WASHINGTON OSV News – Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan of Camden, New Jersey, 80, and Coadjutor Bishop Joseph A. Williams immediately succeeds him as the ninth bishop of the diocese.
The announcement was publicized March 17 in Washington by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
A native of Minnesota, Bishop Williams, 50, was named coadjutor for Camden by Pope Francis May 21. Before that he was an auxiliary for St. Paul and Minneapolis, appointed by the pope Dec. 10, 2021, and ordained a bishop Jan. 25, 2022.
Bishop Sullivan, a native of the Bronx, New York, was installed as Camden’s eighth bishop Feb. 12, 2013. When he turned 75 March 17, 2020, he submitted his resignation to the pope as required by canon law.
Responding to the apostolic nuncio’s announcement, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., said, “The clergy and faithful of the Diocese of Trenton joyfully extend best wishes to our newest neighbor, Bishop Joseph A. Williams, as he assumes his position as the ninth Bishop of Camden. May his tenure be blessed with God’s grace as he leads his local Church.”
The six-county Camden Diocese covers nearly 2,700 square miles in South Jersey. It has a Catholic population of about 305,000 out of a total population of over 1.4 million.
Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M. is shown with Bishop Joseph A. Williams March 12, in USCCB headquarters, Washington, D.C. Courtesy photo