Retiring Bishop in Auburn Today

The Citizen
September 22, 2012

http://auburnpub.com/news/local/interim-bishop-named-for-rochester-diocese/article_7f76c119-7073-5afe-b347-383fe9601b4f.html

Clark

Pope Benedict XVI on Friday officially accepted the resignation of Matthew Clark, the longtime bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, and Syracuse Bishop Robert Cunningham was named as a temporary replacement.

According to a news release from the Diocese of Rochester, Cunningham has been appointed as Apostolic Administrator of the diocese until a new bishop is named. He will continue to lead the Diocese of Syracuse during the transition.

There will be a Mass with Clark at 4 p.m. today, Sept. 22, at St. Alphonsus Church, 85 E. Genesee St., Auburn. Following Mass, Clark will greet guests at a reception in his honor in the parish center.

Clark submitted his resignation July 15, his 75th birthday, as required by church law. Clark was the eighth bishop of Rochester, serving from 1979 until Friday. The diocese said Clark's tenure was second to only the diocese's first bishop, Bernard McQuaid.

Cunningham is a Buffalo native. He was ordained a priest in 1969 and served as the 13th Bishop of Ogdensburg from 2004 until his appointment as the 10th Bishop of Syracuse in April 2009.

According to the Rochester Diocese, the pope's representative in the United States and the Holy See's Congregation for Bishops are responsible for identifying possible candidates to become the new bishop. The pope makes the final determination, and the process can take several months.