Washington D.C., Apr 26, 2011 / 10:22 am
Pope Benedict appointed Kentucky priest Fr. Charles Thompson as bishop of the diocese of Evansville, Ind. on April 26.
Bishop-elect Thompson, 50, currently serves as vicar general at the Archdiocese of Louisville and will replace Evansville Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger, who will soon retire, having reached the age of 75 last October.
Vatican nuncio Archbishop Pietro Sambi publicized the appointment and resignation acceptance in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday morning.
Bishop-elect Thompson was born in Louisville and holds a Master of Divinity degree from St. Meinrad School of Theology, and a Licentiate in Canon Law from St. Paul University in Ottawa.
He was ordained a priest for the Louisville Archdiocese in 1987.
Following his ordination, Bishop-elect Thompson served at multiple parishes in the Louisville area as well as on the diocesan tribunal. He was appointed vicar general of the Louisville archdiocese in 2008.
The bishop-elect will now shepherd a diocese of 500,000 in Evansville, of which 65,000 – or 17 percent – are Catholic.