Cleveland's auxiliary, Bishop Gries, retires at 76

Cleveland, Ohio, Nov 1, 2013 / 09:22 am

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Roger W. Gries, who was the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland, on Nov. 1, upon his having reached the mandatory retirement age of 75.

Bishop Gries celebrated his 76th birthday in March. He was born in Cleveland, and joined the Order of Saint Benedict in 1957.

He was ordained a priest in 1963, and lived as a Benedictine through his appointment as an auxiliary bishop of Cleveland in 2001.

Bishop Gries was consecrated June 7, 2001, and has served as an auxiliary in Cleveland since that time. He now joins Bishop Anthony Pevec as an auxiliary bishop emeritus.

The Diocese of Cleveland is led by Bishop Richard Lennon.

In other pontifical acts, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Archbishop Boniface Lele of Mombasa, in Kenya. Archbishop Emeritus Lele is 66, and presented his resignation under canon law "because of ill health or some other grave cause."

Bishop Emanuel Barbara of Malindi was appointed apostolic administrator of Mombasa until a new bishop is appointed.

In Haiti, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Max Mésidor as Coadjutor Archbishop of Cap-Haitien. As coadjutor, he will succeed as archbishop of Cap-Haitien when its current archbishop, Louis Kébreau, reaches the age of 75 later this month.

Archbishop Mésidor had been Bishop of Fort-Liberté since June, 2012.