Bishop Brom of San Diego retires; Coadjutor Bishop Flores is successor

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert Brom of San Diego, and he will be succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop Cirilo Flores.

Brom, who has headed the San Diego diocese since 1990, is 75, the age at which canon law requires bishops to submit their resignations. Flores, 65, was named coadjutor in January 2012, and as coadjutor automatically succeeds Brom.

The changes were announced Wednesday in Washington by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Flores headed the diocese of Orange, Calif., from 2009 until being named San Diego's coadjutor.

The diocese of San Diego covers 8,852 square miles in two California counties and has a Catholic population of close to 987,000 out of a total population of 3.1 million.