MIAMI SHORES, Fla., April 20 (UPI) -- Archbishop John Favalora announced his retirement Tuesday as leader of Roman Catholics in Miami, appearing at a news conference with his successor.
Bishop Thomas Wenski, now serving in Orlando, is to be installed June 1, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
Favalora, 74, will be stepping down a year ahead of the church's statutory retirement age, The Miami Herald said. Sources familiar with the church's internal workings also told the newspaper officials decided in favor of a quick transition instead of having Wenski work with Favalora for several months as coadjutor archbishop.
A native of New Orleans who admitted he had trouble learning Spanish, Favalora came to Miami in 1994 from the diocese of St. Petersburg, Fla. In recent years, the diocese has been hit by allegations of sexual misconduct by priests and financial problems.
For Wenski, 59, the call to Miami is a return home. He grew up in Palm Beach County, attended Miami-area seminaries and served as a priest first at a largely Hispanic parish in the city and then at center for Haitian immigrants.
Wenski was named auxiliary bishop of Miami in 1997 and bishop of Orlando in 2003.
