Toledo diocese in NW Ohio installs new bishop

Toledo diocese in NW Ohio installs new bishop

AP Photo OHBOW103, OHBOW102, OHBOW101

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TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo has a new leader.

Bishop Daniel Thomas was formally installed Wednesday as bishop of the diocese that covers much of northwestern Ohio.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigino, the official representative of Pope Francis, read a proclamation from the pope that declared Thomas as the new bishop.

Thomas was formerly the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan and about 80 priests from the Philadelphia archdiocese were among those in Toledo for the ceremony.

Thomas had been auxiliary bishop in Philadelphia since 2006. He replaces Bishop Leonard Paul Blair who was named bishop of the Hartford Archdiocese in Connecticut a year ago.

Sister Francis Helen Murphy of Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Philadelphia, said she worked with Thomas shortly after he was ordained a priest in 1985.

“He’s a real blessing on this diocese and the people,” she told The Blade newspaper in Toledo. “He is like a magnet, he can bring people out of the woodwork. We’re sorry to see him go.”

Thomas is a native of Philadelphia.

The Diocese of Toledo serves 320,000 Roman Catholics in 124 parishes.