarily served in Catholic schools and parishes in the Illinois area, before becoming pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Dundee, Indiana, where he currently serves.
Bishop-elect Doherty will shepherd close to 100,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Lafayette.
SIC: CNA