WASHINGTON (June 30, 2003) -— Pope John Paul II has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami as Coadjutor Bishop of Orlando.

A coadjutor bishop enjoys the right of succession which means he becomes head of the diocese upon the retirement or death of the incumbent bishop. Most Reverend Norbert M. Dorsey, CP, is the Bishop of Orlando.

Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, announced the appointment.

Thomas G. Wenski was born October 18, 1950, in West Palm Beach. He attended St. Vincent de Paul's Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Miami, May 15, 1976.

Bishop Wenski earned an M.A. in Sociology at Fordham University, New York.

Following ordination, he was parochial vicar in Corpus Christi parish, from 1976 to 1979, and served at St. Mary's Cathedral in Miami from 1980 to 1984. In 1984 he was named Director of the Haitian Apostolate, and in 1996 was appointed Director of Catholic Charities and Community Services. He was also a member of the Presbyteral Council.

Bishop Wenski was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Miami and Titular Bishop of Kearney on June 24, 1997.

He is Chairman of the Migration Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

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