WASHINGTON (April 24, 2007) — Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Bishop John C. Nienstedt of New Ulm, Minnesota, as Coadjutor Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, made the announcement.

A Coadjutor Archbishop enjoys the right of succession which means he becomes head of the diocese upon the death or retirement of the incumbent archbishop.

Most Reverend Harry J. Flynn is Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Archbishop Nienstedt will serve as Apostolic Administrator of New Ulm until his successor is named.

John C. Nienstedt was born in Detroit, March 18, 1947. He studied at the Pontifical Institute of St. Alphonsus and the Gregorian University in Rome and was ordained a priest of the Detroit archdiocese on July 27, 1974. He was appointed Titular Bishop of Alton and Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit June 12, 1996. He was appointed Bishop of New Ulm on June 12, 2001 and installed on August 6, 2001.

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