NEW MEXICO
ABQ Journal

Archbishop of Santa Fe Michael Sheehan put parishioners on notice Sunday that a successor could be leading the archdiocese by this time next year.

Sheehan said the Roman Catholic Church requires him to submit a letter of resignation on his 75th birthday in July, though it remains unknown when Pope Francis would name a successor, Sheehan said in a recorded message played at some churches during Mass.

“As many of you know, I turn 75 years old on July 9, 2014,” Sheehan said in the recorded message announcing the 2014 Annual Catholic Appeal, the archbishop’s annual fundraising event.

“At that time I must submit my resignation letter to the Holy See,” he said. “It may take awhile for my successor to be appointed but by ACA 2015, I hope that our new archbishop will be here among us.”

Celine Radigan, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of…