Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Peter Christensen, 61, of Superior, Wisconsin, as bishop of Boise City, Idaho, and accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael Driscoll, 75, from pastoral governance of that diocese.
The appointment was publicized in Washington on Tuesday by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Peter Christensen was born Dec. 24, 1952, in Pasadena, California. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on May 25, 1985.
Pope Benedict XVI appointed him bishop of Superior, Wisconsin, on June 28, 2007. He was ordained a bishop on Sept. 14 of that year.
Michael Driscoll was born August 8, 1939, in Long Beach, California. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on May 1, 1965, and ordained an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange, California, on March 6, 1990. Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of Boise City on January 19, 1999.
The Diocese of Boise City comprises the entire state of Idaho and has a total population of 1,595,728 people, of which 175,530, or 11%, are Catholic.
The Diocese of Superior comprises 15,715 miles in the state of Wisconsin and has a total population of 437,299 people, of which 72,809, or 17%, are Catholic.
