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WASHINGTON (May 30, 2002) – Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of Bishop Gilbert I. Sheldon, Bishop of Steubenville, Ohio since 1992, and appointed Father Robert D. Conlon, pastor of Holy Redeemer Church, New Bremen, Ohio, as his successor.
The Pope named Monsignor Roger J. Foys, Vicar General of the Diocese of Steubenville, as Bishop of Covington, Kentucky. Bishop-elect Foys succeeds Bishop Robert W. Muench who was appointed Bishop of Baton Rouge on December 15, 2001.
Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, made the announcements.
Roger Foys was born in Chicago July 27, 1945. He studied at St. Francis Preparatory School in Andover, Massachusetts, the University of Steubenville, St. John Vianney Seminary in Bloomingdale, Ohio, and the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.
He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Steubenville on May 16, 1973.
Bishop-designate Foys served in both administrative and pastoral posts in the Diocese of Steubenville. He was Secretary of the Diocesan Tribunal from 1973 to 2002. Since 1982 he has been Vicar General, Diocesan Consultor, Chairman, Diocesan Finance Council, and Director of the Diocesan Data Processing Department.
The new Bishop of Steubenville, Robert Daniel Conlon, was born December 4, 1948 in Cincinnati. He studied at St. Gregory Seminary High School and College, Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West, and the University of St. Paul, Ottawa, where he earned the J.C.D. and Ph.D. degrees.
He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati on January 15, 1977.
Bishop-elect Conlon held numerous pastoral and administrative posts in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. In 1987 he was named Chancellor of the archdiocese and Director of the Department of Executive Services.
He was appointed pastor of Holy Redeemer, New Bremen, in 1996. In 2000 he was elected to the Presbyterial Council of the archdiocese and that same year was appointed to the College of Consultors.
Bishop Sheldon was born in Cleveland, September 20, 1926. Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Cleveland, February 28, 1953, he was named Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland, April 12, 1976, and Bishop of Steubenville, January 28, 1992.
The Diocese of Covington, established July 29, 1853, comprises 14 counties in the north and east of Kentucky. It has a Catholic population of 86,000 in a total population of about 452,000.
The Diocese of Steubenville was established in 1944, and comprises 13 counties in the State of Ohio. It has a Catholic population of approximately 40,500 in a total population of over 522,000.