Youngstown gets its bishop!

Tuesdays are "new bishop" day, and today the diocese of Youngstown (the second-longest vacancy in the U.S.) received its new bishop from a rather exotic source.

The Vatican Information Service release:

[The Holy Father] Appointed Bishop George V. Murry S.J., of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands, U.S.A., as bishop of Youngstown (area 8,813, population 1,220,447, Catholics 233,999, priests 173, permanent deacons 66, religious 242), U.S.A.

BettNet notes the many dioceses that are still vacant:

... the other vacant sees at the moment (and the date they became vacant) are Lake Charles, Louisiana (March 2005); Birmingham, Alabama (May 2005); Pittsburgh (May 2006); Little Rock, Arkansas (May 2006); Great Falls/Billings, Montana (July 2006); and Shreveport, Louisiana (December 2006). Eleven other bishops are serving past their retirement age.

Amy provides a press release with some background on the bishop-elect.

Rocco gives us his information.

Not surprisingly, the Diocese of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, has a rather sparse website. Wikipedia adds a little more in the history department here, including a map of the diocese.

And finally, on a personal note, I attended college with a gentleman who is now a priest of the diocese of Youngstown (and still the most recent ordinand of the diocese, I believe). If you want extended coverage of this event, YouTube has a video of his ordination, celebrated by Carl Mengling, the (serving past his retirement date) bishop of my diocese, Lansing.

It's a small papist world, isn't it?