We were surprised to wake up this morning and discover that Pope Francis has appointed a new Archbishop for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis!

Today at 6:00 a.m. local time, Pope Francis formally announced Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda’s appointment as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.  Archbishop Hebda has been serving as Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese since June 15, 2015.  During that time, he has also been serving the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, as Coadjutor Archbishop, and was scheduled to replace Archbishop John J. Myers when he is expected to retire in July.

Upon being told of his appointment, Archbishop Hebda said he was “humbled by this expression of Pope Francis’s confidence and honored to serve this Archdiocese with its rich history and  its long tradition of  extraordinary priests, zealous Religious and empowered laity, all working to put their faith into action.”