WASHINGTON — Pope Francis has named Msgr. Robert J. McClory, rector of the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak, Michigan, to head the Diocese of Gary, Indiana. Bishop-designate McClory, 56, has been shrine rector since 2017. A native of Detroit, he is a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit. The appointment was announced in Washington Nov. 26 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishop-designate McClory will lead a diocese that covers 1,807 square miles in northwest Indiana, hugging four counties along the Lake Michigan shoreline. It has a Catholic population of just over 170,000 out of a total population of close to 787,000. “I am honored and humbled that the Holy Father has appointed me as the bishop of Gary,” Bishop-designate McClory said in a statement. “During this week in which we celebrate Thanksgiving, my heart is full of thanksgiving that he has entrusted me to serve the people of northwest Indiana. I look forward to getting to know the needs of our local church and, together, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.” Bishop-designate McClory is scheduled to be ordained a bishop and installed Feb. 11. He succeeds Bishop Donald J. Hying, who was appointed bishop of Madison, Wisconsin, in April and installed there in June.
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