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Auxiliary Bishop From Philadelphia Becomes New Bishop Of Diocese Of Toledo

By Mark Abrams

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- An auxiliary bishop from Philadelphia has been picked by Pope Francis to serve as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Toledo in Ohio.

Philadelphia native, Bishop Daniel Thomas, who was ordained a priest in 1985 by Cardinal John Krol, and a bishop in 2006 by Cardinal Justin Rigali, takes the reins of a diocese that covers 19 counties in northwestern Ohio and serves more than 320,000 Roman Catholics.

Thomas spent 15 years working in the Vatican - from 1990 to 2005 - and served in spiritual formation for seminarians at the North American College in Rome. He is the current vice chairman of the board of trustees at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Lower Merion.

"There's that very famous phrase from Pope Francis that we've heard a zillion times," Thomas says. "The priest should have the smell of the sheep, right? So, I'm hoping this bishop will be very smelly."

Thomas says he's humbled to be chosen to lead the Toledo diocese, but concedes he's leaving unfinished business in Philadelphia.

"There's an awful lot on my desk," he says. "My secretary can tell you."

Thomas will be installed October 22 during ceremonies at Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo.

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