New Co-Adjutor of Minneapolis has ties to Detroit

Update Day 2: Amy links to the Northland Catholic blog, and Rocco has his coverage up now (including a beautiful picture of Neidstedt).

Update: Via Jeff, a very informative post by Thomas A. Szyszkiewicz @ Epiphany.

Also, the Associated Press has come out with its coverage, with some nice quotes from Bp. Nienstedt.

Original post:

Archbishop Harry Flynn is one year from retirement, and today Pope Benedict provided a successor for him in Minneapolis. From today's Vatican Information Service:

"[The Holy Father appointed:] Bishop John Clayton Nienstedt of New Ulm, U.S.A., as coadjutor archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (area 17,225, population 3,027,000, Catholics 837,000, priests 514, permanent deacons 221, religious 1,206), U.S.A. The archbishop-elect was born in Detroit, U.S.A., in 1947, he was ordained a priest in 1974, and consecrated a bishop in 1996."
Bishop Nienstedt was ordained a priest of Detroit, and made an auxiliary there in 1996 (consecrated by Maida, Szoka & Hickey). He has been the bishop of New Ulm since 2001.

Of course, in providing for Minneapolis' upcoming vacancy with a Bishop who already has charge of a diocese, that means New Ulm must now be provided for eventually. That makes eight U.S. diocese that are vacant, not to mention the eleven bishops that are serving past their 75th birthday (the mandatory age for submitting their resignation), as Dom reminds us.

Included among the bishops serving beyond their retirement age is my own, Carl Mengling of Lansing (76 & 1/2) and also our local Archbishop, Cardinal Maida (Over 77).

Fr. Brian Stanley has an informative post on Amy's comment page:

The Church of St. Paul-Minneapolis is very blessed to receive such a fine bishop. Bishop Nienstedt was the "founding" rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, when Cardinal Szoka charged him with the responsibility for taking over the college seminary and adding a graduate program for theology. Bishop Nienstedt has a doctorate in moral theology, and I recall that his thesis was on in vitro fertilization.

No doubt there are more than a few Detroiters who are pleased with this appointment, but for diverse reasons. Bp. Nienstedt's orthodox friends are pleased to see his administrative skills put to use in a significant see; others, less concerned about orthodoxy or orthopraxis, are pleased because it takes him out of the running to succeed Cardinal Maida in Detroit. Someone else will be charged with that task, a mission right up there with cleaning the Augean stables.

As always, there's a fun mix of rumors, experiences, hopes and gripes in Amy's combox.

More Links:

• The Diocese of Ulm website has a very good page for Neidstedt, far better than what you'll typically find on the websites of most larger diocese for their Ordinary
• There's no word of this appointment on the Archdiocese of Minneapolis website yet.