Bishop Delaney, 70, died on Monday night. He had suffered from the side effects of treatment for pancreatic cancer.
That meant that Monsignor Kevin Vann, 54, would be thrust into the position of bishop sooner than he expected. On Wednesday he was ordained and installed as head of the north central Texas diocese of Fort Worth.
Bishop Delaney had served for 24 years as bishop and had hoped to celebrate his 25th anniversary before he retired, his successor said, according to the State Journal-Register in Springfield, Illinois.
Springfield-born Monsignor Vann was working as a pastor in his native town in May when he learned that Benedict XVI had appointed him coadjutor for Fort Worth.
Bishop Delaney’s housekeeper found his body Tuesday morning, one day before the Fort Worth Diocese was to hold a ceremony ordaining Monsignor Vann as coadjutor bishop, the State Journal-Register reported.
The ceremony went ahead but installed Monsignor Vann as bishop instead.
The Diocese of Fort Worth, with its 400,000 Catholics, is 40% Hispanic and has some Vietnamese parishes.
