(RNS) Pope Benedict XVI has tapped Michigan native Bishop Allen Vigneron to succeed Cardinal Adam Maida as archbishop of Detroit, the Vatican announced Monday (Jan. 5).
Vigneron, 60, had been bishop of Oakland, Calif., since 2003, and has been a priest since 1975. He will be installed as archbishop in Detroit on Jan. 28.
Following Vatican rules, Maida, 78, who had led the Detroit area’s 1.4 million Catholics for 18 years, submitted his resignation to Benedict in 2005, when he turned 75.
Maida, along with 12 other U.S. cardinals, is eligible to vote in papal elections until he turns 80. With the death last month of Cardinal Avery Dulles, there are now 16 American-born cardinals in all.
Both men have been known for large-scale building projects. Maida oversaw fund raising and construction of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington. Vigneron recently dedicated the acclaimed Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland.
-Daniel Burke
