Vatican City, Oct 20, 2025 / 09:44 am

Pope Leo XIV on Monday named Bishop Mark O’Connell, an auxiliary bishop of Boston, the next bishop of the Diocese of Albany, New York.

O’Connell, a canon lawyer, succeeds the 77-year-old Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, who has been bishop of Albany since 2014 and whose resignation was accepted by Pope Leo on Oct. 20.

The 61-year-old O’Connell has served the Archdiocese of Boston as an auxiliary bishop since 2016. He has also been vicar general and moderator of the curia since December 2022.

The Diocese of Albany serves approximately 300,000 Catholics in the capital city of New York state and the surrounding area.

Scharfenberger announced earlier this year that the diocese will undergo a planning initiative in response to a “financial and mainte

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