TRENTON, N.J. – Pope Benedict XVI has named Father David M. O'Connell, C.M., currently the 14th president of The Catholic University of America in Washington, as Coadjutor Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Trenton.

The appointment was announced in Washington June 4 by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, and locally by Bishop John M. Smith during a press conference in the diocese's pastoral center. Bishop-elect O'Connell, age 55, is a priest of the Eastern Province of the Congregation of the Mission (also known as the Vincentians). At the press conference, Bishop Smith introduced and welcomed Coadjutor Bishop-elect O'Connell, who addressed members of the media and diocesan staff.

As Coadjutor, Bishop-elect O'Connell will automatically become head of the four-county Diocese of Trenton when Pope Benedict XVI accepts the resignation of Bishop John M. Smith. Church law requires that a bishop must submit his resignation on his 75th birthday; Pope Benedict accepts that resignation at a time of his choosing. Bishop Smith will turn 75 on June 23. It has not been announced when his pending resignation will be accepted.

Bishop-elect O'Connell will be ordained to the episcopacy July 30 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Bishop Smith will serve as the consecrator, assisted by Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark and Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington.

In announcing the appointment, Bishop Smith stated that he knew instantly upon learning of Father O'Connell's appointment, "that the future of the Diocese of Trenton would be in good and capable hands." Bishop Smith added, "How blessed the Diocese of Trenton is to receive as coadjutor bishop, a priest of David O'Connell's experience, scholastic depth, pastoral sensitivity and national reputation."

Born in Philadelphia April 21, 1955, David O'Connell was raised in Langhorne, Pa. His mother, brothers and other relatives still live in and around the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He has long-standing ties to the Diocese of Trenton, having attended high school in Princeton and encountered Bishop George W. Ahr on numerous occasions. His religiouscommunity – the Congregation of the Mission – has served in the diocese since 1913, and Father O'Connell spent a great deal of time here. He described the Diocese of Trenton as a "second home."

Bishop-elect O'Connell is completing his 12th and final year as president of CUA, the national university of the Catholic Church in the United States. In an October 2009 Washington Post article on Father O'Connell's pending resignation from the university, it was reported that since he first took the post of president in 1998, enrollment has grown 23 percent, to 6,768. The campus also expanded by 34 percent, reaching 193 acres, with many buildings added or renovated. He has made extraordinary gains in fundraising as well, having brought in more than $180 million for the university, The Washington Post article reported.

But perhaps Father O'Connell has been best known for his faithfulness to the tenets of the apostolic constitution, "Ex Corde Ecclesia" and his commitment to nurturing and preserving the Catholic identity of the country's only pontifical university and Catholic institutions of higher learning in general.

Father O'Connell was ordained a Vincentian priest in 1982. Founded in the early 1600s by St. Vincent de Paul, the Vincentian community consists of both priests and brothers who have let Jesus Christ shape their lives in the spirit of the founder. Through prayer, ministry and life in community, Vincentians spread the Gospel message of Jesus in championing the needs of the poor.

The recipient of multiple honorary degrees, Father O'Connell earned doctorates in canon law and degrees in moral theology and philosophy. Prior to his tenure at CUA, Father O'Connell was academic dean and associate vice president at St. John's University in New York and interim academic vice president at Niagara University, his undergraduate alma mater. He has also taught theology and canon law in Mary Immaculate Seminary in Pennsylvania. He has served as an ecclesiastical judge in several dioceses.

An internationally recognized expert and media commentator, he has published and spoken extensively on Catholic education. He serves as consultor for the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education. In April 2008, Father O'Connell hosted Pope Benedict XVI at CUA where he addressed Catholic educators from all over the United States.

A coadjutor bishop is appointed to a Catholic diocese or archdiocese to assist the diocesan bishop. Unlike an auxiliary bishop, he has the right of succession, meaning that he automatically becomes the new bishop when the diocesan bishop retires or dies. In recent years, a growing number of U.S. bishops in larger dioceses or archdioceses have requested and received a coadjutor in their final year or two before their retirement, in order to familiarize their successor with the workings of the (arch)diocese before he has to take over the reins. This minimizes the learning curve of a new bishop and eliminates completely the possibility of the diocese being vacant following the current bishop's retirement.

When Bishop O'Connell succeeds Bishop Smith, the Vincentian will be the 10th bishop in the Diocese of Trenton. The bishop-elect will be the only religious community priest to serve as the Episcopal ordinary for the Church of Trenton.

Established in 1881, the Diocese of Trenton comprises Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties with a Catholic population of 830,000. The diocese has 211 priests, 338 permanent deacons and 445 religious men and women serving in 111 parishes, 36 Catholic elementary schools and 8 high schools. More information can be found at www.dioceseoftrenton.org/diocese/coadjutor.asp.