WASHINGTON (November 17, 1998)--The U.S.Catholic Bishops today elected Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference.

Bishop Fiorenza is the 11th President of the Bishops' two organizations since they were established in their present form in 1966. Here is the list of his predecessors:

Cardinal John Dearden, Detroit, 1966-71
Cardinal John Krol, Philadelphia, 1971-74
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, then Archbishop of Chicago, 1974-77
Archbishop John Quinn, San Francisco, 1977-80
Archbishop John Roach, St. Paul and Minneapolis, 1980-83
Bishop James Malone, Youngstown, 1983-86
Archbishop John May, St. Louis, 1986-89
Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, Cincinnati, 1989-92
Cardinal William Keeler, Baltimore, 1992-1995
Bishop Anthony Pilla, Cleveland, 1995-98

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