WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Richard G. Henning of Rockville Centre, as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island. The pope also accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Robert C. Evans of Providence, who has served the diocese as an auxiliary since 2009. On Sept. 2, he turned 75, the age at which canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope. Bishop Henning, 58, has been a Rockville Centre auxiliary since 2018.
As coadjutor, he will assist Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, 74, who has headed the statewide diocese since 2005. A coadjutor automatically becomes head of the diocese upon the death or retirement of its bishop. The changes were announced Nov. 23 in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican nuncio to the United States.