WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop R. Daniel Conlon from the Office of Bishop of Joliet in Illinois and has appointed Most Reverend Richard E. Pates as the Apostolic Administrator sede vacante.

The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 4, 2020 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Conlon has been on medical leave since December 2019 and Bishop Pates, who retired as Bishop of Des Moines in 2019, has been serving as Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois. Read Bishop Pates’ full biography.

The Diocese of Joliet in Illinois is comprised of 4,218 square miles in the State of Illinois and has a total population of 1,950,354 of which 564,709 are Catholic.

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Keywords: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Pope Francis, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio, Bishop R. Daniel Conlon, Bishop Richard E. Pates, Diocese of Joliet in Illinois.

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