SYRACUSE – Pope Francis has appointed a new bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse. Bishop-elect Douglas John Lucia, 56, of the Diocese of Ogdensburg will become the 11th bishop of Syracuse, succeeding Bishop Robert J. Cunningham who has served the diocese since May 26, 2009. Bishop-elect Lucia will be ordained and installed at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception located in downtown Syracuse at a date soon to be determined.

Bishop Cunningham submitted his resignation to the Holy Father upon his 75th birthday on June 18, 2018, as is required by canon law. He will continue to serve as the Apostolic Administrator until Bishop - elect Lucia’s ordination and installation.

Bishop-elect Lucia was born on March 17, 1963, the son of Leward and Betty (Pepin) Lucia in Plattsburgh, N.Y. He and his twin brother and their sister and younger brother grew up in Altona, N.Y. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Wadhams Hall Seminary College in Ogdensburg, N.Y., in May 1985 and a Masters in Divinity from Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora N.Y. in May 1989. He was ordained to the Ministerial Priesthood at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg on May 20, 1989, by Most Reverend Stanislaus J. Brzana, DD, STD, Bishop of Ogdensburg.