Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix installs a new bishop

PHOENIX (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix held a special Mass on Tuesday to install John P. Dolan as the fifth bishop in the diocese’s 52-year history.

Pope Francis appointed Dolan in June to succeed Bishop Thomas Olmsted, who retired on his 75th birthday in January.

Olmsted became Phoenix’s bishop in December 2003.

The 60-year-old Dolan was ordained a priest in San Diego in 1989 and had been auxiliary bishop of that diocese since 2017.

Dolan also had been serving as San Diego’s moderator of the curia, vicar general and vicar for clergy.

The Diocese of Phoenix has 94 parishes, 23 missions, 29 elementary schools, seven high schools, three universities and one seminary.

It was established in 1969, serves more than 1.1 million Catholics and covers about half of Arizona with other parts of the state included in diocese in Tucson and Gallup, New Mexico.