by Catholic News Service
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WASHINGTON -- Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein of Indianapolis for health reasons.
The archbishop is 73 years old, two years younger than the age at which bishops are required by canon law to turn in their resignation to the pope.
His resignation was announced in Washington Sept. 21 by Msgr. Jean-Francois Lantheaume, charge d'affaires at the apostolic nunciature.
Archbishop Buechlein, a member of the Benedictine order, has headed the Indianapolis Archdiocese since 1992.
Over the past three years he has suffered a series of health problems. In March of this year he suffered a mild stroke. In 2009, Archbishop Buechlein had shoulder replacement surgery and in 2010 he had surgery to remove a benign tumor from his stomach.
In 2008, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and underwent a successful course of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
